The British Union of Fascists

Mosley turned to fascism because he wanted to solve the great social problems of 1930s Britain and he could see that the Labour Party lacked the will to do so. On his return from Rome, Mosley officially dissolved the New Party. Fascism existed previously in Britain in the form of small groups of reactionaries, the British Fascists led by the eccentric Lotha Linton-Orman being one. The other being the Imperial Fascist League led by the notorious Arnold Leese, a retired camel doctor. Most recruits from these fascist groups came from the British Fascists, with Neil Francis-Hawkins bringing along most of the membership. Leese's group remained hostile, however, and shunned any thought of co-operation ... with Leese denouncing Mosley as being in the pay of the Jews. Henceforth the Mosleyites were dubbed "kosher fascists" by the IFL with Mosley dismissing them as, "One of those crank little societies mad about the Jews". Why did Mosley adopt fascism as his new creed after many of his old parliamentary colleagues had tipped him as a future prime minister if he had remained in either one of the mainstream parties? The answer probably rests on his personality more than any other factor. He was prepared to take a risk and trust in the good honest judgement of the people. He was blessed with a supreme self-confidence, often mistaken for arrogance, and this, combined with courage, intelligence and tenacity, made him one of the greatest public orators of the twentieth century. He adopted the fasces, the symbol of Imperial Rome, representing unity and the authority of the state in an obvious imitation of the Italian fascists. Later, this was dropped in favour of the "flash and circle", symbolising union and action. The simple black shirt was based on the design of the fencing jacket, a sport in which he excelled up to Olympic standards. Mosley described the wearing of the new uniform as the "outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace" but put more prosaically, it was a leveller of class divisions, worn by all members irrespective of rank or status. The "war generation" recognised the wearing of a uniform as a natural symbol of the camaraderie that binded men in the trenches. Many new recruits had fought in the First World War and rallied to Mosley's new banner as a duck takes to water. The BUF was founded on October 1, 1932, at their headquarters in Great George Street. They would later move to "Black House" in Chelsea, a former teacher training college, where British Union would take on the air and appearance of a more military organisation with all the paraphernalia of a barracks. From here came the support to defend meetings from communist attack. THE IDEOLOGY OF BRITISH UNION British fascism was a revolt against an old world that had failed to solve the problems of the 1920s and 1930s. The old world was entrenched in the ideas of the nineteenth century, principally the economics of laissez faire capitalism, a doctrine based on the belief that a system of free trade tied to international competition would correct itself without state intervention. This system of economic liberalism was based on a paradox that was ultimately responsible for low wages, poverty and unemployment. It was believed that an economy could provide demand to meet production so long as nothing interfered with it. The laws of the market, however, relied on low wages to expand production but with low wages came a home market with less purchasing power. The workers were then denied the opportunity to buy the goods they produced. This was the paradox responsible for the plight of the working class in Britain in the 1930s. Mosley transcended both free market economics and the Marxist alternative. He rejected both the belief of those who put their blind trust in international competition based on free trade and those who simply waited for capitalism to collapse through its "inherent contradictions", as the Marxists viewed the recurring crises. Before turning to fascism, Mosley had visited America where he witnessed a higher standard of living linked to a highly developed technology. The secret he found rested on the existence of a large home market protected from the competition of low-waged imports because was large enough geographically to become self-sufficient in food production and raw materials. Restricted immigration also maintained a shortage of labour that gave the unions more clout to push wages up to a higher standard of living for the workers, thus giving them the purchasing power to buy the goods they produced. The elimination of the need to trade with the rest of the world through being self-sufficient solved most problems. So why not do the same with the resources of the British Empire? EXPLOITATION BY INTERNATIONAL FINANCE The main obstacle was the City of London. The main occupation of the City of London was foreign lending for the purpose of making profits for financiers. As the home market became depressed through low wages and unemployment, the City of London invested more and more in foreign countries. With the absence of gold and other services in these countries, the interest from loans was drawn back on foreign imports ... knocking down the producers and consumers in Britain. Mosley attacked this system for its predatory affects on the national economy claiming that the speculative nature of international finance led to instability and the destruction of British industry. ___________________________________________________________________