Britain First: anti-Islam group that bills itself as a patriotic movement
Far-right party whose deputy leader was retweeted by Trump protests against mosques and is openly anti-immigration
Britain First is a minor political movement in the UK with an openly anti-Islam, anti-immigration agenda and an estimated 1,000 supporters. It is led by Paul Golding, 35, a former official in the now-defunct far-right British National party, and Jayda Fransen, 31, who was this month charged by police in Northern Ireland with hate speech at a rally outside Belfast City Hall in August.
Britain First describes itself as “a patriotic political party and street movement” and “a patriotic resistance and ‘frontline’ for our long suffering people”. It was deregistered by Britain’s elections watchdog, the Electoral Commission, early this month after it failed to confirm that its registered details were correct and pay a routine fee of £25. It means it cannot now place candidates on ballot papers under the name Britain First.
It achieved no electoral success when it was registered and has been widely condemned as racist. Golding stood to be mayor of London, but gathered only 1.2% of the vote compared with 44% for the winner, Labour’s Muslim candidate, Sadiq Khan. Golding turned his back on Khan at the count, which he later claimed was not racist but because he considered Khan “a vile man”.
Fransen stood to be an MP in Rochester and Strood in 2014 but received only 56 votes, losing her deposit.
The group regularly protests against the construction or extension of mosques and wants halal meat banned in Britain. Its website proclaims: “Britain First stands opposed to all alien and destructive political or religious doctrines, including Marxism, liberalism, fascism, national socialism, political correctness, Euro federalism and Islam.”
A British anti-fascist campaign group, Hope Not Hate, says that the group was founded and initially funded by Jim Dowson, “a man dedicated to Calvinist chauvinism, religious bigotry and the raptures of evangelical and biblical Armageddon and doomsday prophecies”. It continues: “Though Dowson left the organisation in 2014, arguing that the group’s tactics of invading mosques was ‘provocative and counterproductive’, the group has maintained its Christian focus with crucifixes being displayed at BF demonstrations.”
The group’s fixation on anti-Muslim rhetoric remains a central part of its proposition. At a small rally in Warsaw, Poland, in August, Fransen said: “There is a cancer moving through Europe and that is Islam. Our children are being bombed, our children are being groomed and our government does nothing … Evil will not prevail.”
Britain First’s website proclaims: “We want our people to come first, before foreigners, asylum seekers or migrants.” And it adds: “The rapid growth of militant Islam is leading to the suppression of women, freedom of speech and racist attacks.”