British Democratic Party
AbbreviationBDP
PresidentAndrew Brons
ChairmanJames Lewthwaite
Founded9 February 2013 (9 February 2013)
Split fromBritish National Party (BNP)
HeadquartersLoughborough, Leicestershire
Ideology
Political positionFar-right[1]
Colours  Red   White   Blue
Website
https://britishdems.co.uk/

The British Democratic Party (BDP), commonly known as the British Democrats, is a British far-right[1] political party. It was registered with the Electoral Commission in 2011,[2] and officially launched in 2013 at a Leicestershire village hall by a ten-member steering committee which included former members of several political parties including the British National Party (BNP), Democratic Nationalists, Freedom Party and UK Independence Party (UKIP).[1]

The party's inaugural president was Andrew Brons, then a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).[1] Brons had been a member of the BNP and a leading member of the National Front (NF). The steering committee included a number of others with a history of membership in fascist and neo-Nazi groups,[3] who believed that the BNP had been corrupted and watered-down.[1]

History

Brons resigned from the BNP in October 2012, after narrowly failing in his campaign to unseat Nick Griffin as leader of the party in 2011. A number of other disillusioned BNP members have joined him, including Kevin Scott, founder and director of Civil Liberty and former party organiser for the British National Party in the North East. Other notable members of the party include:

In 2013, Nick Lowles, of Hope not Hate, believed the party would be a serious threat to the BNP, commenting, "The BDP brings together all of the hardcore Holocaust deniers and racists that have walked away from the BNP over the last two to three years, plus those previously, who could not stomach the party’s image changes.... They and the BNP already have a mutual hatred of each other and neither party will stop until they’ve killed the other one off. The gloves will be off and it will be toxic".[1]

Electoral performance

In the 2015 United Kingdom general election, the party nominated one candidate, the BDP chairman, Jim Lewthwaite in Bradford East. He won 210 votes, 0.5% of the total cast.[6]

The party gained a parish councillor in March 2022, when John Robinson, who was elected to Barnham and Eastergate Parish Council in West Sussex as an independent, joined the BDP.[7] In July 2022, Julian Leppert, an elected councillor representing the For Britain Movement on Epping Forest District Council in Essex, joined the BDP.[8] The party gained another parish councillor in August 2022, when Roger Robertson, an elected councillor in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, joined the British Democrats. He like Leppert was also a former member of the For Britain Movement.[9]

Later that month, BDP candidate Lawrence Rustem was elected unopposed to Detling Parish Council in Kent, in what was the party's first ever election victory.[10][11] In October 2022, the BDP candidate, Christopher Bateman, was elected to Noak Bridge Parish Council in Basildon, Essex, with 74% of the vote against one other candidate who was an independent.[12]

The British Democrats, whose campaign received support from far-right hate group Patriotic Alternative, stood five candidates in the 2023 local elections.[13] All candidates failed to win their contests, with Julian Leppert losing the party's only seat above parish council level.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Collins, Matthew (8 February 2013). "Neo-Nazi former BNP members launch new far-right party". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  2. ^ "British Democratic Party registration summary". The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  3. ^ Ray Mount (1 March 2013). "British Democratic Party launches and promises it will belong to its members". Searchlight. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Brian Parker has joined the British Democrats!". Twitter. 25 May 2022. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Derek Beackon Joins the British Democrats!". British Democratic Party. 11 August 2022. Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Bradford East". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Councillor John Robinson joins the British Democrats". British Democratic Party. 14 March 2022. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Councillor Julian Leppert joins the British Democrats". British Democratic Party. 16 July 2022. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Councillor Roger Robertson joins the British Democrats". British Democratic Party. 2 August 2022. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Lawrence Rustem elected to Detling Parish Council". British Democratic Party. 19 August 2022. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  11. ^ "The British Democrat Party achieves its first election success in UK in Kent village of Detling near Maidstone". KentOnline. 11 September 2022. Archived from the original on 12 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Election results for Noak Bridge". Basildon Council. 13 October 2022. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Fascist and far right candidates in local elections". Searchlight Magazine. 28 April 2023. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Election disaster may mean nazi groups unite". Searchlight Magazine. 7 May 2023. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.

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