Militant Christian Patriots
The Militant Christian Patriots (MCP) were a short-lived but influential
Formation
The formation of the MCP has been disputed by historians. According to G.C. Webber the group was set up in 1928 by Lieutenant-Colonel
Development and ideology
Upon its formation its avowed aim was opposing
The group began publishing its own news organ, Free Press, in 1935 with vendors selling it in the streets, with a second journal, The Britisher, following in 1937. They were noted for their extensive publishing efforts.[2] A number of prominent activists on the far right held membership of the group or were close to it, including A. K. Chesterton, Cuthbert Reavely and Joseph Bannister, with William Joyce also having a brief association with the group. The MCP favoured conspiratorial anti-Semitism, claiming that both Bolshevism and international finance were controlled by the Jews as part of a conspiracy to take over the world.[2]
Such were the connections to the Germans that by the spring of 1939 the Secretary of the Defence Committee stated that the group had taken over as the main outlet for dissemination of Nazi propaganda in the UK.
Relationship to other groups
The group had a reasonably good relationship with the
Richard Stokes, the Labour MP for Ipswich was a member of the group.[10]
The MCP affiliated to the Coordinating Committee, an umbrella group established by Archibald Maule Ramsay that also included the British Democratic Party, the National Citizens Union and the British Empire Union. This group proved short-lived however as the differences between the member groups led to its collapse.[11]
The fate of the MCP is unclear although it continued to exist after the outbreak of war, its publications appearing until April 1940.[2] However the group was not revived after the war.
References
- ^ Webber 1986, p. 156.
- ^ a b c d e f g Linehan 2000, p. 144.
- ^ a b Barberis, McHugh & Tyldesley 2000, pp. 631–632.
- ^ a b c d e Benewick 1969, p. 276.
- ^ Edwards 2013, p. 62.
- ^ Dorril 2007, p. 450.
- ^ Benewick 1969, p. 278.
- ^ Thurlow 1987, p. 81.
- ^ Linehan 2000, p. 45.
- ^ Crowcroft, Robert (October 2008). "'What is Happening in Europe?' Richard Stokes, Fascism, and the Anti-War Movement in the British Labour Party during the Second World War and After". History. 93 (4): 517. Retrieved 2023-03-07. Specific citation "17 Appointment diaries 1939 and 1940, Stokes Papers; David Cesarani, Justice Delayed (1992) [hereafter Cesarani, Justice Delayed], p. 173; Griffiths, Patriotism Perverted, pp. 225-6. See Thomas Linehan, British Fascism 1981-1939"
- ^ Benewick 1969, p. 289.
Bibliography
- Barberis, Peter; McHugh, John; Tyldesley, Mike (2000). Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century. A&C Black. ISBN 978-0-8264-5814-8.
- Benewick, Robert (1969). Political Violence & Public Order: A Study of British Fascism. Allen Lane. ISBN 978-0713900859.
- Dorril, Stephen (2007). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-025821-9.
- Edwards, Ben (2013). With God on Our Side: British Christian Responses to the Spanish Civil War. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4438-5108-4.
- Linehan, Thomas (2000). British Fascism, 1918-39: Parties, Ideology and Culture. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-5024-4.
- ISBN 978-0-631-13618-7.
- Webber, G. C. (1986). The ideology of the British Right, 1918-1939. Croom Helm. OCLC 59847747.