Union Movement
Union Movement | |
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Founder | Oswald Mosley |
Founded | 1948 |
Dissolved | 1973 |
Preceded by | British Union of Fascists |
Merged into | National Front |
Succeeded by | Action Party (Later League of Saint George) |
Ideology | Europe a Nation Pan-European nationalism |
Political position | Far-right |
European Parliament group | European Social Movement (1951–1960s) National Party of Europe (1960s) |
Colours | Red White Blue |
Party flag | |
Part of a series on |
Neo-fascism |
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The Union Movement (UM) was a
Mosley's postwar activity
Having been the leader of the BUF in the 1930s, Mosley was expected to return to lead the far right. However, he remained out of the immediate postwar political arena, instead turned to writing and published his first work, My Answer (1946) in which he argued that he had been a patriot who had been unjustly punished by his internment under Defence Regulation 18B. In it and his 1947 sequel, The Alternative, Mosley began to argue for a much-closer integration between the nations of Europe, the beginning of his 'Europe a Nation' campaign, which sought a strong united Europe as a counterbalance to the growing power of the United States and the Soviet Union.
Europe a Nation
Mosley perceived a linear growth within
He further envisaged a three-tiered system of government, headed by an elected European government, to organise defence and the
Mosley's ideas were not new since concepts of a
Formation of party
After the release of interned fascists at the end of the
The Union Movement was also known for its attempts to recruit Irish people living in Britain, and Mosley wrote a pamphlet in 1948, Ireland's Right to Unite when entering European Union.[6] There were also links between the UM and the Irish nationalist and pro-fascist party Ailtirí na hAiséirghe (Architects of the Resurrection), and Mosley wrote articles for its newspaper Aiséirghe.[7][8]
Mosley remained a critic of
A member of Union Movement called F.B. Price-Heywood was elected as a councillor in Grasmere, Lake District, Cumbria, during the 1953 local elections, but it was a rare success for the party, and the UM gained no parliamentary seats.[12][13]
The Union Movement published several weekly newspapers and monthly magazines including Union, Action (also the title of the prewar weekly newspaper of the New Party and the British Union of Fascists), Attack, Alternative, East London Blackshirt, The European and National European.
Racial tensions and rise of party
After the
The new uncertainties revitalised the UM, and Mosley re-emerged to stand as a candidate in the
In April 1965, Mosley attempted to show that he and the UM were not racist by forming an "Associate Movement" for ethnic minorities who agreed with his policies, including the financially-assisted repatriation of immigrants to their homelands of origin. The group was led by an Indian solicitor and an African airline pilot but was short-lived.[17]
Final days
Along with his domestic politics, Mosley continued to work towards his goal of Europe a Nation and in 1962 attended a conference in Venice at which he helped to form a National Party of Europe, along with Germany's Reichspartei, the Mouvement d'Action Civique, and Jeune Europe of Belgium and the Italian Social Movement (MSI).[18] Adopting the slogan "Progress - Solidarity - Unity", the movement aimed to work closely for a closer unity of European states, but in the end, little came of it as only the MSI enjoyed any success domestically. The group replaced the earlier European Social Movement in which Mosley had also been involved. The Union Movement itself did not play an active role in Europe, although it helped to set in motion co-operation between like-minded groups across Europe, which continued with the European National Front.[citation needed]
Mosley stood again in the 1966 election, this time in the Shoreditch and Finsbury constituency. However, gaining only 4.6% of the vote, Mosley effectively departed the scene thereafter, although he remained the official UM leader until 1973.[19] The increasingly marginalised UM carried on into the 1970s and still advocated Europe A Nation but had no real influence and failed to capture support for its policies.
A brief revival seemed possible after the UM became the Action Party in 1973, the name under which it fought six seats at the
Election results
House of Commons
Election year | # of seats contested |
# of total votes | % of vote in seats contested |
# of seats won | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1959 | 1[21] | 2,821 | 8.1% | 0 | 13 |
1966 | 4[22] | 4,075 | 3.7% | 0 | 14 |
In popular culture
The 1980s ITV television series Shine on Harvey Moon features members of Mosley's Union Movement. It was created by the writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran who would later produce the Channel 4 mini-series Mosley broadcast in 1998.
See also
Well-known members
- John Bean
- Victor Burgess
- Jeffrey Hamm
- Neil Francis Hawkins
- Diana Mitford
- Tommy Moran
- Max Mosley
- Oswald Mosley
- Robert Row
- Keith Thompson
- Alexander Raven Thomson
- John G. Wood
- Francis Parker Yockey
Related groups and concepts
- British Union of Fascists
- Europe a Nation
- League of Saint George
- History of British fascism since 1945
- Friends of Oswald Mosley
References
- ^ Flannagan, S. "WHAT HAPPENED TO BRITISH UNION OF FASCISTS LEADER OSWALD MOSLEY AFTER WWII?". Grunge. Static Media. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- ^ Are We Fascist? by Robert Edwards European Socialist Action No 44, January/February 2013 http://www.europeanaction.com/id79.html) A reader recently advised me on the folly of promoting fascism. I agreed with hihttp://www.europeanaction.com/id79.html
- ^ Row, R. Oswald Mosley, Briton, Fascist, European Archived 2 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d Archive Hour, BBC Radio 4, first broadcast 19 April 2008.
- ^ Dorril, Stephen. Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley & British Fascism, Penguin Books, 2007, p. 566
- ^ "Irelands Right to Unite". www.oswaldmosley.com. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Douglas, R.M., Architects of the Resurrection - Ailtirí na hAiséirghe and the fascist 'new order' in Ireland pp. 276-277, Manchester University Press 2009
- ^ Aiséirghe, 20 June 1948, January 1950
- ^ Thurlow, R. Fascism in Britain London: IB Tauris, 1998, p. 214.
- ISBN 0948858273. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ Walsh, Maurice (Spring 2007). "Mosley in Ireland". The Dublin Review: 3.
- ^ Bartlett, Roger Comrade Newsletter of the Friends of Oswald Mosley When Mosley Men Won Elections (November 2014)
- ^ Bean, John Many Shades of Black: Inside Britain's Far Right Ostara Publications 2011, pp. 79-80
- ^ Taylor, S. The National Front in English Politics, London: Macmillan, 1982, p. 12
- ^ Mosley, Oswald. My Life, London: Nelson, 1970, pp. 447-452
- ^ UK General Election results October 1959
- ^ Macklin, Graham. Very Deeply Dyed in Black: Sir Oswald Mosley and the Resurrection of British Fascism after 1945, London: I.B. Tauris, 2007, pp. 75-76
- ^ Taylor, S. The National Front in English Politics London: Macmillan, 1982, p. 15
- ^ Taylor, S. The National Front in English Politics London: Macmillan, 1982, p. 17
- ^ Boothroyd, D. The History of British Political Parties Politico's Publishing: 2001, p. 3
- ^ Parliamentary seat contested in 1959: Kensington North.
- ^ Parliamentary seats contested in 1966: Birmingham Handsworth; Islington S.W.; Manchester Ardwick; Shoreditch and Finsbury.
Bibliography
- Eatwell, R. (2003) Fascism: A History, Pimlico
- Mosley, Oswald (1970) My Life, Nelson Press
- Mosley, Oswald (1958) Europe: Faith and Plan, Euphorion Books
- Skidelsky, Robert (1975) Oswald Mosley, Macmillan
- Thurlow, R. (1998) Fascism in Britain, I.B. Tauris
- Macklin, Graham (2007) Very Deeply Dyed in Black: Sir Oswald Mosley and the Resurrection of British Fascism after 1945, I.B. Tauris
External links
- Union Movement on OswaldMosley.com
- "Britain’s post-war fascist pro-Europeans" – article about Oswald Mosley's Union Movement in The New European weekly newspaper
- Europe a Nation - 1948 an article written by a former member of Mosley's Union Movement and the founder and editor of the European Action monthly newspaper and UK pressure group, Robert Edwards
- History of the formation of Union Movement on British Guardian blog
- British Pathe film footage of Union Movement marches and rallies in London and Manchester