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The Union Movement (UM) was a far-right
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
founded in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
by Oswald Mosley. Before the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF) had wanted to concentrate trade within the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
, but the Union Movement attempted to stress the importance of developing a
European nationalism European nationalism (sometimes called pan-European nationalism) is a form of pan-nationalism based on a pan-European identity. It is considered minor since the National Party of Europe disintegrated in the 1970s. It is distinct from Pro-Europea ...
, rather than a narrower country-based
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
. That has caused the UM to be characterised as an attempt by Mosley to start again in his political life by embracing more democratic and international policies than those with which he had previously been associated. The UM has been described as ''post-fascist'' by former members such as Robert Edwards, the founder of the pro-Mosley ''European Action'', a British pressure group and monthly newspaper.


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 Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, 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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
.


Europe a Nation

Mosley perceived a linear growth within
British history The history of the British Isles began with its sporadic human habitation during the Palaeolithic from around 900,000 years ago. The British Isles has been continually occupied since the early Holocene, the current geological epoch, which star ...
and saw Europe a Nation as the culmination of that destiny. Therefore, he argued it to be "part of an organic process of British history" since Britain had united into one nation and that it was Britain's national destiny to unite the whole continent. He further envisaged a three-tiered system of government, headed by an elected European government, to organise defence and the corporatist economy. The continuation of national governments and a collection of local governments were still seen as necessary for the sake of independent identities. Mosley's ideas were not new since concepts of a Nation Europa and Eurafrika (the same idea but with parts of north Africa included as natural sectors of Europe's traditional sphere of influence, an idea that Mosley himself felt had some merit) were already growing in Germany's postwar underground. Also,
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
's
Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...
had returned to fascism's roots with an attempt at a corporatist economic system during its brief existence. Nonetheless, Mosley was the first to express the ideas in English, and it came as no surprise when he returned to proper political activism in 1948. Those plans were to form the basis for the policy programme of the Union Movement.


Formation of party

After the release of interned fascists at the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, a number of far-right groups were formed. They were often virulently anti-Semitic and tried to capitalise on the violent events taking place in
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...
. Large meetings were organised in Jewish areas of East London and elsewhere, which were often violently broken up by antifascist groups such as the 43 Group. Fifty-one separate groups were united under Mosley's leadership in the Union Movement (UM), launched at a meeting in Farringdon Hall, London, in 1948. The four main groups were Jeffrey Hamm's British League of Ex-Servicemen and Women, Anthony Gannon's Imperial Defence League, Victor Burgess's Union of British Freedom and Horace Gowing and Tommy Moran's Sons of St George, all of which were led by ex-BUF men. Another early member was Francis Parker Yockey, an American who had come to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
to seek Mosley's help to publish his written work. Yockey briefly headed up the UM's European Contact Section, although he left after a dispute with Mosley. The Union Movement was also known for its attempts to recruit
Irish people The Irish ( or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common ancestry, history and Culture of Ireland, culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has be ...
living in Britain, and Mosley wrote a pamphlet in 1948, ''Ireland's Right to Unite when entering European Union''. 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''. Mosley remained a critic of
liberal democracy Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...
, and the UM instead extolled a strong executive that people could endorse or reject through regular
referendums A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...
, with an independent judiciary in place to appoint replacements in the event of a rejection. In 1948 the party marched 1,500 supporters through Camden and went on to contest the following year's local elections in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. However, outside
Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...
and
Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...
, where they polled 15.7% and 7.7% respectively in the wards contested, the UM performed very poorly and secured no representation. The Union Movement then declined as a political party, and attendance at meetings dwindled until it was negligible.''Archive Hour'', BBC Radio 4, first broadcast 19 April 2008. Disillusioned by the stern opposition that the UM faced and his style of street politics being exposed as somewhat passé, in 1951 Mosley went into self-imposed exile in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. A member of Union Movement called F.B. Price-Heywood was elected as a councillor in Grasmere,
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
,
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
, during the 1953 local elections, but it was a rare success for the party, and the UM gained no parliamentary seats. 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 British Nationality Act 1948, there was a great increase in immigration, particularly from the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
and the colonies. In the early 1950s, immigration was estimated at 8,000–10,000 per year, but it had grown to 35,000 per year by 1957. Perceptions of the new migrant workers were frequently stereotypical, but the Conservative Party, despite the private opinions of some of its members, was loath to make a political issue out of it for fear of being seen as gutter politicians. Disturbances occurred in 1958 in
Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...
after a Mosley rally and in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
with clashes between racial groups, a new phenomenon in Britain. The new uncertainties revitalised the UM, and Mosley re-emerged to stand as a candidate in the 1959 general election in Kensington North, which included Notting Hill, his first parliamentary election since 1931. Mosley made immigration his campaign issue and combined calls for assisted
repatriation Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...
with stories regarding criminality and sexual deviance of black people, a common theme of the time. The 8.1% share of the vote that he secured was a personal humiliation for a man who still hoped that he would be called to serve someday as the British prime minister. However, the UM was as a whole buoyed by the immigration question, which it saw as the next big issue in British politics. 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.


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 Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
at which he helped to form a National Party of Europe, along with
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
's Reichspartei, the Mouvement d'Action Civique, and Jeune Europe of
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and the Italian Social Movement (MSI). 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. 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. 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 Greater London Council election. Under the leadership of Jeffrey Hamm, the party hoped for something of a revival although it was damaged severely in 1974 when a leading member, Keith Thompson, and his followers split to form the League of Saint George, a non-party movement that they claimed was the true continuation of Mosley's ideas. With a sizeable chunk of its membership long since lost to the National Front, the Action Party gave up electoral politics and in 1978 became the Action Society, which acted as a publishing house rather than a political party.Boothroyd, D. ''The History of British Political Parties'' Politico's Publishing: 2001, p. 3 The group continued until Hamm's death in 1994, when the funding of Mosley's widow, Diana Mitford, was withdrawn. The Action Society was then wound up – this represented the final end of the Union Movement.


Election results


House of Commons


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 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
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


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 ''The New World'' is a British pan-European weekly political and cultural newspaper and website. Launched in July 2016 as a response to the United Kingdom's 2016 EU referendum, its readership is aimed at those who voted to remain within the ...
'' 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


* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRS4NR_BZ1w British Pathe film footage of Union Movement marches and rallies in London and Manchester {{Authority control British fascist movements Defunct political parties in the United Kingdom Oswald Mosley Political parties established in 1948 Political parties disestablished in 1973 Neo-fascist parties Fascist parties in the United Kingdom Eurofederalism Defunct far-right political parties in the United Kingdom