British National Party (1960)

This article is about the 1960s party. For the modern BNP, see here.

The British National Party (BNP) was a far right political party that operated in the United Kingdom from 1960 to 1967. Led by John Bean the group, which was subject to internal divisions during its brief history, established some areas of local support before helping to form the National Front in 1967.

Formation

The party was formed in 1960 by the merger of the National Labour Party and the White Defence League, two political splinter groups from the League of Empire Loyalists pressure group. Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000, p. 177 Both groups had been active in Notting Hill and had been co-operating closely there since the previous year when a merger was agreed.Martin Walker, The National Front, Glasgow: Fontana, 1977, p. 34 The new group, which was based at Arnold Leese House in Notting Hill (the former home of the Imperial Fascist League leader used by WDL leader Colin Jordan as his base of operations), adopted the motto "For Race and Nation" and pledged to oppose the "international Jewish-controlled money-lending system" in its founding policy statement. Indeed so strong was BNP......
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