Thursday 16 March 2017

Arron Banks launches new political party. Same membership limitations?

Arron Banks launches a new political party having left UKIP. In essence, there is talk of attracting floating working class vote and of being a new home for disenchanted Nationalists that find themselves in limbo and without a political home as the political organisations they used to support or were members of have not proven to be reliable or to have any political future.

Since there is only one Electorate with a growing number of disenfranchised voters, the issue of membership limitations is ever present.

UKIP banned former members of the British National Party, Britain First, National Front, English Defence League and of other political parties from joining UK Independence Party. So there is still an awfully big number of people who are basically politically homeless.

Arron Banks
A few months ago, Kevin Layzell, a young political activist that started his political career in the British National Party, went to National Front. The likes of Britain First and British Democrats  and others had their roots in the British National Party although Britain First explicitly rejects - at least in principle - any membership application from former British National Party members and this in spite of the fact that many Britain First members and this includes its leader are former British National Party members.

EDL and Britain First have a very peculiar rapport since they have quite a lot in common, including their activism practices that led them quite often to confrontation with both political detractors and Police.

Within what we could broadly call Nationalism there are all sorts. Despite having some common aims, they have been at odds with each other and hostility has not been the exception but the rule.
Of late there have been news appearances. We have seen British Renaissance and London Forum plus a number of branches like Bristol Forum. They seem to congregate people with very distinct political backgrounds, with both differences and similarities. 

At a recent London Forum meeting in London, British historian David Irving and other well-known personalities were present. At a Bristol Forum meeting, Julie Lake - now former BNP member - introduced Kevin Layzell - former BNP members and now National Front member as a guest speaker.

Kevin Layzell talked about his hopes regarding the rise of a Nationalist Party that could sometimes unite a very fragmented Nationalist scene to be able to win elections and during his speech talked about the rise of the BNP that won two seats in the European Parliament, a seat in the London Assembly, and a multitude of seats across the country - including in Barking and Dagenham where it was the official opposition - before going down all the way with the expulsion of Nick Griffin that was the driving force that led the party to heights many never thought that it was possible to reach.

So, what is going to be the next political chapter? Will Arron Banks seek to unite the Nationalist scene under a new flag, being as inclusive as possible? Arron Banks promised UKIP 2.0. Will it be a completely new version or just another version with a few cosmetic changes?






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