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Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right
Failed Führers: A History of Britain’s Extreme Right
The book provides a comprehensive history of the ideas and ideologues associated with the racial fascist tradition in Britain. It charts the evolution of white racial nationalism in Britain as a political manifestation, from its origins amongst a range of pro-Nazi groupuscules in the 1930s, to the margins of the mainstream reached by the British National Party (BNP) at the peak of its powers in 2009.
It charts this history through the prism of its principal leaders and the movements with which they were associated, in order to study the evolution of its racial ideology from overtly biological conceptions of 'white supremacy' through 'racial nationalism' and latterly to 'cultural' arguments regarding 'ethno-nationalism'.
Drawing on extensive archival research and often obscure primary texts and propaganda as well as the official records of the British government and its security services, this is the definitive account of fascism in Britain and will be essential reading for all students and scholars of race relations, extremism and fascism.
It charts this history through the prism of its principal leaders and the movements with which they were associated, in order to study the evolution of its racial ideology from overtly biological conceptions of 'white supremacy' through 'racial nationalism' and latterly to 'cultural' arguments regarding 'ethno-nationalism'.
Drawing on extensive archival research and often obscure primary texts and propaganda as well as the official records of the British government and its security services, this is the definitive account of fascism in Britain and will be essential reading for all students and scholars of race relations, extremism and fascism.
580 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 17, 2022
An incredibly thorough history of Britain's far-right, told through the biographies of 5 men who shaped (and destroyed) the movements. Though the topic is depressing (as neo-nazis are), Macklin's writing style and inter-spliced bits of humor had me chucking throughout. I was particularly impressed by how accessible the book was to me, who has little to no background knowledge in fascism and the far-right. It was incredibly well-researched and did a great job of keeping the narrative clear. I learned a lot.
June 7, 2025
I'll try giving a detailed and "witty review", so I'll review each chapter of the book separately with a conclusion.
Chapter 1: Arnold Leese, truly a remarkable figure but one who leaves me wondering what legacy he really left in Britain, at least in the post ww2 world. His complete lack of pragmatism led him to becoming a sort of "extremist" even within the circles that favoured him. His ideas were truly more akin to the NSDAP and Der Sturmer of Streicher but I always felt Leese Lacked an ideological foundation. He never endorsed NS rather he dilly dallied into what he termed National Fascism which preoccupied itself with race and antisemitism. His famous term..."Kosher Fascism" referring to Mosley leaves the readers either with a smirk on his face or outright laughing. Overall his writings and determination (and loyalty to figures like William Joyce) represent this idealistic Fascism but way too focused on the Jewish question (making the British a "jew-wise" nation)
chapter 2: Oswald Mosley
I have to admit, I've always had a weird perception of Mosley, between curiosity and rejection. He is indeed the founder of "a popular British fascism" but also a failure of post war fascism with his dream of pan europeanism.
His labour origins do separate him from all the other figures in this book but also his aristocratic lineage makes him the wealthiest of them all. Plus, his entry into Fascism was mostly due to his rejection of his "lefty-labour alternative" and him seeing it as a more efficient government policy. I do recall he himself admitted he became a fascist due to the aesthetics (a problem fascism faces sometimes) rather than the ethics.
His time in prison curiously made him engage in philosophy and History first hand rather than his time as BUF leader (again he got close to NS Germany more from favours rather than faith) which led to the Mosley we all "don't know and hate".
His Kensington by election and leader of his pan European party estranged him from the right but gave new insights into the development of new right ideologies. It is a real shame though his sort of appeal to the nation in 1968 trying to re-emerge from the gutter and be liked by the public, in a way rejecting his own ideology to save face. I do not really agree with his lack of ideological faith near the end of his life but I do see the value in such a man and the legacy he left in Britain.
Chapter 3: A.K Chesterton
Will leave this one short mostly due to my lack of knowledge beyond what is in this book about Chesterton. An interesting journalist who became the most ardent loyalist of the British army with a peculiar skill in writing (maybe it's in his bloodline, G.K Chesterton, his cousin, was a great writer). Always on the fringe he became a figure who shocked George Orwell as he was a nationalist who actually did not support the axis war effort at all. Chesterton did indeed try and enter the mainstream of ideologies (the Tories) but soon knew they too would sell out the empire, and so, formed the LEL, League of Empire Loyalists, the most well known post ww2 group on the hard right (but not post fascist).
His vitriolic campaign against the dissolution of the British empire and his defence of the English ethnicity made him the most "outstanding" of the ww2 figures alongside his "anti money Wars ideology", a mix of antisemitism without it being too explicit. His antisemitism dwells more into the abyss of conspiracy theories rather than crude antisemitism which typically deals with real issues (bankers, Israel, lobbies, Jewish people and their character).
Overall a legacy which is still remembered today (he even founded the NF).
Chapter 4: Colin Jordan
Personally my favourite as I have a very keen interest in Jordan and his militant years in the MB.
A post war figure who became a follower of Leese rather than Mosley leading him wholeheartedly to embracing National socialism. His antics and modes made him both a fool and a militant soldier for the years to come in the media although he never gained any role of political relevance. He was indeed a man of superior intelligence and one of the first to have an academic accreditation but I believe lacked the vision within the right to compromise on topics, at least in the short run. Jordan really did create a National socialism for Britain within the cosmic views Devi and others pursued at the time leading him to his magnum opus....Merrie Old England which is really just our "native" Turner Diaries.
He was never really disgraced in British politics rather just sidelined for his orthodox national socialism.
Chapter V: John Tyndal
Having read this chapter I'll keep it sort as this lad seems to represent a figure who got caught way too early into the counter culture of NS leading him to embracing Nazism and then later semi repudiating it. His tenure as NF chairman was a successful one but also subject to internal turmoil due to his uneasy ways of dealing with recruits.
His creation of the BNP is also funny if you think about it as he was kicked out of that party as well!
Out of all post ww2 leaders, Tyndall seems to me to be the least remarkable and least enviable in his legacy.
chapter 6: Nick Griffin
Oh my oh my, the time we've been waiting for, the Man of the century...or rather the failure of the decade...
Griffin was by no means a stupid man but he sure was not a leader. His time in the NF did demonstrate his capabilities of organisation and propaganda but always lacked the teeth to keep unity inside his movements. By the time the "official NF" became a thing Griffin had drifted too far into the abyss. His ideological struggles became esoteric to the point where no recruitment was even a possibility, he made inroads with the introduction of traditionalist and revolutionary nationalist into the English Language but at the same time the public had no time for such adventures.
Griffin too reminds me of the sort of man who would drift from one side to the other in search for virtue and acceptance. His time seeking an alliance with the left all led to naught and him losing an eye (this is a joke) with the stress he endured inside the International Third position.
I mean in the 90s he became a NS again just to gain ground in the BNP and then become leader ousting Tyndal (Griffin would have the same fate) and then again renounced national socialism in favour of populist anti islamic rhetoric to then...embrace multirracial patriotism by the early 2010s (endorsing third world leaders as icons now). So...did Griffin's modernization strategy really pay out? well not really seeing it's collapse right after reaching nearly a million votes in 2009. I'd claim it was Griffin himself who destroyed his party and his constant ideological reflexions made me sort of "think about" the influence Griffin has had on me. It's a shame to see where the BNP is now but Griffin should have been less of a people's pleaser and more orthodox in his defense of white people, his own demise was due to himself.
In conclusion, I loved the book to bits, each chapter really made me read up on these figures ever so more. To understand such an overlooked subject such as British fascism and (post fascism?) made me want to read even more! especially nick Griffin and Jordan!
What really makes me want to read more is the state of National socialism today in the UK and how it can trace its lineage to many of these figures and to understand the wilderness days of the 80-90 of Fascism in the UK, a time which we have now re entered with British NS/Fascism more fractured than ever and a white ethnicity more broken than it had even been thought of. A necessary read for any stone cold nationalist and an ethnic survivalist. A time will come one hopes that this disaster and disarray could some day be fixed.
Chapter 1: Arnold Leese, truly a remarkable figure but one who leaves me wondering what legacy he really left in Britain, at least in the post ww2 world. His complete lack of pragmatism led him to becoming a sort of "extremist" even within the circles that favoured him. His ideas were truly more akin to the NSDAP and Der Sturmer of Streicher but I always felt Leese Lacked an ideological foundation. He never endorsed NS rather he dilly dallied into what he termed National Fascism which preoccupied itself with race and antisemitism. His famous term..."Kosher Fascism" referring to Mosley leaves the readers either with a smirk on his face or outright laughing. Overall his writings and determination (and loyalty to figures like William Joyce) represent this idealistic Fascism but way too focused on the Jewish question (making the British a "jew-wise" nation)
chapter 2: Oswald Mosley
I have to admit, I've always had a weird perception of Mosley, between curiosity and rejection. He is indeed the founder of "a popular British fascism" but also a failure of post war fascism with his dream of pan europeanism.
His labour origins do separate him from all the other figures in this book but also his aristocratic lineage makes him the wealthiest of them all. Plus, his entry into Fascism was mostly due to his rejection of his "lefty-labour alternative" and him seeing it as a more efficient government policy. I do recall he himself admitted he became a fascist due to the aesthetics (a problem fascism faces sometimes) rather than the ethics.
His time in prison curiously made him engage in philosophy and History first hand rather than his time as BUF leader (again he got close to NS Germany more from favours rather than faith) which led to the Mosley we all "don't know and hate".
His Kensington by election and leader of his pan European party estranged him from the right but gave new insights into the development of new right ideologies. It is a real shame though his sort of appeal to the nation in 1968 trying to re-emerge from the gutter and be liked by the public, in a way rejecting his own ideology to save face. I do not really agree with his lack of ideological faith near the end of his life but I do see the value in such a man and the legacy he left in Britain.
Chapter 3: A.K Chesterton
Will leave this one short mostly due to my lack of knowledge beyond what is in this book about Chesterton. An interesting journalist who became the most ardent loyalist of the British army with a peculiar skill in writing (maybe it's in his bloodline, G.K Chesterton, his cousin, was a great writer). Always on the fringe he became a figure who shocked George Orwell as he was a nationalist who actually did not support the axis war effort at all. Chesterton did indeed try and enter the mainstream of ideologies (the Tories) but soon knew they too would sell out the empire, and so, formed the LEL, League of Empire Loyalists, the most well known post ww2 group on the hard right (but not post fascist).
His vitriolic campaign against the dissolution of the British empire and his defence of the English ethnicity made him the most "outstanding" of the ww2 figures alongside his "anti money Wars ideology", a mix of antisemitism without it being too explicit. His antisemitism dwells more into the abyss of conspiracy theories rather than crude antisemitism which typically deals with real issues (bankers, Israel, lobbies, Jewish people and their character).
Overall a legacy which is still remembered today (he even founded the NF).
Chapter 4: Colin Jordan
Personally my favourite as I have a very keen interest in Jordan and his militant years in the MB.
A post war figure who became a follower of Leese rather than Mosley leading him wholeheartedly to embracing National socialism. His antics and modes made him both a fool and a militant soldier for the years to come in the media although he never gained any role of political relevance. He was indeed a man of superior intelligence and one of the first to have an academic accreditation but I believe lacked the vision within the right to compromise on topics, at least in the short run. Jordan really did create a National socialism for Britain within the cosmic views Devi and others pursued at the time leading him to his magnum opus....Merrie Old England which is really just our "native" Turner Diaries.
He was never really disgraced in British politics rather just sidelined for his orthodox national socialism.
Chapter V: John Tyndal
Having read this chapter I'll keep it sort as this lad seems to represent a figure who got caught way too early into the counter culture of NS leading him to embracing Nazism and then later semi repudiating it. His tenure as NF chairman was a successful one but also subject to internal turmoil due to his uneasy ways of dealing with recruits.
His creation of the BNP is also funny if you think about it as he was kicked out of that party as well!
Out of all post ww2 leaders, Tyndall seems to me to be the least remarkable and least enviable in his legacy.
chapter 6: Nick Griffin
Oh my oh my, the time we've been waiting for, the Man of the century...or rather the failure of the decade...
Griffin was by no means a stupid man but he sure was not a leader. His time in the NF did demonstrate his capabilities of organisation and propaganda but always lacked the teeth to keep unity inside his movements. By the time the "official NF" became a thing Griffin had drifted too far into the abyss. His ideological struggles became esoteric to the point where no recruitment was even a possibility, he made inroads with the introduction of traditionalist and revolutionary nationalist into the English Language but at the same time the public had no time for such adventures.
Griffin too reminds me of the sort of man who would drift from one side to the other in search for virtue and acceptance. His time seeking an alliance with the left all led to naught and him losing an eye (this is a joke) with the stress he endured inside the International Third position.
I mean in the 90s he became a NS again just to gain ground in the BNP and then become leader ousting Tyndal (Griffin would have the same fate) and then again renounced national socialism in favour of populist anti islamic rhetoric to then...embrace multirracial patriotism by the early 2010s (endorsing third world leaders as icons now). So...did Griffin's modernization strategy really pay out? well not really seeing it's collapse right after reaching nearly a million votes in 2009. I'd claim it was Griffin himself who destroyed his party and his constant ideological reflexions made me sort of "think about" the influence Griffin has had on me. It's a shame to see where the BNP is now but Griffin should have been less of a people's pleaser and more orthodox in his defense of white people, his own demise was due to himself.
In conclusion, I loved the book to bits, each chapter really made me read up on these figures ever so more. To understand such an overlooked subject such as British fascism and (post fascism?) made me want to read even more! especially nick Griffin and Jordan!
What really makes me want to read more is the state of National socialism today in the UK and how it can trace its lineage to many of these figures and to understand the wilderness days of the 80-90 of Fascism in the UK, a time which we have now re entered with British NS/Fascism more fractured than ever and a white ethnicity more broken than it had even been thought of. A necessary read for any stone cold nationalist and an ethnic survivalist. A time will come one hopes that this disaster and disarray could some day be fixed.
May 24, 2021
This is not a "cover to cover" book, it is an academic and scholarly study into the men who act as stepping-stones in the history of Britain and global fascist politics. In all cases, the studies prove to be tragi-comic, with each man convinced of his importance only to come up against the realities of electoral politics in the UK. It is interesting to see how, in each case, the timeline follows largely the same moments: early appeal, financial problems, disillusion, and ultimate demise.
I'm not a student of this area of politics which is why I found reading it 'cover to cover' hard going at times. It's something for the academic to explore, not the casual reader to complete. Interesting and often comedic, in some ways, look into the constant attempts to introduce fascist politics in the UK with the same results, going back to the Second World War onwards.
I'm not a student of this area of politics which is why I found reading it 'cover to cover' hard going at times. It's something for the academic to explore, not the casual reader to complete. Interesting and often comedic, in some ways, look into the constant attempts to introduce fascist politics in the UK with the same results, going back to the Second World War onwards.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews