British Democratic Party (2013)

British Democrats
British Democratic Party
Welsh namePlaid Democrataidd Prydeinig[1]
Abbreviation
ChairmanJames Lewthwaite[2]
Founded9 February 2013; 11 years ago (9 February 2013)
Split fromBritish National Party
HeadquartersLoughborough, Leicestershire, England
Ideology
Political positionFar-right
Colours
  • British national colours:
  •   Red,   white   and blue
Website
britishdems.co.uk

The British Democratic Party (BDP), commonly known as the British Democrats, is a British far-right[5] political party. It was registered with the Electoral Commission in 2011,[1] and officially launched in 2013 at a Leicestershire village hall by a ten-member steering committee which included former members of several political parties including the British National Party (BNP), Democratic Nationalists, Freedom Party and UK Independence Party (UKIP).[5]

The party's inaugural president was Andrew Brons, then a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).[5] Brons had been a member of the BNP and a leading member of the far-right and fascist National Front (NF). Its current chairman is Dr James Lewthwaite. The steering committee included a number of others with a history of membership in fascist and neo-Nazi groups,[6] who believed that the BNP had been corrupted and watered-down.[5]

  1. ^ a b c "British Democratic Party registration summary". The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  2. ^ "National Executive Council". British Democratic Party. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Townsend, 2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mortimer, 2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c d Collins, Matthew (8 February 2013). "Neo-Nazi former BNP members launch new far-right party". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  6. ^ Ray Mount (1 March 2013). "British Democratic Party launches and promises it will belong to its members". Searchlight. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013.