The Fascist Tradition, 1967–1977

Abstract

Using declassified Security Service records, internal party publications and interviews, Shaffer explores how the roots of post-war British fascism actually predate the end of the Second World War. After decades of marginality Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of Blood” speech breathed new life into post-war fascism just one year after the NF was formed. Believing that Powell’s speech drew attention to their calls for repatriation, the radicals actively engaged in media outreach and street demonstrations. By 1974, the NF turned to recruiting white workers on the belief that immigrants were taking jobs and the party could seize worker support, but these efforts proved largely unsuccessful.