Interesting decline in Right Wing Groups in UK – are people simply sick of it all?

The recent “Hope Not Hate” report intimates a general fall in the influence of The EDL, BNP and similar parties appropriated to  “internal splits” and features on the growth of UKIP. Nick Griffin  was “thrown out” of the British National party late in 2014. According to statistics, right wing groups (essentially far right ones) are at a low ebb, defying the recent scandals involving the Rotherham “grooming” expose and the apparent rise of “Islamic terrorism” in the UK.  The statisticians say this is due to fighting within right-wing factions and the increasing support of UKIP.  Hope Not Hate’s annual report has spent ten years looking into these groups  and likes to underline that UKIP is not exactly far-right yet it has “steamrollered through their previous heartlands and stolen their voters”. Former BNP members are regarded as feeling “at home” in the UKIP stable – this from Nick Lowles and Matthew Collins who made the report from Hope Not Hate. The referred-to report notes  that despite the general decline, some  very young people are being “drawn to extremist views, raising the risk of a “lone-wolf” attack.” It also warns that antisemitic  behaviour is worryingly profuse, and influences like the Israeli military campaign in Gaza activates this. The report follows the stories of 24 groups, from the recognisable BNP, EDL and English Democrats to relatively unknown  “fringe”  contingents like the South East Alliance, thought to have 10 members, together with the Nazi-sympathising Racial Volunteer Force,  documented as having 25 members. The publication  – put together months before  last week’s  terrorism in Paris leaving 17 dead, still  argues that the increasing power of Islamic State, and expositions around the grooming and abuse of an estimated 1,400 girls alledgedly involving mainly Asian men in Rotherham, would have probably  have been a feather in the cap  to far-right parties, yet not necessarily so in terms of any documented increased support. In their literature, they observe : “And yet, despite these “favourable” circumstances, none was able to capitalise. They all had their demonstrations but they were relatively poorly attended and were overshadowed by violence as the various groups fought out their personal and political differences.” The main group to be depleted is the BNP.  Though it recently boasted 58 councillors and two MEPs, new figures imply it is now reduced to two and none.  Griffin has been expelled from the party. The report says, the BNP is “in a deep hole and unlikely to get out of it anytime soon.” A few years ago, the EDL, organised, much publicised protests against what it termed “Islamisation”, but  now it is fragmented, says  the report , with membership numbering  a slight 200 to 400. If the group’s charismatic former leader, Stephen Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, returns to dominating the party, the report hazards this may change things. At the end of 2013 Lennon/Robinson took a back seat in the party finding the group too right wing.  The report says Lowles observed he could however return to the group: “He is the one person currently around who could transform the fortunes of Britain’s far-right and anti-Islam groups. We are aware that many people are actively encouraging him to return and we feel there is a real possibility that he will.”  That statement could be re-interpreted that he is a risk to any group which does not support his views – ie the majority. National Action are identified in the report  itemising young people drawn to this Nazi sympathising group.  One NA sympathiser – Garron Helm (21) was put in prison for anti-semitic tweeting to Luciana Berger – Labour MP. Antisemitism is addressed in the report as a growing worry.  302 antisemitic episodes happened in one month last year, reported by the Community Security Trust – more than ever before in the Trust’s 30 years of documentation. Said Lowles : “Our report reveals that, despite otherwise favourable conditions, far-right hate networks are really struggling at the moment. For that we should all be thankful, though of course we must not rest on our laurels. As we have seen with events in France in recent days, the situation can change very fast. “The rise of Ukip, as well as Nick Griffin’s own narcissistic downwards spiral, has certainly put paid to any hope the BNP had of electoral success. We must continue to scrutinise whether UKIP can truly distance itself from the ugly racism of Griffin’s former party.” Please post your comments on this article on our site and we will read them with interest.  The Saturn Herald.  Please note – we will keep you updated with reports on all groups which feature in the news regularly. Nigel Farage is the  “front man” of UKIP.  Twice married and formerly in finance, he has two sons and two daughters and is regularly featuring in the national and local news as representing a growing movement which is challenging the election issues of later this year, and dividing votes.