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English Democrats
Campaigning for a devolved parliament for England, much
like that which Wales already has, the English Democrats
has seen quite a few ex-BNP members joining its ranks.
The party also took in Dr Julia Gasper after her comments
‘forced’ her to resign from UKIP. Since joining the party,
she has continued to publish reams of homophobic material
on her blog and when she recently stated there were ‘too
many gay MPs’ and social app Grindr should be banned,
the English Democratic Party stood by her comments and
supported her.
But even before Dr Gasper’s rant, the party had been outspoken on the issue of gay rights.
The party’s biggest success was the election of Peter Davies as Mayor of Doncaster. One of his
more controversial moments in office was when he tried to stop the council’s funding for the
local gay pride event. In the end, pressure meant he withdrew the request.
If there is ever any doubt whether the English Democrats are anti-gay or not, a quick look
at the policies section of their website will clear up any doubt. On the subject of families, it
clearly states “The English Democrats favour the promotion of marital families, consisting of
mother, father and children, as the preferred building block of our society.”
Britain First
Launched in May 2011, Britain First was created by ex-BNP member
Jim Dowson after he fell out with leader Nick Griffin. The party also
has also come under the name National People’s Party and there is
also a Northern Ireland off-shoot called the Protestant Coalition. As
you might expect from an ex-BNP member, the party is far-right and
campaigns to protect ‘British and Christian morality’.
The group caused controversy when it launched a series of ‘Christian
Patrols’ in the largely Muslim area of Tower Hamlets. Undercover
videos showed the group pouring beer at the door of mosques as a provocation. This year, it
used the death of Lee Rigby to promote the party in the European elections with the phrase
‘Remember Lee Rigby’.
But it is not just Islam and immigrants in the sights of Britain First. Same sex marriage has
also been lambasted and one article on the group’s website claimed there was a ‘cross party
conspiracy to ram gay marriage into law without the consent of the British people’. The
article went on to describe same-sex marriage as ‘wickedness’. Other articles claim LGBTs
choose their lifestyle and describes homosexuality as The Pink Plague.
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