.
(1 Jan 1931) Champion of new young "Socialism" enlarged on his manifesto. Editior's note: "Whatever view is held on Sir Oswald Mosley's political faith, a few will deny an interest in the personality of the most prominent of our youngest statesmen. His independence of thought, his vigour and vitality have earned respect in every section of political opinion."
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician who rose to fame in the 1920s as a
Member of Parliament and later in the 1930s, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he became the leader of the
British Union of Fascists (BUF). Mosley had not been knighted, but he was the
sixth baronet, with a title that had been in his family for more than a century at his father's death on 21 September 1928.
After military service during the
First World War, Mosley was one of the youngest Members of Parliament, representing
Harrow from
1918 to
1924, first as a
Conservative, then an
independent, before joining the
Labour Party. At the
1924 General Election he stood in
Birmingham Ladywood against future Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain, coming within 100 votes of beating him.
Mosley returned to Parliament as Labour MP for
Smethwick at a by-election in 1926 and served as
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the
Labour Government of 1929–31. He was considered a potential Labour Prime Minister but resigned due to discord with the Government's unemployment policies. He chose not to defend his Smethwick constituency at the
1931 general election, instead unsuccessfully standing in
Stoke-on-Trent. Mosley's
New Party became the
British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932.
Unbeknownst to Mosley, the
British Security Service and
Special Branch had deeply penetrated the BUF and were also monitoring him through
listening devices. Beginning in 1934, they were increasingly worried that Mosley's noted oratory skills would convince the public to provide financial support to the BUF, enabling it to challenge the political establishment. His agitation was officially tolerated until the events of the
Battle of France in
May 1940 made the government consider him too dangerous. Mosley, who at that time was focused on
pleading for the British to accept Hitler's peace offer of March, was
detained on 23 May 1940, less than a fortnight after
Winston Churchill became Prime Minister. Mosley was interrogated for 16 hours by
Lord Birkett but never formally charged with a crime, and was instead
interned under
Defence Regulation 18B. The same fate met the
other most active fascists in Britain, resulting in the BUF's practical removal at an organized level from the United Kingdom's political stage. Mosley's wife, Diana, was also interned in June, shortly after the birth of their son (
Max Mosley); the Mosleys lived together for most of the war in a
house in the grounds of Holloway prison. The
BUF was proscribed by the British Government later that year.
Mosley was imprisoned in May 1940, and the
BUF was banned. He was released in 1943 and,
politically disgraced by his association with fascism, moved abroad in 1951; he spent the majority of the remainder of his life in
Paris. He stood for Parliament during the post-war era but received very little support. In 2005, historians for the
BBC History magazine chose Mosley as the '
Worst' historical Briton of the twentieth century.
The
British Union of Fascists, or
BUF, was a Fascist political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. It changed its name to the "British Union of Fascists and National Socialists" in 1936 and, in 1937, to "British Union." It was finally disbanded in 1940 after it was proscribed by the British government, following the start of the Second World War.
The BUF emerged in 1932 from the British far-right, following the electoral defeat of its antecedent, the New Party, in the 1931 general election. The BUF's foundation was initially met with popular support and developed a sizeable following. The press baron Lord Rothermere was a notable early supporter. As the party became increasingly radical, however, support declined. The Olympia Rally of 1934, in which a number of anti-Fascist protestors were attacked, isolated the party from much of its following. The party's embrace of Nazi-style anti-semitism in 1936 led to increasingly violent clashes with opponents, notably the
1936 Battle of Cable Street in London's East End. The
Public Order Act 1936, which banned political uniforms and responded to increasing political violence, had a particularly strong effect on the BUF whose supporters were known as "Blackshirts" after the uniforms they wore.
Growing British hostility towards Nazi Germany, with which the British press persistently associated the BUF, further contributed to the
decline of the movement's membership. It was finally banned by the British government in 1940 after the start of the Second World War, amid suspicion that its remaining supporters might form a pro-Nazi "fifth column". A number of
prominent BUF members were arrested and interned under Defence Regulation 18B:
Unbeknownst to Mosley, the
British Security Service and
Special Branch had deeply penetrated the BUF and were also monitoring him through
listening devices. Beginning in 1934, they were increasingly worried that Mosley's noted oratory skills would convince the public to provide financial support to the BUF, enabling it to challenge the political establishment. His agitation was officially tolerated until the events of the
Battle of France in
May 1940 made the government consider him too dangerous. Mosley, who at that time was focused on
pleading for the British to accept Hitler's peace offer of March, was
detained on 23 May 1940, less than a fortnight after
Winston Churchill became Prime Minister. Mosley was interrogated for 16 hours by
Lord Birkett but never formally charged with a crime, and was instead
interned under
Defence Regulation 18B. The same fate met the
other most active fascists in Britain, resulting in the BUF's practical removal at an organized level from the United Kingdom's political stage. Mosley's wife, Diana, was also interned in June, shortly after the birth of their son (
Max Mosley); the Mosleys lived together for most of the war in a
house in the grounds of Holloway prison. The
BUF was proscribed by the British Government later that year.
Mosley was imprisoned in May 1940, and the
BUF was banned. He was released in 1943 and,
politically disgraced by his association with fascism, moved abroad in 1951; he spent the majority of the remainder of his life in
Paris. He stood for Parliament during the post-war era but received very little support. In 2005, historians for the
BBC History magazine chose Mosley as the '
Worst' historical Briton of the twentieth century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Union_of_Fascists .
