The Freedom Party was a political party in the United Kingdom, active between 2000 and 2006.

History

The party was founded in December 2000 by former members of the

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...

(BNP), dubbed "ultra-Tories" by BNP leader

Nick Griffin Nicholas John Griffin (born 1 March 1959) is a British politician and white supremacist who represented North West England as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 to 2014. He served as chairman and then president of the far-righ ...

, who were disaffected with the party's refusal to moderate its position on race. They were expelled following a feud with the BNP leadership and allegations of financial irregularities and misconduct. Most prominent were two party activists in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, husband and wife Steve Edwards (who became Freedom Party agent) and Sharron Edwards (formerly deputy chairman of the BNP and then deputy chairman of the Freedom Party). Adrian Davies was Party Chairman and Michael Newland was the treasurer. Most of the leadership were prominent in the Bloomsbury Forum, a right-wing discussion group. The party was primarily

anti-immigration Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...

, although it claimed to place more of an emphasis on culture rather than race. It was more mainstream on issues such as race than the British National Party, with which it had a stormy relationship. The party aimed to appeal to 'reasonable people'. It believed in a

Keynesian Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output and ...

approach to the economy, and was also

protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

. In 2004 the Freedom Party was involved in founding the English Lobby, a pressure group and electoral coalition which campaigns for the recognition of

St George's Day Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Cáceres, Alcoy, Aragon and Catalonia. Sa ...

and the creation of an

English Parliament The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

. The Freedom Party has since withdrawn from the Lobby. The Freedom Party first stood in 2001 for

Staffordshire County Council Staffordshire County Council is the top-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshir ...

in Wombourne South West. In May 2003, Sharron Edwards was elected in that ward with 640 votes (40.54%), holding her seat until 2007. The party's only candidate in the 2005 general election was Adrian Davies, who contested

South Staffordshire South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of the West Midlands county, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south. It contains notable settlements ...

. The death of a candidate led to the election there being postponed from May 5 to June 23. The Freedom Party polled 473 votes (1.7%). The party was dissolved in 2006. In 2013 Davies wrote the party constitution and registered the party name of the

British Democratic Party The British Democratic Party (BDP) was a short-lived far-right political party in the United Kingdom. A breakaway group from the National Front, the BDP was severely damaged after it became involved in a gun-running sting and was absorbed by the ...

, founded by then- MEP

Andrew Brons Andrew Henry William Brons (born 3 June 1947) is a British politician and former MEP. Long active in far-right politics in Britain, he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber for the British National ...

following his narrow defeat to Nick Griffin in the

2011 British National Party leadership election The British National Party (BNP) leadership election of 2011 was triggered on 28 June 2011 when the party adopted a new constitution that required a leadership election to take place every four years. Two candidates stood in the leadership electio ...

References

{{Reflist Political parties established in 2000 Defunct political parties in England 2000 establishments in the United Kingdom Political parties disestablished in 2006 2006 disestablishments in the United Kingdom