Derek Holland is a figure on the

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an far-right noted for his

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Integralism In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism (french: intégrisme) is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues for an authoritarian and anti- pluralist Catholic state, wherever the preponderance of Catholics within t ...

. Holland was brought up in Huntingdon and was already trying to recruit new members to the National Front while a student at Cambridgeshire College of Art and Technology. He then went to

Leicester Polytechnic De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was ta ...

to study history and to bolster support for the already-established Young National Front Student Organisation. In the May 1979 general election, he contested

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

for the NF, receiving 311 votes (0.6%). After his studies Holland became closely associated with the Political Soldier wing of the party. One of the party's main writers in a time when their ideology was shifting, he contributed regularly not only to the party journal ''Nationalism Today'', but was also co-editor of ''Rising'', a radical nationalist journal that was independent of the NF and drew heavily from

Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian philosopher, poet, painter, esotericist, and radical-right ideologue. Evola regarded his values as aristocratic, masculine, traditionalist, heroic, and defiant ...

and

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (; born Corneliu Codreanu, according to his birth certificate; 13 September 1899 – 30 November 1938) was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or ''The Legion o ...

. Holland became one of the leading lights on the Political Soldier wing of the party when his pamphlet ''The Political Soldier'' was published in 1984. Along with

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 ...

and Patrick Harrington he became effective joint leader of the

Official National Front The Official National Front (ONF) was one of two far-right groups to emerge in the United Kingdom in 1986 following a split within the National Front. Following ideological paths that were mostly new to the British far-right, the ONF stood oppos ...

following the resignation of

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 ...

from overall leadership in 1984. In 1988 the three travelled to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

on a fund-raising trip as an official representatives of the NF, although in the end they were given only copies of '' The Green Book''. In 1989, Holland broke with Patrick Harrington and joined Michael Fishwick in following

and

Roberto Fiore Roberto Fiore (born 15 April 1959) is an Italian politician and the leader of the party Forza Nuova, convicted in Italy for subversion and armed gang for his links to the right wing terrorism organization "Terza posizione". He self-identifies ...

into the

International Third Position International Third Position (ITP) was a neo-fascist organisation formed by the breakaway faction of the British National Front, led by Roberto Fiore, an ex-member of the Italian far-right movement Third Position. Development Though a key formul ...

(ITP) after Harrington had contacted ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' with regards to opening dialogue.Copsey, op cit Holland injected his sympathies for anti-Zionist groups, as part of his nationalist philosophy, into the ITP. He supported the ideas of Muammar Gaddafi and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had previously featured on a cover of ''National Front News''. Holland's last public appearance was at a

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nationalist convention in 2002, during this time Holland lived in the

Irish Midlands The Midland Region (coded IE063) is a NUTS Level III statistical region of Ireland. It consists of the territory of the counties of Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Longford. The Midland Region spans 6,524 km2, 9.5% of the total area of the st ...

. Since that time the ITP appears to have gravitated towards the

European National Front European National Front (ENF) was a coordinating structure of European ultranationalist parties. There had been one elected MEP from ENF in the past. He was the leader of the Italian New Force, Roberto Fiore. Three parties of the European Nati ...

, and Holland has retired from active involvement in politics. Holland has received considerable treatment in works on

extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied share ...

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

, including ''

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

: A History'' by Roger Eatwell (1997) and ''Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity'' by

Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (15 January 195329 August 2012) was a British historian and professor of Western esotericism at the University of Exeter, best known for his authorship of several scholarly books on the history of Germany between the W ...

(2002). Holland’s writings on the Political Soldier are also featured in ''Fascism: A Reader'' published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(1995).

Elections contested

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Derek Living people National Front (UK) politicians English neo-Nazis English people of Irish descent Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of De Montfort University English far-right politicians Third Position Christian fascists Catholicism and far-right politics