Liberty Great Britain or Liberty GB was a minor far-right British nationalist

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

founded and led by

Paul Weston Paul Weston (born Paul Wetstein; March 12, 1912 – September 20, 1996) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor who worked in music and television from the 1930s to the 1970s, pioneering mood music and becoming known as "the ...

that described itself as "

counter-jihad Counter-jihad, also spelled counterjihad and known as the counter-jihad movement, is a self-titled political current loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, street movements and campaign organisations all linked by apocalyptic bel ...

". Liberty GB was

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 ...

, anti-Islamic and traditionalist. The group's ''Facebook'' page described it as "patriotic counter-jihad party for Christian civilisation, Western rights and freedoms, British culture, animal welfare and capitalism".

History

Foundation by Paul Weston

Paul Weston, the founder, was a former member of the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

(UKIP) and was that party's candidate in Cities of London and Westminster at the 2010 general election. He left UKIP over what he described as its failure to address issues related to Islam in Britain, and took over the

British Freedom Party The British Freedom Party (BFP) was a short-lived far-right political party in the United Kingdom. The party was registered on 18 October 2010. It was de-registered by the Electoral Commission in December 2012 after failing to return the annua ...

(BFP) from Peter Mullins. That party formed an alliance with the far-right

English Defence League The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom. A social movement and pressure group that employs street demonstrations as its main tactic, the EDL presents itself as a single-issue movement ...

. Weston left the BFP in 2013. He has predicted that within 20 years there will be a war in Britain between the white working class and immigrants. He is married to a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

and claims to have been a

deep sea diver Deep Sea Diver is a pop rock band based in Seattle, Washington. The band consists of Jessica Dobson (vocals, guitar, keys), Peter Mansen (drums), Elliot Jackson (guitar, synthesizer) and Garrett Gue (bass). Biography In 2009, Dobson recorded and ...

, a pilot in Africa and a property developer in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It was registered with the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

by Weston and George Whale on 5 March 2013.

2014 European election

Liberty GB stood three candidates in the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...

in the South East England constituency: Weston, Enza Ferreri (Liberty GB's media officer) and Jack Buckby (Liberty GB's outreach officer). Buckby founded the "National Culturists" while at university in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in 2012. Its three candidates received 2,414 votes (0.11%), placing it 14th of the 15 parties contesting the election.

2014 Paul Weston arrest

On 26 April 2014, Weston was arrested while addressing passers-by outside

Winchester Guildhall Winchester Guildhall is a municipal building in the High Street, Winchester, Hampshire. It is a Grade II listed building. History The site was previously occupied by St Mary's Abbey and came under crown control on the dissolution of the monas ...

. A member of the public complained to police and he was detained after failing to move on under a dispersal order. He was further arrested on suspicion of religious or racial harassment. Weston's speech quoted from

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

's 1899 book, ''

The River War ''The River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan'' (1899), by Winston Churchill. It is a history of the conquest of the Sudan between 1896 and 1899 by Anglo-Egyptian forces led by Lord Kitchener. He defeated the Sudanese ...

'', about Churchill's experiences as a British army officer in Sudan; the passage quoted was critical of Islam. Weston is a former UKIP candidate who left that party over what he described as its failure to address issues related to Islam in Britain, and then joined the British Freedom Party.

2014 Tim Burton radio host trial

Tim Burton, a radio presenter who was a member of Liberty GB, was acquitted of charges of racially aggravated harassment on 4 May 2014 at Birmingham magistrates' court. He had tweeted comments about Fiyaz Mughal OBE, a Muslim campaigner of Tell MAMA UK.

2016 Batley and Spen by-election

Following the killing of the incumbent Labour MP Jo Cox, Liberty GB contested the Batley and Spen by-election (the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and UKIP declined to contest it). The party's candidate was Jack Buckby, who was a member of the youth division 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) under

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 ...

before leaving the party. He says he left because he believed that the BNP was too racist. Buckby polled just over 1% of the vote; he lost his deposit, as did all the candidates except the winner, the Labour candidate

Tracy Brabin Tracy Lynn Brabin (born 9 May 1961) is a British politician who has served as the first Mayor of West Yorkshire since the office was established on 10 May 2021. She previously was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from 2016 to 20 ...

Dissolution by Paul Weston

Paul Weston dissolved the party in November 2017, choosing instead to back

Anne Marie Waters Anne Marie Dorothy Waters (born 24 August 1977) is a far-right politician and activist in the United Kingdom. She founded and led the anti-Islam party For Britain until its dissolution in 2022. She is also the director of Sharia Watch UK, an or ...

' new party, For Britain.

Electoral performance

General election, 7 May 2015

The party contested three constituencies, obtaining a total of 418 votes.

2016 Batley and Spen by-election

References

External links

* {{Authority control Counter-jihad 2013 establishments in England Political parties established in 2013 Far-right political parties in the United Kingdom Nationalist parties in the United Kingdom Eurosceptic parties in the United Kingdom UK Independence Party breakaway groups Anti-Islam sentiment in the United Kingdom Political parties disestablished in 2017 2017 disestablishments in the United Kingdom

History

Foundation by Paul Weston

2014 European election

2014 Paul Weston arrest

2014 Tim Burton radio host trial

2016 Batley and Spen by-election

Dissolution by Paul Weston

Electoral performance

General election, 7 May 2015

2016 Batley and Spen by-election

See also

References

External links