Conclusions

Writing about the National Front (NF) during its heyday in the 1970s, the academic Christopher Husbands warned against an interpretation of the extreme right that subscribed to Richard Hofstadter’s epigram about minor parties in America: ‘Third parties are like bees: once they have stung, they die.’ Instead, and after examining support for the NF among working-class communities, Husbands found it difficult to escape the conclusion that a successor party which steered clear of its political ineptitude could attract much higher levels of support. ¹ Two decades after his prediction, the main offspring of the NF – the British National Party – began polling striking levels of support. While it has not matched the success of similar parties in other European democracies, the BNP has become the most successful extreme right party in British history. Since 2001, its support in general elections increased 12-fold; support in local elections jumped by a factor of 100; and membership grew more than seven-fold. While its rise has been steady rather than spectacular, the party has achieved what none of its predecessors could: a foothold in public office.