ABSTRACT
For during 1935 the British Union of Fascists (BUF) introduced a tripartite division of members which necessitates educated guesses at the number of passive members in the movement, and from 1937 they kept records only of 'Division 1' members at their headquarters and so prevented even the Special Branch from determining accurately the strength of the passive membership. In general, then, the BUF was effectively inactive in all areas north of Yorkshire, in Wales, and in the West Country, whilst it was strongest in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and in an area to the east of a line drawn from the Wash to Weymouth. In Yorkshire and Lancashire support for the BUF had dwindled to a shadow of its former glory and had been concentrated almost exclusively in Leeds, Hull, and Manchester. In London support was becoming concentrated in the East End, particularly in Stepney and Shore-ditch.
