ABSTRACT
The focus in the earlier chapters on the local objective determinants of recruitment, and in the previous chapter on social-class and occupational stratification, is important in extending our understanding of the BUF in east London and south-west Essex. These structural and sociological approaches, however, do not provide a comprehensive picture. They do not help us to connect up with the more opaque and subjective question of individual motivation and personal experience. The remaining chapters will address these matters. The focus will be on the ideological and psychological predisposition of local 'joiners', in particular the multifarious reasons why they aligned themselves with Mosley, as well as the issues that aroused them during their period as followers, including those concerning internal matters within the BUF itself. By focusing on local Mosleyites' preeminent preoccupations and anxieties, we are able to gain an insight into the nature of the fascist consciousness and imagination. A mapping of ideologies and mentalities in this manner will also serve to interpolate local Mosleyites within a wider context, ensuring that we do not lose sight of the fact that they were members of a wider national and international universe beyond the realm of the purely local.
