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Liberty Great Britain
ChairmanPaul Weston
FoundedMarch 2013
DissolvedNovember 2017[1]
Merged intoFor Britain
HeadquartersRegent Street,London
Ideology
Political positionFar-right[2][3]
Website
libertygb.org.uk(Archive)

Liberty Great BritainorLiberty GBwas a minorfar-right[4]British nationalistpolitical partyfounded and led byPaul Westonthat described itself as "counter-jihad".[5]

Liberty GB wasanti-immigration,anti-Islamicand traditionalist.[6]The group'sFacebookpage described it as "patriotic counter-jihad party for Christian civilisation, Western rights and freedoms, British culture, animal welfare and capitalism".

History[edit]

Foundation by Paul Weston[edit]

Paul Weston, the founder, was a former member of theUK Independence Party(UKIP) and was that party's candidate inCities of London and Westminsterat the 2010 general election.[7]He left UKIP over what he described as its failure to address issues related toIslam in Britain,and took over theBritish Freedom Party(BFP) from Peter Mullins. That party formed an alliance with the far-rightEnglish Defence League.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 aRomanianand claims to have been adeep sea diver,a pilot in Africa and a property developer in theCzech Republic.[8]

It was registered with theElectoral Commissionby Weston and George Whale on 5 March 2013.[9]

2014 European election[edit]

Liberty GB stood three candidates in the2014 European Parliament electionin theSouth East England constituency:Weston, Enza Ferreri (Liberty GB's media officer) andJack Buckby(Liberty GB's outreach officer).[10]Buckby founded the "National Culturists" while at university inLiverpoolin 2012.[11]Its three candidates received 2,414 votes (0.11%), placing it 14th of the 15 parties contesting the election.[12]

2014 Paul Weston arrest[edit]

On 26 April 2014, Weston was arrested while addressing passers-by outsideWinchester Guildhall.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.[8][13]Weston's speech quoted fromWinston Churchill's 1899 book,The River War,about Churchill's experiences as a British army officer inSudan;the passage quoted was critical ofIslam.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.[8]

2014 Tim Burton radio host trial[edit]

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 MughalOBE,a Muslim campaigner ofTell MAMA UK.[3]

2016 Batley and Spen by-election[edit]

Following thekilling of the incumbentLabour MPJo Cox,Liberty GB contested theBatley and Spenby-election (theConservative Party,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 theBritish National Party(BNP) underNick Griffinbefore leaving the party. He says he left because he believed that the BNP was too racist.[14]Buckby polled just over 1% of the vote; he lost his deposit, as did all the candidates except the winner, the Labour candidateTracy Brabin.

Dissolution by Paul Weston[edit]

Paul Weston dissolved the party in November 2017, choosing instead to backAnne Marie Waters' new party,For Britain.[15]

Electoral performance[edit]

General election, 7 May 2015[edit]

Main article:2015 United Kingdom general election

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

Constituency Candidate Votes %
Birmingham Ladywood Timothy Burton 216 0.6[16]
Lewisham West and Penge George Whale 44 0.1[17]
Luton South Paul Weston 158 0.4[18]

2016 Batley and Spen by-election[edit]

Main article:2016 Batley and Spen by-election
Constituency Candidate Votes %
Batley and Spen Jack Buckby 220 1.1[19]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"The closure of Liberty GB".Liberty GB. 27 November 2017. Archived fromthe originalon 11 December 2018.Retrieved15 October2018.
  2. ^"Liberty GB – An Insight into the 'Group'".TellMAMA.14 January 2014.
    -Micklethwaite, Jamie (27 April 2015)."Sydenham and Forest Hill hustings cancelled after candidates allegedly refuse to appear at event with Liberty GB member George Whale".News Shopper.
    -Dearden, Lizzie (5 February 2016)."Former Ukip candidate and Pegida UK leader says 'Muslims should not hold political power' and claims Syrian refugees do not exist".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-14.
    -Commons, Jess (5 October 2015)."Why You Need To Watch The Documentary Exploring If Britain Actually Is Racist".The Debrief.Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2016.Retrieved21 February2016.
  3. ^abMike Lockley (4 May 2014)."Radio host cleared over 'scumbag' tweet jibe to Musilm [sic] campaigner ".Birmingham Mail.
  4. ^Siobhan Fenton."Jo Cox: Former BNP politician Jack Buckby to contest by-election for murdered MP's Batley and Spen seat".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-14.Retrieved19 June2016.
  5. ^Lee, Benjamin (4 September 2015)."A Day in the" Swamp ": Understanding Discourse in the Online Counter-Jihad Nebula"(PDF).Democracy and Security.11(3): 248–274.doi:10.1080/17419166.2015.1067612.S2CID62841363.Open source version
  6. ^Sonia Gable (12 March 2013)."Liberty it isn't".Searchlight.Archived fromthe originalon 3 May 2014.
  7. ^Kevin Rawlinson (25 November 2011)."English Defence League prepares to storm local elections".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-14.Retrieved13 December2011.
  8. ^abcMartin Evans (28 April 2014)."Election candidate arrested over Churchill speech".The Daily Telegraph.
  9. ^"Liberty GB registration record".Electoral Commission.
  10. ^"South East Euro Candidates 2014".UK Polling Report.Archived fromthe originalon 2014-06-30.Retrieved2014-05-08.
  11. ^Matthew Francey (20 February 2013)."Jack Buckby is proud to be Britain's next Nick Griffin".Vice.
  12. ^"Vote 2014 – South East".BBC News.26 May 2014.
  13. ^"Euro candidate Paul Weston arrested over Islam remarks".BBC News.28 April 2014.
  14. ^Cowburn, Ashley (20 June 2016)."Jo Cox: Liberty GB Move to Contest Labour MP's Former Seat Branded 'Obscene' and 'Contemptible'".independent.co.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-14.Retrieved21 June2016.
  15. ^"An Important Announcement from Paul Weston Concerning the Future of Liberty GB".Liberty GB. Archived fromthe originalon 4 December 2017.Retrieved3 December2017.
  16. ^"ELECTION 2015 Birmingham Ladywood".BBC News.Retrieved22 October2016.
  17. ^"ELECTION 2015 Lewisham West & Penge".BBC News.Retrieved22 October2016.
  18. ^"ELECTION 2015 Luton South".BBC News.Retrieved22 October2016.
  19. ^Samantha Gildea (21 October 2016)."Batley and Spen by-election: Labour's Tracy Brabin elected as new MP".Huddersfield Examiner.Archived fromthe originalon 21 October 2016.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liberty_GB&oldid=1151414813"