Organization, Ideological Appeals and Membership

The English as a nation have been characterized as deeply committed to democracy, favouring moderation in the pursuit of political goals, and tolerant of difference and dissent.1 While recent research2 has suggested that this image may have been somewhat overdrawn, particularly as it applied to the 1970s,3 this did not imply that the English had become sympathetic to the appeals of Fascism. The vast majority of Englishmen, including many of those who voted for, or even joined, the NF, retained a strong belief in the norms and values of liberal democracy. The fact that the NF was operating in an environment where there was a poor ‘fit’ between its Fascist ideology and the beliefs of the population at large, posed a problem to its leaders. How could they on the one hand maintain doctrinal purity, while on the other attract and maintain support for the party? The organization of the NF, the structuring of its ideological appeals, and its attempts to ‘re-socialize’ new members into supporting Fascism and ‘immunize’ them against possible ‘recontamination’, reflect in greater or lesser measure the ways in which the NF’s leadership tried to reconcile these conflicting interests.