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The For Britain party which broke away from UKIP after Anne Marie Waters was defeated in the leadership election is preparing for a move onto the European scene. In UK terms it remains a small fringe party which has participated in events with the Democratic Football Lads Alliance and Tommy Robinson.
However Anne Marie Waters has journeyed to Brussels to a meeting of the Movement For A Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENL) organised for her by Janice Atkinson a former MEP for UKIP who now sits as an independent in the European Parliament. Atkinson was expelled by UKIP for "bringing the party into disrepute" after an expenses scandal.
The MENL brings together far-right organisations such as the Freedom Party of Austria founded by a former SS Officer and National Rally formerly know as the National Front led by Marie Le Pen in France. Other smaller groups include: Vaalams Belang (Belgium) New Right (Greece) and Lega Nord (Italy).
Their website (www.menleuropa.eu) states they stand for:
Respect of the principle of Democracy:
The movement and the individual members of the political movement base their political project in conformity with the democratic principles and the charter of fundamental rights and therefore reject any past or present affiliation, connection or sympathy to any authoritarian or totalitarian project.
MENF is convinced that the sovereignty of states and peoples, relying on the cooperation between nations, and therefore reject any policy designed to create a supra-state or supra-national model. The opposition to any transfer of national sovereignty to supranational bodies and/or European institutions is one of the fundamental principles uniting members of the MENF.
The parties and individual MEPs of the MENF base their political alliance on the preservation of the identity of the peoples and nations of Europe, in accordance with the specific characteristics of each people. The right to control and regulate immigration is thus a fundamental principle shared by the members of the MENF.
The populist agenda is quite clear and much of what they say they stand for sounds highly plausible to much of the electorate after years of seemingly corrupt politicians on an EU gravy train (listening Mrs Atkinson?) and high immigration. The latter being a concern never properly addressed by the left in particular let alone the establishment.
The mass immigration of "Muslims" from the Middle East coming to something like a million newcomers was a shock to German society which resulted in the growth of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) rocketing in both the polls and elections.
The Afd currently have 92 MP's in the 709 seat Bundestag. They however belong to a rival right wing federation, the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) which ironically also contains UKIP which makes Nigel Farage's complaints about Tommy Robinson fade into obscurity in this far-right group.
Of course For Britain have no MP's and only one local councillor as far as I am aware but obviously hope that their membership of the MENL will give it some international standing and improve their profile in the UK.
Sadly their leader Anne Marie Waters used to be in the Labour Party but left after being persecuted by the far-left, but she has seemingly now completed a journey to the far-right despite not being a fascist or racist herself. For Britain was promoted as neither "left or right" but chumming up with the Austrian FPO and French RN (FN) would suggest differently.
Membership of the group remains to be formally confirmed but is likely to be agreed .
the far right around the world, in the USA, Israel and Europe is gaining traction. It is up to us all to resist. great post Howie.
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