How does race, gender, and religion manifest itself in Britain First's ideal British citizen?
In official statements, Britain First states their aims to protect "British and Christian morality" and preserve British "ancestral ethnic and cultural heritage" (1). They also support "the maintenance of the indigenous British people as the demographic majority within [the] homeland" and policies that ensure "genuine British citizens will be put first in housing, jobs, education, welfare and health" (1). In a country such as England, what are the connotations of Indigeneity? Who is a "genuine" British citizen? Behind this coded language hide many discomforting connotations.
By utilizing phrases like "the voice of the Silent Majority" and "Ordinary Brits, fighting back", Britain First plays the socio-political underdog, choosing to portray themselves as the lone defenders of a supposedly disenfranchised and forgotten group. This role serves them them well, as it suggests "Ordinary Brits", and they themselves, are under a great threat. Sensationalist appeals to join Britain First are rampant on the Facebook page, urging lovers of Britain to "join the fight...for a future for British children!" (1) In a statement made earlier this year, Andrew McBride, the Britain First deputy leader, warned his readers about the "sneaky, dishonest leftwing propaganda rags", stating "If we swallow their lies, poison and distortions then we might as well give up, go home, and watch as our children suffer in a country that has been colonised, overrun and taken from us." In the same statement, McBridge claimed that their own Mr. Dowson "[had] been subjected to the most distressing and frightening smear campaign from the media that has ever seen (sic) in British history." (1)
This type of threat to "British people" allows Britain First to justify their more radical behavior and blame the "leftwing/communist newspapers" whenever they receive bad press. It also plays into existing racial fears about the disappearance of white people and white culture (and the "takeover" of immigrant minorities). If the individuals featured in the above picture are any indication, a "genuine" British citizen (in the eyes of Britain First) is white. So essentially, when they vouch to "take [the] country back", they are hoping to ensure that white British citizens "will be put first" and remain "the demographic majority". The group seems to be well aware of their "racist" image and pro-actively post many images in defense to accusations.
By utilizing phrases like "the voice of the Silent Majority" and "Ordinary Brits, fighting back", Britain First plays the socio-political underdog, choosing to portray themselves as the lone defenders of a supposedly disenfranchised and forgotten group. This role serves them them well, as it suggests "Ordinary Brits", and they themselves, are under a great threat. Sensationalist appeals to join Britain First are rampant on the Facebook page, urging lovers of Britain to "join the fight...for a future for British children!" (1) In a statement made earlier this year, Andrew McBride, the Britain First deputy leader, warned his readers about the "sneaky, dishonest leftwing propaganda rags", stating "If we swallow their lies, poison and distortions then we might as well give up, go home, and watch as our children suffer in a country that has been colonised, overrun and taken from us." In the same statement, McBridge claimed that their own Mr. Dowson "[had] been subjected to the most distressing and frightening smear campaign from the media that has ever seen (sic) in British history." (1)
This type of threat to "British people" allows Britain First to justify their more radical behavior and blame the "leftwing/communist newspapers" whenever they receive bad press. It also plays into existing racial fears about the disappearance of white people and white culture (and the "takeover" of immigrant minorities). If the individuals featured in the above picture are any indication, a "genuine" British citizen (in the eyes of Britain First) is white. So essentially, when they vouch to "take [the] country back", they are hoping to ensure that white British citizens "will be put first" and remain "the demographic majority". The group seems to be well aware of their "racist" image and pro-actively post many images in defense to accusations.
Screenshots from the Britain First Facebook Page
Race
Yet, in certain aspects, Britain First has attempted to dispel an image of white exclusivity, at least superficially. The following image ridicules "leftwing thugs" for calling a non-white Britain First activist "racist". Britain First uses this image (and the man featured) to highlight their suggested intergroup diversity and flip "racist" accusations on their head. The top comments suggest it's okay to be non-white, as long as "you would die for queen and country" and you're "loyal to the flag, the culture and the history". Essentially, you will be accepted, as long as you have "British" interests at heart. As will be made more explicit throughout this section, these "British" interests are fundamentally the interests of white, male heterosexual Christians.
Screenshot from the Britain First Facebook Page
Gender
Race and gender have played out in other interesting ways within the Britain First community. A racially ambiguous woman by the name of Jayda Fransen was the Britain First candidate for the Rochester and Strood by-election. For an organization with an overtly masculine, militant, heterosexual image this was a seemingly strange choice. The Britain First Defense Organization is almost exclusively composed of middle-aged, Christian, white men (as seen in their propaganda videos) and many of the party's appeals explicitly target this demographic. The armored land rovers are the embodiment of this objective. Whilst Britain First does engage in discussions of gender equality, they are always framed in anti-Islam sentiment.
Screenshots from the Britain First Facebook Page
As is apparent in the comment section above, Jayda's candidacy resulted in great internal strife. "I would never vote for someone named Jayda" is possibly both a racialized and gendered statement. It also seems it was one shared by many people as Jayda received only 57 votes in the November election - less than 0.1% of the electoral population (2).
Religion
Photos and Screenshots from the Britain First Facebook Page
Anti-Islamic images, like those above, make up the majority of Britain First's posts. On the front page of the Britain First website, a video caption warns "Britain WILL be a Muslim state in 25 years" (1). This hateful propaganda targets and exploits people's fears. However, in order to garner support and counter claims of racism, Britain First has attempted to appear more inclusive than right-wing parties have in the past. This year, in an article discussing James Dowson's retirement, the deputy leader of Britain First, Andrew McBride stated the following:
The ranks of Britain First have been swelled by new recruits, new activists and tens of thousands of new supporters, including many thousands of ethnic minorities, such as Sikhs and Hindus (1).
Britain First attempts to mitigate accusations of only representing a narrow, white, Christian viewpoint by claiming support from Sikhs and Hindus. The choice to highlight Sikhs and Hindus is purposeful: these two religious groups are regarded as more integrated, both economically and culturally, into "British" society than their Muslim counterparts and therefore viewed (by British Islamophobes) as superior alternatives to Islam. This is also partly due to their historic antagonism towards Islam. However, how accepted are they really? Britain First continues to carry out social media campaigns such as the "Britain is Christian" one below.
Image from the Britain First Facebook Page
While this project ends here, further research must be conducted to fully understand the future impact of Britain First. With international off-shoots such as America First, this work is necessary and important.
Works Cited
- www.britainfirst.org
- http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-30140747
- "Cyber Racism: White Supremacy Online and the New Attack on Civil Rights", Jessie Daniels
- “The future of (the) race: identity and the rise of computer-mediated public spheres”, Dara Bryne