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# The English Democrats and the far right
- URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/the-english-democrats-and-the-far-right/
- Published: 2008-08-11T16:08:59.000Z
- Updated: 2019-02-14T22:41:23.000Z
- Author: Tom Griffin
- Tags: #en, #Migrated, #Import 2026-04-09 18:41

**Tom Griffin (London,** [**OK**](https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom)**):** Arthur Aughey recently described English nationalism as '[a mood not a movement](http://www.thepolitician.org/articles/new/mag/37/787/a-cloud-no-bigger.html?ref=opendemocracy.net).' The [English Democrats](http://www.englishdemocrats.org.uk/?ref=opendemocracy.net) represent one attempt to change that, but it is an attempt which English nationalist blogger Gareth Young suggests is deeply problematic.

Over at Little Man in a Toque, Gareth documents the party's attempts to build alliances with far-right fringe groups such as [Third Way](http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2002/04/30/black-shirts-in-green-trousers/?ref=opendemocracy.net) and [England First](http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2004/feb/13/localgovernment.farright?commentpage=1&ref=opendemocracy.net).

"There’s a huge centre-ground of people who vote Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat, and it’s those people that the English Democrats need to attract," Gareth writes.

*This won’t be achieved from a position in the gutter. The EDP have never taken my advice on anything (which is why I reluctantly write this article), and perhaps they won’t now, but for what it’s worth here’s my advice: Stop meeting with racists, instead you should fight them; differentiate yourselves from ethnic nationalists in the minds of the public, help show that English nationalism is not soft white nationalism; move yourself out from the fringes, focus on the mainstream; stop poaching from other parties, recruit from your own ranks, and; for all our sakes start preaching the progressive nationalist values that I think you believe in, make those your main focus and people will find common ground with you.*

It's good advice, but one can't help feeling that a party that needs such basic lessons in democratic politics is unlikely to be the vehicle that remedies England's democratic deficit.