Colin Jordan and neo-Nazism

This paper will examine elements of British neo-Nazi culture, through the lens of the political activities of one of Britain’s most prominent neo-Nazi ideologues, Colin Jordan. Focusing on a time when he was particularly active in the Midlands through his organisation the British Movement – which he founded in 1968 and led until 1975 – it will examine the ways he tried to legitimise his political stance. In particular, in this period he sought to detoxify his earlier profile as an open National Socialist to achieve electoral credibility, a strategy that both failed and that he later regretted. Drawing out the ‘groupuscular’ relationships both with the larger National Front and more extreme groups, it will highlight the ambiguities to his political profile over the course of this period. The paper will conclude with reflection on how Jordan’s British Movement still has a role to play in contemporary neo-Nazi cultures, and why a new generation of self-proclaimed National Socialists still find inspiration in his work.