Official National Front - Ideology

Ideology

Aided by Roberto Fiore, whose Terza Posizione held similar views, the ONF developed an ideology that stressed the need for a "New Man" with the cadre structure influenced by the "nest" system of the pre-Second World War Romanian Iron Guard. The two main sources of ideology for the ONF were the journal Rising published from 1983 to 1986 and The Political Soldier, a 1984 book by Derek Holland. Within the pages of these works the ONF committed itself to a revolt against modernity, echoing many of the words of the likes of Corneliu Codreanu and Julius Evola. The party put emphasis on the values of ruralism with Nick Griffin, who lived on a farm in Wales, running a "Smash the Cities" campaign for the ONF that has been compared by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke to Pol Potism.

Unlike the earlier NF, that had emphasised British identity, the ONF showed sympathy towards indigenous nationalisms within the United Kingdom. The ONF adopted a policy of support for Ulster nationalism, a fringe idea within Northern Ireland, and through this shift forged links with the Ulster Defence Association and in particular John McMichael who was advocating such an idea at the time. Separate links were also maintained with sometime Democratic Unionist Party activist George Seawright who, although not avowedly an Ulster nationalist, was the brother of ONF activist David Seawright. Although there was no evidence of a direct connection between the two groups the ONF broke from the exclusively British nationalist vision of its predecessors to praise the activities of the Welsh nationalist Meibion Glyndŵr.

The desire for the development of a fanatical Political Soldier also led the ONF to follow their Italian counterparts in expressing some admiration for a similar fanaticism that they saw in Islam. This idea led to the publication of the most notorious issue of NF News which featured a cover extolling the 'new alliance' of the party with the Ayatollah Khomeini, Muammar Gaddafi and Louis Farrakhan, a previously unthinkable stance in the NF. Indeed during a march for Quds Day in 1988 Patrick Harrington and Graham Williamson took their place alongside a group of Islamic fundamentalists.

The 'scientific racism' that had been the cornerstone of NF ideas up to that point was abandoned by the ONF in favour of an emphasis on ethnopluralism and expressions of admiration for Black separatist leaders such as Farrakhan and Marcus Garvey, a new departure illustrated by the August 1987 edition of National Front News in which the slogan 'Black is beautiful' appeared. Copies of the Nation of Islam-linked newspaper The Final Call could also be purchased from the ONF.