Editing British National Party (section)

== Ideology ==
===Far-right politics, fascism and neo-Nazism===
[[File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|thumb|right|The BNP uses the iconography of the Union flag prominently on its published material.{{sfn|Richardson|2011|p=42}}]]

Many academic historians and political scientists have described the BNP as a [[far-right]] party,{{sfnm|1a1=Wood|1a2=Finlay|1y=2008|1p=707|2a1=Driver|2y=2011|2p=132|3a1=Bottom|3a2=Copus|3y=2011|3p=146|4a1=Copsey|4y=2011|4p=1|5a1=Davey|5y=2011|5p=436|6a1=Messina|6y=2011|6p=165|7a1=Trilling|7y=2012|7p=5}} or as an [[extreme-right]] party.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2008|1p=1|2a1=Woodbridge|2y=2010|2p=25|3a1=Copsey|3y=2011|3p=1|4a1=Goodwin|4y=2011|4p=xii}} As the political scientist [[Matthew Goodwin]] used it, the term referred to "a particular form of political ideology that is defined by two anti-constitutional and anti-democratic elements: first, right-wing extremists are ''extremist'' because they reject or undermine the values, procedures and institutions of the democratic constitutional state; and second they are ''right-wing'' because they reject the principle of fundamental human equality".{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=6}}

Various political scientists and historians have described the BNP as being [[fascism|fascist]] in ideology.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2011|1p=7|2a1=Davey|2y=2011|2p=438|3a1=Richardson|3y=2011|3p=39|4a1=Trilling|4y=2012|4p=6}}<ref name="bnpelection2004">{{Cite journal |last=Renton |first=David |date=1 March 2005 |title='A day to make history'? The 2004 elections and the British National Party |journal=[[Patterns of Prejudice]] |volume=1 |issue=39 |page=25 |doi=10.1080/00313220500045170 |s2cid=144972650}}</ref><ref name="thurlow2000">{{harvnb|Thurlow|2000}}</ref><ref>Multiple sources: 
*{{Cite journal |last=Copsey |first=Nigel |date=December 1994 |title=Fascism: the ideology of the British National Party |journal=[[Politics (academic journal)|Politics]] |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=101–108 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9256.1994.tb00008.x |s2cid=143846602}}
*{{Cite news |last=Doward |first=Jamie |date=24 August 2003 |title=Expelled BNP founder plans court battle |work=[[The Observer]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/aug/24/uk.thefarright |url-status=live |access-date=13 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827060932/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/aug/24/uk.thefarright |archive-date=27 August 2013}}
*{{harvnb|Ignazi|2003}}
*{{Cite news |date=15 October 2009 |title=The BNP on Question Time is the wrong party on the wrong programme |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/oct/15/bnp-question-time-bbc-griffin |url-status=live |access-date=13 April 2013 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5khLyJViZ?url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/15/bnp-question-time-bbc-griffin |archive-date=21 October 2009}}
*{{Cite news |date=31 May 2009 |title=David Cameron attacks 'fascist' BNP |work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5395358/David-Cameron-attacks-fascist-BNP.html |url-status=live |access-date=13 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812041659/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5395358/David-Cameron-attacks-fascist-BNP.html |archive-date=12 August 2013}}
*{{Cite news |last=Travis |first=Alan |date=16 October 2009 |title=Alan Johnson says BBC should bar 'foul' BNP from Question Time |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2009/oct/16/alan-johnson-bnp-question-time |url-status=live |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5khMe4g5o?url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2009/oct/16/alan-johnson-bnp-question-time |archive-date=21 October 2009}}</ref> Others have instead described it as [[neo-fascism|neo-fascist]],{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2008|1p=82|2a1=Woodbridge|2y=2010|2p=49|3a1=Messina|3y=2011|3p=175}} a term which the historian Nigel Copsey argued was more exact.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=164}} Academic observers—including the historians Copsey, Graham Macklin, and [[Roger Griffin]], and the political theologian Andrew P. Davey—have argued that Nick Griffin's reforms were little more than a cosmetic process to obfuscate the party's fascist roots.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2008|1p=164|2a1=Davey|2y=2011|2p=438|3a1=Griffin|3y=2011|3p=203|4a1=Macklin|4y=2011|4pp=19–20}}<ref>Multiple sources: 
*{{Cite journal |last=Copsey |first=Nigel |date=February 2007 |title=Changing course or changing clothes? Reflections on the ideological evolution of the British National Party 1999–2006 |journal=Patterns of Prejudice |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=61–82 |doi=10.1080/00313220601118777 |s2cid=145737620}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Edwards |first=Geraint O. |date=May 2012 |title=A comparative discourse analysis of the construction of 'in-groups' in the 2005 and 2010 Manifestos of the British National Party |url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/43917/1/WRRO_43917.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Discourse & Society]] |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=245–258 |doi=10.1177/0957926511433477 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529163950/http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/43917/1/WRRO_43917.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2014 |access-date=29 May 2014 |s2cid=145395375}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Rhodes |first=James |date=May 2009 |title=The Banal National Party: the routine nature of legitimacy |journal=Patterns of Prejudice |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=142–160 |doi=10.1080/00313220902793898 |s2cid=144304296}}
*{{harvnb|Gottlieb|Linehan|2004|pp=70–71}}</ref> According to Copsey, under Griffin the BNP was "fascism recalibrated—a form of neo-fascism—to suit contemporary sensibilities".{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=82}} Macklin noted that despite Griffin's 'modernisation' project, the BNP retained its ideological continuity with earlier fascist groups and thus had not transformed itself into a genuinely "post-fascist" party.{{sfn|Macklin|2011|p=35}} In this it was distinct from parties like the Italian [[National Alliance (Italy)|National Alliance]] of [[Gianfranco Fini]], which has been credited with successfully shedding its fascist past and becoming post-fascist.{{sfn|Griffin|2011|p=200}}

In 1995, the anti-fascist activist [[Gerry Gable]] referred to the BNP as a "Nazi organisation",{{sfn|Gable|1995|p=262}} while the [[Anti-Nazi League]] published leaflets describing the BNP as the "British Nazi Party".{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=61}} Copsey suggested that while the BNP under Tyndall could be described as neo-Nazi, it was not "crudely mimetic" of the original German Nazism.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=98}} Davey characterised the BNP as a "populist ethno-nationalist" party.{{sfn|Davey|2011|p=435}}

{{Quote box|width=25em|align=left|quote=The [BNP's] smart modernized veneer&nbsp;... is superficial; the core of the Party remains ideologically fascist, and this was nowhere more apparent than in the BNP manifesto for the 2010 General Election, which returned to a clutch of traditional fascist themes including the bond of blood, homeland, the decadence of contemporary culture, a nostalgia for folk traditions and heritage, and an emphasis on stricter discipline in education and society. During the election campaign anti-Semitism, racism and neo-Nazi sympathies were identified on candidates' social network sites.|source=— Political theologian Andrew P. Davey, 2011{{sfn|Davey|2011|p=438}}}}

In his writings, Griffin acknowledged that much of his 'modernisation' was an attempt to hide the BNP's core ideology behind more electorally palatable policies.{{sfn|Richardson|2011|pp=39–40}} Like the National Front, the BNP's private discourse differed from its public one,{{sfn|Wood|Finlay|2008|pp=708–709}} with Griffin stating that "Of course we must teach the truth to the hardcore&nbsp;... [but] when it comes to influencing the public, forget about racial differences, genetics, Zionism, historical revisionism and so on&nbsp;... we must at all times present them with an image of moderate reasonableness".{{sfnm|1a1=Wood|1a2=Finlay|1y=2008|1p=708|2a1=Davey|2y=2011|2p=439}} The BNP has eschewed the labels "fascist" and "Nazi", stating that it is neither. In its 1992 electoral manifesto, it said that "Fascism was Italian. Nazism was German. We are British. We will do things our own way; we will not copy foreigners".{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=76}} In 2009, Griffin said that the term "fascism" was simply "a smear that comes from the far left"; he added that the term should be reserved for groups that engaged in "political violence" and desired a state that "should impose its will on people", claiming that it was the anti-fascist group [[Unite Against Fascism]]—and not the BNP—who were the real fascists.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 July 2009 |title=Sink a couple of boats |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/andrew_marr_show/8146456.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327052302/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/andrew_marr_show/8146456.stm |archive-date=27 March 2016 |access-date=10 June 2016 |work=BBC News}}</ref> More broadly, many on Britain's extreme right sought to avoid the term "British fascism" because of its electorally unpalatable connotations, utilising "British nationalism" in its place.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|pp=76–77}}

After Griffin took control of the party, it made increasing use of [[Nativism (politics)|nativist]] themes in order to emphasise its "British" credentials.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=70}} In its published material, the party made appeals to the idea of Britain and Britishness in a manner not dissimilar to mainstream political parties.{{sfn|Richardson|2011|p=41}} In this material it has also made prominent use of the [[Union flag]] and the colours red, white, and blue.{{sfn|Richardson|2011|p=42}} Roger Griffin noted that the terms "Britain" and "England" appear "confusingly interchangeable" in BNP literature,{{sfn|Griffin|2011|p=190}} while Copsey has pointed out that the BNP's form of British nationalism is "Anglo-centric".{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=163}} The party employed militaristic rhetoric under both Tyndall and Griffin's leadership; under the latter for example its published material spoke of a "war without uniforms" and a "war for our survival as a people".{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=165}} Tyndall described the BNP as a revolutionary party,{{sfn|Copsey|2011|p=82}} calling it a "guerrilla army operating in occupied territory".{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=83}}

===Ethnic nationalism and biological racism===
{{update|section|date=March 2023}}
{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote=The British National Party exists to secure a future for the indigenous peoples of these islands in the North Atlantic which have been our homeland for a millennia.|source=— The BNP, 2005{{sfn|Wood|Finlay|2008|p=707}} }}
The BNP adheres to [[scientific racism|biological racist]] ideas,{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=8}} displaying an obsession with the perceived differences of racial groups.{{sfn|Richardson|2011|p=48}} Both Tyndall and Griffin believed that there was a biologically distinct white-skinned "British race" which was one branch of a wider [[Nordic race]],{{sfn|Copsey|2008|pp=88, 163}} a view akin to those of earlier fascists such as Hitler and [[Arnold Leese]].{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=88}}

The BNP adheres to an ideology of [[ethnic nationalism]].{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=7}} It promotes the idea that not all citizens of the United Kingdom belong to the British nation.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=7}} Instead, it states that the nation only belongs to "the English, Scots, Irish and Welsh along with the limited numbers of peoples of European descent, who have arrived centuries or decades ago and who have fully integrated into our society".{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=7}} This is a group that Griffin referred to as the "home people" or "the folk".{{sfn|Griffin|2011|p=191}} According to Tyndall, "The BNP is a racial nationalist party which believes in Britain for the British, that is to say racial separatism."{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=37}} Richard Edmonds in 1993 told ''[[The Guardian]]''{{'s}} [[Duncan Campbell (The Guardian)|Duncan Campbell]] that "we [the BNP] are 100% racist".<ref>Quoted in Gabriel, John ''Whitewash: Radicalized Politics and the Media'', Routledge, 1998, p.158</ref> The BNP does not regard UK citizens who are not ethnic white Europeans as "British", and party literature calls on supporters to avoid referring to such individuals as "Black Britons" or "Asian Britons", instead describing them as "racial foreigners".{{sfn|Richardson|2011|p=49}}

[[File:Nick Griffin.jpg|left|thumb|On taking over the party, Nick Griffin dropped its official espousal of the biological superiority of a Nordic race, instead emphasising the need for racial separatism to preserve global "ethno-pluralism".]]
Tyndall believed the white British and the broader Nordic race to be superior to other races;{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=88}} under his leadership, the BNP promoted [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] claims in support of [[white supremacy]].{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=38}} Following Griffin's ascendency to power in the party, it officially repudiated racial supremacism and insisted that no racial group was superior or inferior to another.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=67}} Instead it foregrounded an "[[Ethnopluralism|ethno-pluralist]]" racial separatism, claiming that different racial groups had to be kept separate and distinct for their own preservation, maintaining that global ethno-cultural diversity was something to be protected.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2008|1p=160|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=67}} This switch in focus owed much to the discourse of the French {{lang|fr|[[Nouvelle Droite]]}} movement which had emerged within France's extreme right during the 1960s.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=160}} At the same time the BNP switched focus from openly promoting biological racism to stressing what it perceived as the [[cultural racism|cultural incompatibility of racial groups]].{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=68}} It placed great focus on opposing what it referred to as "[[multiculturalism]]",{{sfn|Rhodes|2011|p=62}} characterising this as a form of "[[cultural genocide]]",{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=160}} and stating that it promoted the interests of non-whites at the expense of the white British population.{{sfn|Rhodes|2011|p=64}} However, internal documents produced and circulated under Griffin's leadership demonstrated that—despite the shift in its public statements—it remained privately committed to biological racist ideas.{{sfn|Richardson|2011|p=49}}

The party emphasises what it sees as the need to protect the racial purity of the white British.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=8}} It condemns [[miscegenation]] and "race mixing", stating that this is a threat to the British race.{{sfnm|1a1=Goodwin|1y=2011|1p=38|2a1=Richardson|2y=2011|2p=48}} Tyndall said that he "felt deeply sorry for the child of a mixed marriage" but had "no sympathy whatsoever for the parents".{{sfn|Copsey|2008|pp=89–90}} Griffin similarly stated that mixed-race children were "the most tragic victims of enforced multi-racism", and that the party would not "accept miscegenation as moral or normal&nbsp;... we never will".{{sfn|Sutton|Perry|2009|p=91}} In its 1983 election manifesto, the BNP stated that "family size is a private matter" but still called for white Britons who are "of intelligent, healthy and industrious stock" to have large families and thus raise the white British birth rate.{{sfn|Durham|1995|p=283}} The encouragement of high birth rates among white British families continued under Griffin's leadership.{{sfn|Trilling|2012|p=85}}

Under Tyndall's leadership, the BNP promoted [[eugenics]], calling for the forced sterilisation of those with genetically transmittable disabilities.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2008|1p=90|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=38}} In party literature, it talked of improving the British 'racial stock' by removing "inferior strains within the indigenous races of the British Isles".{{sfnm|1a1=Durham|1y=1998|1pp=131–132|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=38}} Tyndall argued that medical professionals should be responsible for determining whom to sterilise, while a lowering of welfare benefits would discourage breeding among those he deemed to be genetic inferiors.{{sfn|Durham|1998|pp=131–132}} In his magazine ''Spearhead'', Tyndall also stated that "the gas chamber system" should be used to eliminate "sub-human elements", "perverts", and "asocials" from British society.{{sfn|Griffin|2011|p=190}}

===Anti-immigration and repatriation===
{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote=Immigration into Britain by non-Europeans&nbsp;... should be terminated forthwith, and we should organise a massive programme of repatriation and resettlement overseas of those peoples of non-European origin already resident in this country.|source=— The BNP's first policy on repatriation, 1982{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=32}} }}
Opposition to immigration has been central to the BNP's political platform.{{sfn|Davey|2011|p=440}} It has engaged in [[xenophobia|xenophobic]] campaigns which emphasise the idea that immigrants and ethnic minorities are both different from, and a threat to, the white British and white Irish populations.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=7, 39}} In its campaign material it presented non-whites both as a source of crime in the UK, and as a socio-economic threat to the white British population by taking jobs, housing, and welfare away from them. It engaged in [[welfare chauvinism]], calling for white Britons to be prioritised by the UK's welfare state.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=40}} Party literature included such as claims as that the BNP was the only party which could "do anything effective about the swamping of Britain by the Third World" or "lead the native peoples of Britain in our version of the New Crusade that must be organised if Europe is not to sink under the Islamic yoke".{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=164}}

Much of its published material made claims about a forthcoming [[race war]] and promoted the [[conspiracy theory]] about [[white genocide conspiracy theory|white genocide]].{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=39–40}} In a 2009 radio interview, Griffin referred to this as a "bloodless genocide".{{sfn|Rhodes|2011|p=64}} It presents the idea that white Britons are engaged in a battle against their own extinction as a racial group.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=158}} It reiterated a sense of urgency about the situation, claiming that both high immigration rates and high birth rates among ethnic minorities were a threat to the white British.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=161–162}} In 2010, it for instance was promoting the idea that at current levels, "indigenous Britons" would be a minority within the UK by 2060.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=157}}

{{Quote box|width=25em|align=left|quote=The immigrant communities in Britain are&nbsp;... colonies filled with colonists. They are alien islands inside our towns and cities with their own laws and cultures. They will never integrate as they did not come here to integrate, but to re-create their own cultures in our country. The fact is that the only solution to Multi-Culturalism is not some asinine and bogus attempt to impose British cultural values on immigrants, but simply to commence repatriating them.|source=— Lee Barnes, senior BNP leader, 2005{{sfn|Wood|Finlay|2008|p=720}} }}

The BNP calls for the non-white population of Britain to either be reduced in size or removed from the country altogether.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=7}} Under Tyndall's leadership, it promoted the compulsory removal of non-whites from the UK, stating that under a BNP government they would be "repatriated" to their countries of origin.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=39}} In the early 1990s it produced stickers with the slogan "Our Final Solution: Repatriation".{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=39}} Tyndall understood this to be a two-stage process that would take ten to twenty years, with some non-whites initially leaving willingly and the others then being forcibly deported.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=89}} During the 1990s, party modernisers suggested that the BNP move away from a policy of compulsory repatriation and toward a voluntary system, whereby non-white persons would be offered financial incentives to leave the UK.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=47–48}} This idea, adopted from [[Powellism]], was deemed more electorally palatable.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=47–48}}

When Griffin took control of the party, the policy of voluntary repatriation was officially adopted, with the party suggesting that this could be financed through the use of the UK's pre-existing [[Department for International Development|foreign aid budget]].{{sfnm|1a1=Sykes|1y=2005|1p=136|2a1=Copsey|2y=2008|2p=104|3a1=Goodwin|3y=2011|3p=68}} It stated that any non-whites who refused to leave would be stripped of their British citizenship and categorised as "permanent guests", while continuing to be offered incentives to emigrate.{{sfn|Sykes|2005|p=136}} Griffin's BNP also stressed its support for an immediate halt to non-white immigration into Britain and for the deportation of any migrants illegally in the country.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=68}} Speaking on the [[BBC]]'s ''[[The Andrew Marr Show|Andrew Marr Show]]'' in 2009, Griffin declared that, unlike Tyndall, he "does not want all-white UK" because "nobody out there wants it or would pay for it".<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 July 2009 |title=BNP 'does not want all-white UK' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8146585.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711171456/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8146585.stm |archive-date=11 July 2017 |access-date=10 June 2018 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

=== Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia ===
{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote=My experience as a campaigner against the multi-racial idea in Britain and in favour of our country's centuries-old tradition of racial homogeneity has brought home to me beyond any doubt the fact that Jews are to be found at the forefront of opposition to British racial self-preservation.|source=— Tyndall's belief that a Jewish conspiracy was behind multiracial Britain{{sfn|Tyndall|1988|pp=106–107}} }}

Under Tyndall's leadership, the BNP was openly [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]].{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=38–39}} From [[A. K. Chesterton]], Tyndall had inherited a belief that there was a global conspiracy of Jews bent on world domination, viewing the ''[[Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'', which is known to be a forgery, as genuine evidence for this.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=91}} He believed that Jews were responsible for both [[communism]] and [[international finance]] capitalism and that they were responsible for undermining the British Empire and the British race.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=91}} He believed that both democratic government and immigration into Europe were parts of the [[Jewish conspiracy]] to weaken other races.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=89}} In an early edition of ''Spearhead'' published in the 1960s, Tyndall wrote that "if Britain were to become Jew-clean she would have no nigger neighbours to worry about&nbsp;... It is the Jews who are our misfortune: T-h-e J-e-w-s. Do you hear me? THE JEWS?"{{sfnm|1a1=Billig|1y=1978|1p=128|2a1=Richardson|2y=2011|2p=53}} Tyndall added [[Holocaust denial]] to the anti-Semitic beliefs inherited from Chesterton, believing that [[the Holocaust]] was a hoax created by the Jews to gain sympathy for themselves and thus aid their plot for world domination.{{sfnm|1a1=Gable|1y=1995|1p=267|2a1=Copsey|2y=2008|2p=92|3a1=Goodwin|3y=2011|3p=39}} Among those to endorse such anti-Semitic conspiracy theories was Griffin, who promoted them in his 1997 pamphlet, ''[[Who are the Mind Benders?]]''{{sfn|Richardson|2011|p=53}} Griffin also engaged in Holocaust denial, publishing articles promoting such ideas in ''The Rune'', a magazine produced by the [[Croydon]] BNP. In 1998, these articles resulted in Griffin being convicted of [[Incitement to ethnic or racial hatred|inciting racial hatred]].{{sfnm|1a1=Griffin|1y=2011|1p=197|2a1=Macklin|2y=2011|2p=26|3a1=Richardson|3y=2011|3p=52|4a1=Trilling|4y=2012|4p=75}}

When Griffin took power, he sought to banish overt anti-Semitic discourse from the party.{{sfn|Macklin|2011|p=26}} He informed party members that "we can get away with criticising Zionists, but any criticism of Jews is likely to be legal and political suicide".{{sfn|Trilling|2012|p=85}} In 2006, he complained that the "obsession" that many BNP members had with "the Jews" was "insane and politically disastrous".{{sfn|Macklin|2011|p=25}} In 2004, the party selected a Jewish candidate, Pat Richardson, to stand for it during local council elections, something Tyndall lambasted as a "gimmick".{{sfn|Woodbridge|2010|p=42}} References to Jews in BNP literature were often coded to hide the party's electorally unpalatable anti-Semitic ideas.{{sfn|Richardson|2011|p=53}} For instance, the term "[[Zionism|Zionists]]" was often used in party literature as a euphemism for "Jews".{{sfnm|1a1=Goodwin|1y=2011|1p=39|2a1=Richardson|2y=2011|2p=53}} As noted by Macklin, Griffin still framed many of his arguments "within the parameters of recognizably anti-Semitic discourse".{{sfn|Macklin|2011|p=36}} The BNP's literature is replete with references to a conspiratorial group who have sought to suppress nationalist sentiment among the British population, who have encouraged immigration and mixed-race relationships, and who are promoting the [[Islamification]] of the country.{{sfn|Richardson|2011|p=52}} This group is likely a reference to the Jews, being an old fascist canard.{{sfn|Richardson|2011|pp=52–53}}

Sectors of the extreme-right were highly critical of Griffin's softening on the subject of the Jews, claiming that he had "sold out" to the '[[Zionist Occupied Government]]'.{{sfn|Woodbridge|2011|p=118}} In 2006, John Bean, editor of ''Identity'', included an article in which he reassured BNP members that the party had not "sold out to the Jews" or "embraced Zionism" but that it remained "committed to fighting&nbsp;... subversive Jews".{{sfn|Copsey|Macklin|2011|p=94}} Under Griffin, the BNP's website linked to other web pages that explicitly portrayed immigration as part of a Jewish conspiracy,{{sfn|Richardson|2011|pp=53–54}} while it also sold books that promoted Holocaust denial.{{sfn|Richardson|2011|pp=54–55}} In 2004, secretly filmed footage was captured in which Griffin was seen claiming that "the Jews simply bought the West, in terms of press and so on, for their own political ends".{{sfn|Richardson|2011|p=52}}

[[File:East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre - geograph.org.uk - 394907.jpg|thumb|left|The BNP have called for the banning of any further mosques being constructed in the UK.]]
Copsey noted that a "culture of anti-Semitism" still pervaded the BNP.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=162}} In 2004, a London activist told reporters that "most of us hate Jews",{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=162}} while a Scottish BNP group was observed making [[Nazi salute]]s while shouting "Auschwitz".{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=162}} The party's [[Newcastle upon Tyne Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Newcastle upon Tyne Central]] candidate compared the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] to [[Disneyland]], while their [[Luton North (UK Parliament constituency)|Luton North]] candidate stated her refusal to buy from "the [[kike]]s that run [[Tesco]]".{{sfn|Richardson|2011|pp=50–51}} In 2009, a BNP councillor from [[Stoke-on-Trent]] resigned from the party, complaining that it still contained Holocaust deniers and Nazi sympathisers.{{sfn|Macklin|Virchow|2011|p=220}}

Griffin informed BNP members that rather than "bang on" about the Jews—which would be deemed extremist and prove electorally unpopular—their party should focus on criticising [[Islam]], an issue that would be more resonant among the British public.{{sfn|Copsey|Macklin|2011|p=85}} After Griffin took over, the party increasingly embraced an Islamophobic stance, launching a "Campaign Against Islam" in September 2001.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=68}} In ''Islam: A Threat to Us All'', a leaflet distributed to London households in 2007, the BNP claimed that it would stand up to both [[Islamic extremism]] and "the threat that 'mainstream' Islam poses to our British culture".{{sfn|Woodbridge|2010|p=41}} In contrast to the mainstream British view that the actions of militant [[Islamism|Islamists]]—such as those who perpetrated the [[7 July 2005 London bombings]]—are not representative of mainstream Islam, the BNP insists that they are.{{sfn|Wood|Finlay|2008|p=710}} In some of its literature it presents the view that every Muslim in Britain is a threat to the country.{{sfn|Wood|Finlay|2008|p=721}} Griffin referred to Islam as an "evil, wicked faith",{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=166}} and elsewhere publicly described it as a "cancer" that needed to be removed from Europe through "chemotherapy".{{sfn|Trilling|2012|p=143}}

The BNP has called for the prohibition of immigration from Muslim countries and for the banning of the [[burqa|burka]], [[halal]] meat, and the building of new [[mosque]]s in the UK.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=69}} It also called for the immediate deportation of radical [[Islamism|Islamist]] preachers from the country.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=69}} In 2005, the party stated that its primary issue of concern was the "growth of fundamentalist-militant Islam in the UK and its ever-increasing threat to Western civilization and our implicit values".{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=69}} To broaden its anti-Islamic agenda, Griffin's BNP made overtures to the UK's Hindu, Sikh, and Jewish communities; Griffin's claim that Jews can make "good allies" in the fight against Islam caused controversy within the international far-right.{{sfn|Woodbridge|2010|pp=41–42}}

===Government===
Tyndall believed that [[liberal democracy]] was damaging to British society, stating that [[liberalism]] was a "doctrine of decay and degeneration".{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=83}} Under Tyndall, the party sought to dismantle the UK's liberal democratic system of parliamentary governance, although was vague about what it sought to replace this system with.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=40}} In his 1988 work ''The Eleventh Hour'', Tyndall wrote of the need for "an utter rejection of liberalism and a dedication to the resurgence of authority".{{sfn|Griffin|2011|p=190}} Tyndall's BNP perceived itself as a revolutionary force that would bring about a [[Palingenetic ultranationalism|national rebirth]] in Britain, entailing a radical transformation of society.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=84}} It proposed a state in which the Prime Minister would have full executive powers, and would be elected directly by the population for an indefinite period of time.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=85}} This Prime Minister could be dismissed from office in a further election that could be called if Parliament produced a [[vote of no confidence]] in them.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=85}} It stated that rather than having political parties, candidates standing for election to the parliament would be independent.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|pp=85–86}} During the period of Griffin's leadership, the party downplayed its [[anti-democratic]] themes and instead foregrounded [[populism|populist]] ones.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=69–70}} Its campaign material called for the devolution of greater powers to local communities, the reestablishment of [[county councils]], and the introduction of citizens' initiative referendums based on those used in Switzerland.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=70}}

[[File:RifleshootingatRWB.jpg|thumb|Air rifle training at the BNP's 2008 youth camp]]
The BNP has adopted a [[hard Eurosceptic]] platform from its foundation.{{sfn|Szczerbiak|Taggart|2008|p=102}} Under Tyndall's leadership, the BNP had overt anti-Europeanist tendencies.{{sfn|Woodbridge|2011|p=107}} Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he maintained the party's opposition to the [[European Economic Community]].{{sfn|Woodbridge|2011|p=108}} Antagonism toward what became the [[European Union]] was retained under Griffin's leadership, which called for the UK to leave the Union.{{sfnm|1a1=Sykes|1y=2005|1p=136|2a1=Woodbridge|2y=2011|2p=108}} One of [[Vote Leave]]'s biggest donors during the [[Brexit]] referendum was former BNP member Gladys Bramall,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Waterson |first=Jim |date=21 June 2016 |title=Former BNP Member Has Given £600,000 To Vote Leave |work=BuzzFeed |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/vote-leave-donor |url-status=live |access-date=18 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170115034420/https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/vote-leave-donor |archive-date=15 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Syal |first=Rajeev |date=21 June 2016 |title=Vote Leave gets big donation from former BNP member on leaked list |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/21/vote-leave-gets-big-donation-from-gladys-bramall-former-bnp-member-leaked-list |url-status=live |access-date=18 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221141135/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/21/vote-leave-gets-big-donation-from-gladys-bramall-former-bnp-member-leaked-list |archive-date=21 December 2016}}</ref> and the party has claimed that its anti-Establishment rhetoric "created the road" to Britain's [[Brexit|vote to leave the European Union]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Edwards |first=Phil |date=30 June 2016 |title=How the BNP Created the Road to Brexit |work=British National Party |url=https://www.bnp.org.uk/news/national/how-bnp-created-road-brexit |url-status=dead |access-date=18 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220213741/https://www.bnp.org.uk/news/national/how-bnp-created-road-brexit |archive-date=20 December 2016}}</ref>

Tyndall suggested replacing the EEC with a trading association among the "White Commonwealth", namely countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=95}} Tyndall held [[imperialism|imperialist]] views and was sympathetic to the re-establishment of the British Empire through the recolonization of parts of Africa.{{sfnm|1a1=Sykes|1y=2005|1p=116|2a1=Copsey|2y=2008|2p=96}} However, officially the BNP had no plans to re-establish the British Empire or secure dominion over non-white nations.{{sfnm|1a1=Sykes|1y=2005|1p=144|2a1=Copsey|2y=2008|2p=95}} In the 2000s, it called for an immediate military withdrawal from both the [[Iraq War]] and the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]].{{sfn|Trilling|2012|p=131}} During his appearance on ''Question Time'', regarding the Iraq War, Griffin described the war as "illegal", saying, "We shouldn't have gone into Iraq, we must never go into [[Iran]], we should leave them alone."<ref name=":0" /> It has advocated ending overseas aid to provide economic support within the UK and to finance the voluntary repatriation of legal immigrants.<ref name="routledge" />

Under Tyndall, the BNP rejected both [[Welsh nationalism]] and [[Scottish nationalism]], stating that they were bogus because they caused division among the wider "British race".{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=88}} Tyndall also led the BNP in support of [[Ulster loyalism]], for instance by holding public demonstrations against the [[Irish republicanism|Irish republican]] party [[Sinn Féin]],{{sfn|Durham|2012|p=207}} and endorsing Ulster loyalist paramilitaries.{{sfn|Gable|1995|p=267}} Under Griffin, the BNP continued to support Northern Ireland's<!--If he actually said Ulster, put it in quotation marks, since part of Ulster is in the republic of Ireland--> membership of the United Kingdom, calling for the crushing of the [[Irish Republican Army]] and the scrapping of the [[Anglo-Irish Agreement]].{{sfn|Durham|2012|p=207}} Griffin later expressed the view that "the only solution that could possibly be acceptable to loyalists and republicans alike" would be the reintegration of the Irish Republic into the United Kingdom, which would be reorganised along [[federalism|federal]] lines.{{sfn|Durham|2012|p=208}} However, while retaining the party's commitment to Ulster loyalism, under Griffin the importance of the issue was downplayed, something that was criticised by Tyndall loyalists.{{sfn|Durham|2012|p=208}}

===Economic policy===
Tyndall described his approach to the economy as "National Economics",{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=94}} expressing the view that "politics must lead, and not be led by, economic forces".{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=93}} His approach rejected [[economic liberalism]] because it did not serve "the national interest", although still saw advantages in a [[capitalism|capitalist]] system, looking favourably on individual enterprise.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|pp=94–95}} He called on [[Capitalism|capitalist]] elements to be combined with [[socialism|socialist]] ones, with the government playing a role in planning the economy.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=95}} He promoted the idea of the UK becoming an [[autarky]] which was economically self-sufficient, with domestic production protected from foreign competition.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=95}} This attitude was heavily informed by the [[corporatism|corporatist]] system that had been introduced in [[Benito Mussolini]]'s Fascist Italy.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=96}}

A number of senior members, including Griffin and [[John Bean (politician)|John Bean]], had [[anti-capitalism|anti-capitalist]] leanings, having been influenced by [[Strasserism]] and [[National Bolshevism]].{{sfnm|1a1=Gable|1y=1995|1p=267|2a1=Macklin|2y=2011|2p=27}} Under Griffin's leadership, the BNP promoted [[economic protectionism]] and [[anti-globalisation|opposed globalisation]].{{sfn|Rhodes|2011|p=63}} Its economic policies reflect a vague commitment to distributist economics, ethno-socialism, and [[Autarky|national autarky]].{{sfn|Macklin|2011b|p=229}} The BNP maintains a policy of [[protectionism]] and [[economic nationalism]], although in comparison with other far-right nationalist parties, the BNP focuses less on [[corporatism]].<ref name="routledge">{{harvnb|Davies|2002|p=149}}</ref> It has called for British ownership of its own industries and resources and the "subordination of the power of the City to the power of the government".<ref name="routledge" /> It has promoted the regeneration of farming in the United Kingdom, with the object of achieving maximum [[self-sufficiency]] in food production.<ref name="routledge" /> In 2002, the party criticised corporatism as a "mixture of big capitalism and state control", saying it favoured a "[[distributism|distributionist]] tradition established by home-grown thinkers" favouring small business.<ref name="eatw">{{harvnb|Eatwell|2004|p=69}}.</ref> The BNP has also called for the [[Nationalization|renationalisation]] of the [[railway]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nationalisation of the railways |url=http://www.bnp.org.uk/news/national/bnp-ukip-how-we-are-different |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160905194906/http://www.bnp.org.uk/news/national/bnp-ukip-how-we-are-different |archive-date=5 September 2016}}</ref> The BNP, in its 2010 manifesto, called for Britain to emulate the ''tiger states'' of East Asia, such as [[South Korea]] and [[Singapore]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://general-election-2010.co.uk/bnp-manifesto-2010-general-election/bnp-manifesto-2010-the-economy-putting-britain-back-on-the-road-to-recovery/ |title=The Economy: Putting Britain Back on the Road to Recovery |publisher=BNP |date=2010 |access-date=14 June 2024 |archive-date=14 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614094222/https://general-election-2010.co.uk/bnp-manifesto-2010-general-election/bnp-manifesto-2010-the-economy-putting-britain-back-on-the-road-to-recovery/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

When it comes to [[environmentalism]], the BNP refers to itself as the "real green party", stating that the [[Green Party of England and Wales]] engages in "watermelon" politics by being green (environmentalist) on the outside but red (leftist) on the inside.{{sfn|Macklin|2011b|p=230}} Influenced by the [[Nouvelle Droite]], it framed its arguments regarding environmentalism in an anti-immigration manner, talking about the need for 'sustainability'.{{sfn|Macklin|2011b|p=230}} It engages in [[climate change denial]], with Griffin claiming that global warming is a hoax orchestrated by those trying to establish the [[New world order (politics)|New World Order]].{{sfn|Macklin|2011b|p=230}}

===Social issues===
{{update|section|date=May 2022}}
{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote=There is only one political party that Christians can support without betraying the Lord Jesus Christ. This Party is opposed to abortion and the teaching of homosexuality to children. This Party supports the institution of marriage and the traditional family&nbsp;... This Party is opposed to political correctness and the creeping Islamification of Britain.|source=— A 2010 BNP leaflet distributed to Christian leaders{{sfn|Davey|2011|p=442}} }}

The BNP [[Anti-feminism|is opposed]] to [[feminism]] and has pledged that—if in government—it would introduce financial incentives to encourage women to leave employment and become housewives.{{sfnm|1a1=Durham|1y=1995|1pp=284–285|2a1=Durham|2y=1998|2pp=150, 152|3a1=Copsey|3y=2008|3p=87|4a1=Macklin|4y=2011b|4p=229}} It would also seek to discourage children being born out of wedlock.{{sfn|Durham|1998|p=160}} It has stated that it would criminalise [[abortion]], except in cases where the child has been conceived as a result of rape, the mother's life is threatened, or the child will be disabled.{{sfnm|1a1=Durham|1y=1998|1pp=142–143|2a1=Copsey|2y=2008|2pp=90–91|3a1=Macklin|3y=2011b|3p=229}} There are nevertheless circumstances where it has altered this anti-abortion stance; an article in ''British Nationalist'' stated that a white woman bearing the child of a black man should "abort the pregnancy&nbsp;... for the good of society".{{sfn|Durham|1998|p=144}} More widely, the party censures inter-racial sex and accuses the British media of encouraging inter-racial relationships.{{sfn|Durham|1998|pp=161–164}}

Under Tyndall, the BNP called for the re-criminalisation of homosexual activity.{{sfnm|1a1=Durham|1y=1998|1p=156|2a1=Copsey|2y=2008|2p=90}} Following Griffin's takeover, it moderated its policy on [[homosexuality]].{{sfn|Sykes|2005|p=136}} However, it opposed the 2004 [[Civil partnership in the United Kingdom|introduction]] of [[civil partnership]]s for same-sex couples.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=70}} During his 2009 ''Question Time'' appearance, Griffin described the sight of two men kissing as "for a lot of us (Christians)&nbsp;... really creepy".{{sfn|Copsey|Macklin|2011|p=88}} The party has also condemned the availability of [[pornography]]; its 1992 manifesto stated that the BNP would give the "pedlars of this filth&nbsp;... the criminal status that they deserve".{{sfn|Durham|1998|p=160}} The BNP promoted the reintroduction of [[capital punishment]],{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=70}} and the sterilisation of some criminals.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=90}} It also called for the reintroduction of [[national service]] in the UK,{{sfn|Sykes|2005|p=137}} adding that on completion of this service adults would be permitted to keep their standard issue [[assault rifle]].{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=159}}

According to the academic Steven Woodbridge, the BNP had a "rather ambivalent attitude toward Christian belief and religious themes in general" during most of its history,{{sfn|Woodbridge|2010|p=25}} but under Griffin's modernisation the party increasingly utilised Christian terminology and themes in its discourse.{{sfn|Woodbridge|2010|pp=25, 26}} Various members of the party presented themselves as "true Christians",{{sfn|Woodbridge|2010|p=25}} and defenders of the faith, with key ideologues stating that the religion has been "betrayed" and "sold out" by mainstream clergy and the British establishment.{{sfn|Woodbridge|2010|p=26}} British Christianity, the BNP said, was under threat from Islam, [[Marxism]], multiculturalism, and "[[political correctness]]".{{sfn|Woodbridge|2010|p=26}} On analysing the BNP's use of Christianity, Davey argued that the party's emphasis was not on Christian faith itself, but on the inheritance of European Christian culture.{{sfn|Davey|2011|p=442}}

The BNP long considered the mainstream media to be one of its major impediments to electoral success.{{sfn|Copsey|Macklin|2011|p=92}} Tyndall said that the media represents a "state above the state" which was committed to the "left-liberal" goals of [[internationalism (politics)|internationalism]], liberal democracy, and racial integration.{{sfn|Copsey|Macklin|2011|p=92}} The party has said that the mainstream media has given disproportionate coverage to the achievements of ethnic minority sportsmen and to the victims of anti-black racism while ignoring white victims of racial prejudice and the BNP's activities.{{sfn|Copsey|Macklin|2011|p=93}} Both Tyndall and Griffin have said that the mainstream media is controlled by Jews, who use it for their own devices; the latter promoted this idea in his ''Who are the Mind Benders?''{{sfn|Copsey|Macklin|2011|pp=92–93}} Griffin has described the BBC as "a thoroughly unpleasant, ultra-leftist establishment".{{sfn|Copsey|Macklin|2011|p=89}} The BNP has stated that if it took power, it would end "the dictatorship of the media over free debate".{{sfn|Copsey|Macklin|2011|p=95}} It said that it would introduce a law prohibiting the media from disseminating falsehoods about an individual or organisation for financial or political gain,{{sfn|Copsey|Macklin|2011|p=94}} and that it would ban the media from promoting racial integration.{{sfn|Copsey|Macklin|2011|p=95}}
BNP policy pledges to protect [[freedom of speech]],{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=159}} as part of which it would repeal all laws banning racial or religious hate speech.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=159}} It would repeal the [[1998 Human Rights Act]] and withdraw from the [[European Convention on Human Rights]].<ref name="bbcmanifesto">{{Cite news |title=BNP General Election Manifesto 2005 |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/BNP_uk_manifesto.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=13 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807132131/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/BNP_uk_manifesto.pdf |archive-date=7 August 2017}}</ref>

=== Voter base ===
{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote=The BNP does not have mass appeal, but the evidence&nbsp;... suggests it is forging ties with 'angry white men': middle-aged and elderly working-class men who have low levels of education, are deeply pessimistic about their economic prospects and live in more deprived urban areas close to large Muslim communities. Foremost, these citizens are sending a message about their profound concern over issues they care deeply about, but which they feel are not being adequately addressed by the main parties.|source=— Political scientist Matthew Goodwin, 2011{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=17}} }}

Goodwin described the BNP's voters as being "socially distinct and concerned about a specific set of issues".{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=15}} Under Griffin's leadership, the party targeted areas with high proportions of [[Skilled worker|skilled]] [[White people in the United Kingdom|white]] [[Working class|working-class]] voters, particularly those who were disenchanted with the Labour government.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=73}} It has attempted to appeal to disaffected Labour voters with slogans such as "We are the Labour Party your Grandfather Voted For".{{sfnm|1a1=Goodwin|1y=2011|1p=2|2a1=Trilling|2y=2012|2p=142}} The BNP had little success in gaining support from [[Woman|women]], the [[middle class]]es, and the more [[educated]].{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=180}}

Goodwin noted a "strong male bias" in the party's support base, with statistical polling revealing that between 2002 and 2006, seven out of ten BNP voters were male.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=101}} That same research also indicated that BNP voters were disproportionately [[Middle age|middle-aged]] and [[elderly]], with three quarters being aged over 35, and only 11% aged between 18 and 24.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=101}} This contrasted to the NF's support base during the 1970s, when 40% of its voters were aged between 18 and 24.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=101}} Goodwin suggested two possibilities for the BNP's failure to appeal to younger voters: one was the 'life cycle effect', that older people have obtained more during their life and thus have more to lose, feeling both more threatened by change and more [[Social conservatism|socially conservative]] in their views.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=102}} The other explanation was the 'generational effect', with younger Britons who have grown up since the onset of mass immigration having had greater social exposure to [[ethnic minorities]] and thus being more tolerant toward them. Conversely, many older voters came of age during the 1970s, under the impact of the anti-immigrant rhetoric promoted by [[Powellism]], [[Thatcherism]], and the NF, and thus have less tolerant attitudes.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=102, 104}}

Most BNP voters had no formal qualifications and the party's support was centred largely in areas with low educational attainment.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=104}} According to the 2002–2006 data, two-thirds of BNP voters had either no formal qualifications or had left education after their [[O-levels]]/[[GCSE]]s.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=104}} Only one in ten BNP voters possessed an [[A-level]],{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=104}} and an even smaller percentage had a university degree.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=104}} Most of the BNP's voting base were from the financially insecure lower classes.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=104}} Research conducted from 2002 to 2006 indicated that seven out of ten BNP voters were either skilled or unskilled workers or unemployed.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=104}} A 2009 poll found that six out of ten BNP voters fitted this profile.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=104}} Goodwin suggested that it was the skilled working classes rather than their unskilled or unemployed neighbours who were the main support base behind the BNP, because they owned some assets and thus felt that they had more to lose as a result of the economic threat posed by immigrants and ethnic minorities.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=104–105}}

Research indicated that BNP voters also held opinions that were distinct from the average British citizen. They were far more pessimistic about their economic prospects than average, with seven out of ten BNP voters expecting their economic prospects to decline in future, contrasted with four out of ten who held this view in the wider population.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=105}} In the 2002–2006 period, 59% of BNP voters considered immigration to be the most important issue facing the UK, compared with only 16% of the wider population who agreed.{{sfnm|1a1=Goodwin|1y=2011|1pp=108, 100|2a1=Trilling|2y=2012|2p=142}} By 2009, 87% of BNP voters identified immigration and asylum as the most important issue, to 49% of the wider population.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=110}} BNP voters were also more likely to identify [[law and order (politics)|law and order]], the [[European Union|EU]], and [[Islamic extremism]] as the most important issues facing the UK than other voters, and less likely than average to rate the economy, NHS, pensions, and housing market as the most important.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=108, 110}}

[[File:Nick Griffin, talking to voters.jpg|thumb|BNP members campaigning in the London Borough of Havering in 2010]]

BNP voters were also more likely than average to believe both that white Britons face unfair discrimination, and that Muslims, [[non-whites]], and [[homosexuals]] had unfair advantages in British society.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=107}} 78% of BNP voters endorsed the belief that the Labour Party prioritised immigrants and ethnic minorities over white British people, to 44% of the wider population.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=107}} When asked questions about immigration and Muslims, BNP voters were found to be far more hostile to them than the average Briton, and also more willing than average to support outright [[racially discriminatory]] policies toward them.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=112}} Copsey believed that "popular racism"—namely against asylum seekers and Muslims—generated the BNP's "largest reservoir of support",{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=146}} and that in many Northern English towns the main factors behind BNP support were white resentment toward Asian communities, anger at Asian-on-white crime, and the perception that Asians received disproportionately high levels of public funding.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|pp=146–147}}

Research also indicated that BNP voters were more mistrustful of the establishment than average citizens. In 2002–2006, 92% of BNP voters described themselves as being dissatisfied with the government, to 62% of the wider population.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=113–114}} Over 80% of BNP voters were found to distrust their local Member of Parliament, council officials, and civil servants, and were also more likely than average to think that politicians were personally corrupt.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=114}} There was also a tendency for BNP voters to read tabloids like the ''[[Daily Mail]]'', ''[[Daily Express]]'', and ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'', all of which promote anti-immigration sentiment. Whether these voters gained such sentiment as a result of reading these tabloids or they read these tabloids because it endorsed their pre-existing views is unclear.{{sfnm|1a1=Goodwin|1y=2011|1pp=107–108|2a1=Trilling|2y=2012|2p=144}}

The early stronghold of the BNP was in London, where it established enclaves of support in the boroughs of [[Enfield, London|Enfield]], [[Hackney, London|Hackney]], [[Lewisham]], [[Southwark]], and [[Tower Hamlets]], with smaller units in Bexley, Camden, Greenwich, Hillingdon, Lambeth and Redbridge.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=82}} By the late 1990s, the party was increasingly retreating from its original East End heartland, finding that its electoral support had declined in the area.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=83}} Griffin expressed the view that it was too dangerous for BNP activists to campaign in the East End, suggesting that they would be likely to be attacked by opponents.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=83}} Instead, the party shifted its focus to parts of [[Outer London]], in particular the boroughs of Barking, Bexley, Dagenham, Greenwich and Havering.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=84}} After Griffin took power, the party focused on building support in the [[North of England]], taking advantage of the anxieties generated by the ethnic riots that took place [[2001 Bradford riots|in Bradford]], Oldham and Burnley in 2001.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=84}} In the period between 2002 and 2006, over 40% of the BNP's voters were in Northern England.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=105}}

The decline of the BNP as an electoral force around 2014 helped to open the way for the growth of another right-wing party, [[UKIP]].{{sfn|Ford|Goodwin|2014|p=274}} In a study Goodwin produced with [[Robert Ford (academic)|Robert Ford]], the two political scientists noted that UKIP's support base mirrored the BNP's in that it had the same "very clear social profile": the "old, male, working class, white and less educated".{{sfn|Ford|Goodwin|2014|p=159}} One area where the two differed, they noted, was in the fact that BNP support had been highest among the middle-aged before tailing off among the over 55s, whereas UKIP retained strong support with those over 55. Ford and Goodwin suggested that this might be because more over 55s had "direct or indirect experiences" of the Second World War, in which Britain defeated the fascist powers, resulting in them being less inclined to support fascist parties than their younger counterparts.{{sfn|Ford|Goodwin|2014|p=158}} Despite these commonalities, UKIP proved far more successful at mobilising these social groups than did the BNP.{{sfn|Ford|Goodwin|2014|pp=175–176}} This was likely in part because UKIP had a "reputational shield"; it emerged from within the Eurosceptic tradition of British politics rather than from the far-right and thus, while often ridiculed by the mainstream, was regarded as a legitimate democratic actor in a way that the BNP was not.{{sfn|Ford|Goodwin|2014|pp=273–274}}