Search Results - Mosley, Sir Oswald

Oswald Mosley

Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980), was a British aristocrat and politician who rose to fame during the 1920s and 1930s when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Harrow from 1918 to 1924 and for Smethwick from 1926 to 1931. He founded the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932 and led it until its forced disbandment in 1940.

After military service during the First World War, Mosley was one of the youngest members of Parliament, representing Harrow from 1918, first as a Conservative, then an independent, and finally joining the Labour Party. At the 1924 general election he stood in Birmingham Ladywood against the future prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, coming within 100 votes of defeating him. Mosley returned to parliament as Labour MP for Smethwick at a by-election in 1926 and served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Labour government of 1929–1931. In 1928, he succeeded his father as the sixth Mosley baronet, a title in his family for over a century. Some considered Mosley a rising star and possible future prime minister. He resigned in 1930 over discord with the government's unemployment policies. He chose not to defend his Smethwick constituency at the 1931 general election, instead unsuccessfully standing in Stoke-on-Trent.

Mosley's New Party became the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932. As leader, he publicly espoused antisemitism and sought alliances with other fascist leaders such as Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. Fascist violence under Mosley's leadership culminated in the 1936 Battle of Cable Street, during which anti-fascist demonstrators including trade unionists, liberals, socialists, communists, anarchists, and British Jews prevented the BUF from marching through London's East End. Mosley subsequently held a series of rallies around London, and the BUF increased its membership there.

In May 1940, after the outbreak of the Second World War, Mosley was imprisoned and the BUF was banned. He was released in 1943 and, politically disgraced by his association with the enemy, moved abroad in 1951, spending most of the remainder of his life in Paris and two residences in Ireland. He stood for Parliament during the post-war era but received very little support. During this period he was an advocate of Pan-European nationalism, developing the Europe a Nation ideology, and was an early proponent of Holocaust denial conspiracy theories. Provided by Wikipedia