British National Party (1960) - The National Front

The National Front

With a new spirit of unity prevalent on the far right, John Tyndall approached the BNP in early 1966 with a request that it should merge with his Greater Britain Movement and the Racial Preservation Society. However Ron Cuddon, a member of the BNP Council and staunch opponent of Tyndall, vetoed the request whilst it was also rejected by the RPS. In September that same year however the BNP agreed with leading RPS member Dr David Brown that they would seek to unify as the National Democratic Party. Within a week however this plan had been abandoned both due to Bean still wanting to find an accommodation with the GBM and his reluctance to serve under Brown, who insisted on full leadership of the new party for himself.

Sensing that his own presence was putting Chesterton off, due to his own neo-Nazi background, Bean resigned from the BNP Council in September 1966 with his place being taken by Philip Maxwell, who was close to Chesterton. As a result merger negotiations that began with the LEL soon afterwards were not attended by Bean but rather saw Maxwell and Fountaine present the BNP's case. Maxwell addressed the LEL conference in October 1966 by which time merger discussions were so far advanced that the names National Independence Party and British Front were already being considered for the new group. At the conference a working party was established to finalise details of the new group, consisting of Philip Maxwell, Bernard Simmons and Gerald Kemp from the BNP and Austen Brooks, Rosine de Bounevialle, Avril Walters and Nettie Bonner representing the LEL. On 7 February 1967 the BNP officially went out of existence as the new movement, by now officially known as the National Front, was declared in existence.