Patrick Harrington - Ideological Development

Ideological Development

Harrington claims to have undergone substantial ideological change since he voted to disband the NF in 1989. In his profile on the Third Way website, he cites Rabbi Mayer Schiller as a particular influence on this development. Schiller is also the subject of a biography on the Third Way website, although his role in the party is unclear.

In an interview with Wayne John Sturgeon of Alternative Green magazine, Harrington said:

"I voted for the disbandment of the National Front in 1989 which I think speaks for itself. Since that time I have worked with my Third Way colleagues for harmony and progress in our country. There are aspects of my involvement with the NF which I deeply regret. I wasted a lot of time trying to move people to more positive, inclusive positions. I should have broken with them earlier. The past, however, is gone and cannot be changed. I have rethought, rejected or refined many of my past positions. This is a process which has led me to where I am now. I hope that people would judge me on my current ideas and actions rather than re-fight the battles of the past."

Wayne John Sturgeon has been closely associated with Troy Southgate's various nationalist-anarchist groups, from the National Revolutionary Faction (NRF) to the New Right, which describes itself as "opposed to liberalism, democracy and egalitarianism". Alternative Green was founded by Richard Hunt, who has also been associated with the NRF and once featured both Southgate and Sturgeon, as well as fellow NRF/New Right activist, Jonathan Boulter, on its editorial board, but they are believed to have left the board before the issue which published Sturgeon's interview with Harrington.

In "I Rejected National Front", an article written for The Voice (a publication aimed at the British Afro-Caribbean community) and apparently published on 13 February 2006 (but reproduced on Third Way's website), Harrington wrote:

"Third Way, which I helped form in 1990, advocates harmonious relationships between all communities. Third Way welcomes the vibrant contribution that this variety brings but we are also aware that there can be friction between communities.

"We must be honest about these difficulties and work to solve problems together in a spirit of unity. Third Way policy is very different from that of the BNP which we have stood against in elections."