Union Movement
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Union Movement
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|---|---|
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| Founded | 1948 |
| Dissolved | 1994 |
| Preceded by | British Union of Fascists |
| Ideology | Fascism (UK) |
| Political position | Far-right |
| European affiliation | None |
| International affiliation | None |
| European Parliament group |
European Social Movement (1951-1960s) National Party of Europe (1960s) |
| Colours | Flash and Circle |
The Union Movement was a far-right political party founded in Britain by Oswald Mosley. Where Mosley had been associated with a peculiarly British form of fascism, the Union Movement attempted to redefine the concept by stressing the importance of developing a European nationalism rather than narrower country-based nationalisms. The UM has therefore been characterized as an attempt by Mosley to start again in his political life by embracing more democratic and international policies than those with which he had been associated.
Having been the leader of the British Union of Fascists (BUF) before World War II, it was expected that Mosley would return to lead the far right afterwards. However Mosley remained out of the immediate post-war political arena, instead turning to writing, publishing his first work, My Answer (1946), in which he argued that he had been a patriot who had been unjustly punished by his internment under Defence Regulation 18B. In this and his 1947 follow up, The Alternative, Mosley began to argue for a much closer integration between the nations of Europe, the beginning of his 'Europe a Nation' campaign that sought a strong united Europe as a counterbalance to the growing power of the US and USSR.
Mosley detected a linear growth within British history and he saw Europe a Nation as the culmination of this destiny. Therefore, he argued that it was "part of an organic process of British history", as Britain had united into one nation he argued that it was Britain's national destiny to unite the whole continent.
He further envisaged a three-tiered system of government headed by an elected European government to organise defence and the corporatist economy, the continuation of national governments and a collection of local governments for the sake of independent identities.
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Wikipedia