Much Ado About By-Elections, Part 5

Originally published in The National Guardian March 30th 2003 by Tabitha Rust.

5. Wednesbury: 12th September 1985

Often described as the most shameful by-election fought in England, the Wednesbury by-election remains the high-water mark of the post-war far-right.

Held following the death of long time MP and former Home Secretary George Brown earlier in that summer, and during a ‘Super Thursday’ alongside seven other by-elections, it was expected that the seat, then considered to be safe Labour, would receive little attention from both media and even party. Positioned as merely part of the etc. in newspaper reporting, its fall to an insurgent campaign exploiting the racial tensions of the West Midlands borough is, retrospectively, unsurprising.

Among the more diverse seats in the country, in 1985 1/3rd of the population of the Constituency (and the West Midlands Borough) were Afro-Caribbean or Asian, many having migrated to the area in the 50s and 60s, attracted by West Midland demand for cheap manual labour.

Tensions between black residents and their white neighbours proved tangible. Former Mayor of the neighbouring Borough of Wolverhampton, John Powell, would infamously sneer that this influx gave “black country a new meaning” during a speech before The Guardian Club in 1975, and between 1965 and 1985, there were no less than right separate race riots either in Wednesbury or in the areas surrounding. Often violent, they were often triggered by white accusations of miscegenation, and occurred periods of strike action by overwhelmingly white and anti-Black local Trade Unions.

The riot of Christmas ‘84 alone was particularly devastating, claiming several lives. With the area on a constant simmering and so frequently boiling over, it was inevitable that a demagogue would come to take advantage of these tensions. And that someone was John Griffin.

John Griffin, 33 at the time of the by-election, came from a political family, not that his official recollection would admit so. His father, Edger Griffin, had served as the Conservative MP for Barnet between the Labour landslides of 1946 and 1958. Grooming his son for a political career like his own, Edger sent John through the cliché list academies and boarding schools that smatter many a Tory résumé, with John ultimately attending Oxford, where he notably threw a bottle at Prof. Edwards Heath at the count at the by-election of the same year.

As consequence of the by-election, Griffin became a full member of the National Democrats, becoming their first President of the Oxford National Democratic Association and an ensign Silver Shirt in the League of Empire Loyalists. After graduation, Griffin spent two years in national service, among the last generation to do so; although in recent election campaigns Griffin has falsely claimed that he fought Communists in Laos, in reality he was stationed with British forces on the Kiel Canal.

Following demobilisation, Griffin worked for Congresswoman Helen Anderson in Luxembourg, before settling in West Bromwich in late 1980, where he was part of the radical far-right ‘New Man’ scene. Rejecting decadent materialism and, at least initially, British nationalism in favour for Europeanism and segregationist views (in a recent interview for Galosh, Griffin proudly boasted of owning a signed copy of frm. Vice President Strom Thurmond’s biography), Griffin was selected as the National Democrats candidate for Wednesbury due to his prominence in the local community, having been a notable part of the clean-up following the riots (little attention was put to Griffin’s own involvement in the violence) and a frequent letterer to the local newspaper.

Despite the tensions in Wednesbury, Griffin wasn’t expected to have much hope; the National Democrats had failed to retain their deposit in the constituency in 1981. However at a personal one-on-one meeting he satisfied ND Leader Jeffrey Hamm of his ideological commitment to “white Britannia”, and so was fatefully chosen.

Labour’s candidate was Chris Carmichael, a 24-year-old Councillor for Wednesbury South. Born to Trinidadian parents in Wednesbury, unlike his opponent, Carmichael actually did not actually come from political pedigree. Rather, his mother had been a nurse at the Wednesbury General Hospital and his father a construction worker, notably having been contracted to build the E-8 Motorway through Sandwell by CityLink.

Leaving school at 15, Carmichael joined his father’s at CityLink, where he eventually become entangled in a Road Builders Union, one of the few that wasn’t anti-Black. By 22 Carmichael had risen to Union Rep, Secretary to the local Union Chief, and an elected councillor for the Labour Party. However, this was 1983. Union power had for some time been waning, and following the strikes of the 70s and early 80s the unions had grown unpopular.

Carmichael knew this. Although a union man, he cultivated a strong personal presence in local bourgeoisie left-wing circles, be these in the garden parties of the liberal social democrats impassioned by Cripps, or at sit-ins with the local tenant right’s groups. His selection to be George Brown’s successor by the West Midland’s Labour came from something of an accident, however. It was initially decided by the committee to select the Councillor for Wednesbury North, however a mistake by a secretary resulted in Carmichael attending the meeting (being the Cllr for Wednesbury South), where he left such an impression that he was selected instead.

In his recently published first volume of diaries, Carmichael has implied that this was itself likely due to positive racism. Recalling the selection meeting, Carmichael noted the head of the committee, upon informing him of his selection, grasped his hand and told him that he “spoke well for a Wednesbury boy”.

The National Alliance selected Andres Clarke, previously the Alliance’s Mayoral Candidate for Sandwell. Clarke came from the Conservative faction, and viewed the by-election as a shoo-in for Carmichael, with his job being to win the deposit back with the promise of a safe seat in deepest bluest Staffordshire if he did so.

Other candidates included Hugh White, who ran under the White Resident banner which. In spite of name, White denied it having any racial connotations. Lauren Campbell, a local Landlady, ran as the Britain Out of Europe candidate. Three independents also ran.

With attention elsewhere in the country, particularly on the high-stakes Buckingham by-election, Wednesbury was widely viewed as a sure Labour hold. Carmichael’s desire to campaign hard during the early days of the by-election was muted by his agent and much of the Labour apparatus. There was little money and resources being sent, and anyway, what was there to be worried about? His rosette was red, so he’d win. Even if it was a drop from the 65% of the last election.

The bare minimum that was considered acceptable during the early stages of the campaign was permitted, much to Carmichael’s anguish. As Silver Shirts knocked doors, Labour dropped bundled leaflets in the entry halls of tower blocks. As Griffin made a point to stand in the market square and shake hands with a full campaigning team, Carmichael was left alone with only a few loyal campaigners who recognised the crisis.

Events inevitably overtook them.

On the 18th of August, a leaflet was delivered. It was aimed at and delivered only to the white residents of the Constituency. Although not officially sent by the National Democrats, rather by the League of Empire Loyalists on the alleged ‘behalf’ of the NDs, since Griffin had admitted approving the leaflet. The mast plainly read ‘Griffin has Our Support!’, and after several ranting paragraphs, ended with the now infamous line: “…don’t Monky[sic] about. Back Britain, not Black Britain”.

The response was deafening. The national spotlight swung hard to the constituency, with commentators, both from home and abroad, suddenly finding local lodging and turning Griffin into one of the most high-profile politicians in the country overnight.

Labour’s response could have had more impact in nipping what was to come in the bud had the Constituency Party been all-hands-on-deck as Carmichael had demanded. Their lackadaisical approach to the campaign up to that point made a nasty bit of literature a nearly fatal shock.

The media didn’t help. It was clear that Wednesbury, at least white Wednesbury, was receptive to the National Democrats messages, and with Griffin’s heightened profile began to warm to him. Among the young and unemployed, coverage made him a messiah. To the Trade Unions, he was “one of us”.

To say what would happen was simply because Griffin is white would be accurate. Hands are wrung to try and justify what came as being more nuanced, but the simply fact was that despite his strong Union links, Carmichael was never seen as “ one of us” as the privately educated Griffin was. And with the memories of the Christmas Riots fresh, Griffin’s ideas of segregation and the necessity to have a ‘separate but equal’ society- with emphasis on separate- found an audience.

A riot broke out the week before polling day when Silver Shirts paraded through a majority black polling district, demanding white residents vote for Griffin. A local Kibbo Kift chapter fought back, as did Black and Asian residents and antifascists who had come to support Carmichael.

Police intervention prevented harm coming to the Silver Shirts; more antifascists were injured by police action than Silver Shirts by the antifascist groups that had come to protest them. Nonetheless, within the local press violence was pinned on those responding to agitation, rather than the agitators.

An official NDs leaflet went out that used an image of one of their bloodied Silver Shirts- conveniently hiding his armband so he looked like any other campaigner- that simply read “Labour Backing Thugs or Our Brave Boys?”, with additional information about Griffin’s exaggerated experience abroad.

The leaflet likely did little to help the atmosphere. A private poll commissioned by Labour when it was clear what a threat Griffin and this far-right gang posed revealed Griffin could win the seat by a clear 10 point majority, although it was often ignored much of this support came from white middle class residents.

Carmichael would not go down without a fight. But having to cram two months of campaigning that he had wanted to be doing within a mere fortnight provided a challenge. On that he was more than happy to meet, but one that was ultimately, tragically insurmountable.

Griffin won Wednesbury. By 36% of the vote and on a majority of 1.4%, the National Democrats elected their first MP. In one of the watershed moments of contemporary British politics, Griffin took to the stage of the count and let out a bellowing speech that talked of white power and national renewal. Chris Carmichael looked shattered, almost twice his age beneath the harsh town hall light.

The National Alliance had done well to hold their deposit, and Anders received his prize, but had their failure to contest the seat beyond a paper candidate led to the first fascist since Mosley in Parliament?

For the liberal middle-class, it was a moment of great anxiety, with the more patrician among them declaring that the white working class had betrayed the country. Comparisons to Edward Heath’s victory at Oxford University were quick. Despite ~14% of the total electorate in the seat voting Griffin, it was taken that this result was one that would be repeated in the 1986 General Election across the nation, and Britain would fall to fascism.

But once the panic ended, the question became one of if the National Democrats, with their first MP, could perpetuate a reversal of fortune and create more breakthroughs. They wouldn’t even hold the seat; Carmichael beat Griffin back significantly when given the chance to run the campaign how he wanted, and achieved a 40% swung, largely off the back of a campaign highlighting Griffin’s inaction in office, but also on a far higher turnout.

But the damage was done. It is no surprise that hate crimes spiked in the wake of Griffin’s victory, nor a ‘normalisation’ of sorts towards groups such as the League of Empire Loyalists and Guardian Club, the latter of which would eventually split from the National Alliance.

For Griffin, even after losing his seat in 1986, he found himself under the welcoming glow of the spotlight, a frequent guest on talk shows and at American Conservative rallies, eventually entering the European Congress where he remains to this day.

In the 1986–1991 Labour Government, Carmichael was made Junior Minister for Public Transit. Following the 2000 election, Carmichael entered the Cabinet proper, where he serves today as Transport Minister, and is often brought up in discussions over Labour’s next Leader, and a future Prime Minister.

8,059 (36.0%) John Griffin — National Democrats

7,736 (34.6%) Chris Carmichael — Labour

3,944 (17.6%) Anders Clark — National Alliance

1,252 (5.6%) Hugo White — White Resident

715 (3.2%) Lauren Campbell — Britain Out of Europe

435 (1.9%) John Oswald –Independent

198 (0.9%) Richard Horse — Independent

19 (0.2%) Susan Morris –Independent

Maj. 323 (1.4%)