Why Fascism? Sir Oswald Mosley and the Conception of the British Union of Fascists

Abstract

Sir Oswald Mosley founded the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in October 1932. He made his decision after months of deliberation and preparation. Having resigned from the Labour government in May 1930, Mosley first formed the New Party in February 1931. In so doing, he committed himself to studying what he called the ‘modern movements’ emergent on the continent in the wake of the Great War (1914–18). The objective was to forge a British equivalent and thereby find the means by which to implement the economic proposals that Mosley had developed with John Strachey throughout his time in the British Labour Party. Come 1932, and Mosley concluded that only fascism provided the wherewithal to ‘save’ Britain from socio-economic ruin and a possible communist takeover. This article examines the process by which Mosley came to his decision, suggesting that an array of personal, political and circumstantial factors combined to cement his fateful choice.