Ed Abrams

Ed Abrams' speech to the CEP's 'Future of England' conference, 26 April 2008

I’d like to thanks the members of the CEP for inviting me here and allowing me to speak. I have a huge amount of respect for the CEP and their work, the tireless commitment to England is there for all to see and I believe in my blood and my bones that we will one day , united we will reach our promised land – A PARLIAMENT FOR OUR NATION.

I stand before you not just as an member of the English Democrats, not just as someone who campaigns for English Democracy but I stand here before you all simply as an Englishman who wants what my birth right is – that birth right is that I was born into a country my forefathers gave their lives for so that I and others could live in a land that was free, a land where truth prevails, where democracy is there for all and justice smoothers discrimination.

Friends - My speech today is called the Politics of Nationhood, I’ll go on to outline why I believe that this new breed, this fresh ideal, this vision, this belief will blow away the cobwebs of political complacency and kick start the nations consciousness to building a newer, fresher and more accommodating England but an England that stands alone, proud, resolute and free.

Now I am no scholar as I unfortunately wasted my education but from the pages of history I’ve read, we have had for over 150 years, the politics of class rammed down our throats, we've had our democracy and our vote used and abused, we've had separation not liberation, with had dictatorship not comradeship and the butchers apron has hidden the cracks of resentment and disdain, it's hidden the politics of discrimination, it's hidden the West Lothian Question and the Barnett formula. The politics of class has divided our nation and turned are people to a state of utter despair.

The politics of class is the political ideology of old, of yesteryear, one that’s had its day.

See what our glorious leaders conveniently forget is that politics is a living beast, it changes, it moves, it lives – what was right yesterday does not mean it’s right for today or in the future. A political ideology that doesn’t move of change with the times dies from the neck upwards, it breeds resentment and disdain and it proves that it no longer has the ear of the people.

My vision is the politics of NATIONHOOD not of class. This is the new way, it’s not the 1st, 2nd or 3rd, in fact it’s the only way, this way is one whereby the whole country binds together and acts as one for the dual benefit of the nation and it's people.

It doesn’t ask how much money you earn or how many cars you've got, it doesn’t ask if your left or right or middle of the road, it doesn’t ask if you’re black or white, Christian or Jew, young or old- all it asks of you is that you unite, join arms, stand shoulder to shoulder with your neighbour and work to build a newer, fresher more accommodating England. An England that respects and learns from the past, works with the present and truly embraces the future with hope, vigour, commitment, openness, honesty and with a smile.

The politics of NATIONHOOD allows England to regain her rightful at the top table of the worlds nations. It allows us to promote with pride our cultural identity, it allows us to take our nation forward, give our people a voice and more importantly – it gives England a future. It allows us to celebrate of history, cradle our young and care for our elders.

This new ideal also solves the problems we have with cultural identity; it allows our young to have a future and a collective future. One of the challenges that we have today is that our kids, our nation’s future are not allowed an identity; they are forced to grow up with no knowledge of our history. Presently it is left down to us, the parents of England’s future to explain our nation and all its glory. See my vision allows us to rebuild our children’s futures, it allows us to put back the moral fibre of our society, it allows all to come together and work as one. It puts back respect and values, it restores honour and creed. It moves away from the nation of one to one nation for all.

As we all know misguided patriotism is the order of the day, we’ve been force-fed the BRITISH IDEAL for decades, I, like many of you have never brought this ideal, I’ve never considered myself British, I come from an immigrant family of Polish Jews who where allowed safe haven and harbour from the evils of the Russian programs.

We came to England not Britain because of English ideals such as liberty, democracy, honesty and justice, these went hand in hand with the name of England not Britain, however as we know at England’s expense, the ideals of liberty, democracy, honesty and justice in today's politics are just empty words, they are so often used and certainly abused by so called Political Professionals, those who put careers before consciousness, those who have never seen a hard days work in their lives, those who have thrown away their convictions the moment they entered the hallow halls of Westminster.

Many of our modern day politicians have enter politics with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouths, have these so called elite ever been unemployed, worried about where the next pay check is coming from, panicking about having to buy the latest and greatest pair of footwear for their kids. Because career politicians are now the order of the day can someone explain to me how people like Darling, Cameroon, Brown, Milliband be the voice of the people when they don't KNOW the people.

These so-called democratic savours, our champions of liberty openly demand that we follow their path, that we throw garlands of flowers at their feet, pay homage to there very presence and afford them our respect, well my respect is earned and not just given and what the big three have done to my nation is beyond the pale.

These people live by the motto of “ DO AS I SAY AND NOT AS I DO” , I always thought that our leaders lead by example, they lead from the front and not from the back, that when duty calls, our leaders are there at the front, heads held high, leading charge. I’m afraid this isn’t the case with nearly all of the MP’s in parliament.

As I’ve said, I’m not an educated man but can some one please explain to me how these leaders represent England. The big 3 with their outdated and old styled politics of class have orchestrated England's final solution, they are the ones who are destroying the very idea of England, and they’ve eroded the fabric of our identity, the common purpose of our people.

They are the ones who are sending people to their deaths because of the ill-fated and not thought out policy of partial devolution, they are the ones who are herding our nations elders into care homes like horses to the knackers yard because they no longer add value to the treasuries coffers,

they are the ones who are pushing our people to despair as tax upon tax upon tax is being raised in our nation whilst other parts of this so called UNION of equals don't have these rises and they are the ones who have created policies that enforce discrimination upon the people of England – such as

Top up Fees ( only in England )
Prescription Charge Increases ( only in England )
Elderly folk having to pay for care ( only in England )
Class sizes over 30 kids ( only in England )
A paltry 50p per school meal ( only in England
Life saving drugs being refused our people ( only in England )
Brutishness’ Lessons taught ( only in England )
New Nuclear Power plants ( only in England )
Eco Towns ( only in England )

And many many more

This is what the politics of Class and of the old guard / the big 3 have given us. If like some, you decide to stay with one of the big 3, stay with the politics of class, the politics of spite, envy and hate and try and change from within then you'll just be a loan voice, you'll be a small little rowing boat trying to change the course of a super tanker, you know in your ENGLISH hearts that you'll never win, you'll only get lip service, you'll get a pat on the back and be told the same old line of " we all agree and WE must do something about it, in fact we have set up a working committee to investigate and review" sounds more like brushing it under the carpet to me.

I have had it said to me that there's no logic in trying to change the political landscape, it’s almost like pushing water uphill with your bare hands, a common comment has been that regardless of our efforts, nothing will change, I believe that the biggest single reason why people are so turned off from politics is because of the politics of class, people feel isolated, disassociated and forgotten. The gap between rich and poor has got wider and there’s no glue between them, well my vision – the politics of nationhood, cements all people together, it allows people from all sides to work together and engage one another, it allows us all to invest in England’s future therefore making all our people feel valued, respected and wanted.

I set about creating this new vision, this new political creed because the big 3 don't own politics, it's not there's to play with or pick up or put down as and when they desire, they’re wheels only ever turn when it's close to an election and they throw themselves at the voters mercy and beg for your vote. Politics isn’t a closed shop; whereby only the chosen view get it, it shouldn’t be a job for life either. I’d put politicians on performance related pay and see them run for cover.

My vision also erodes the secret society, the cosy little love affair that the big 3 have with the media, it is wrong that companies like the BBC become Browns mouthpiece or paper like the TORY mail over ever report Cameron's spin. The politics of nationhood removes these relationships and allows for free, fair and uncensored reporting that gives and unbiased and impartial view

I believe that these parties have changed in all recognition to the virtues and values of when they were created. Remember when the hard-pressed working class created the origins of the Labour movement they stood against discrimination, they stood against oppression, they stood up for and defend their own – are these still really the cornerstone values of Brown’s government or Blair’s legacy

Patriotism is not owned by anyone of anything, it's not enough to wave a flag when it suits and pretend your defenders of a nation. I believe that the wind is changing and the people of England don't want plastic patriotism anymore; they no longer have any faith in the old, outdated and stale current political parties. They cry out for a beg for a new style of political creed, one that involves and engages, one that interacts and learns and one that represent them and only them – THE PEOPLE OF ENGLAND.

As I’ve said, my vision allows people from all walks of life, regardless of all age, regardless of our different experiences, it brings old and young together, it allows left and right to bind, it even allows those strange types ( you know the ones, the guardian readers with open toed sandals, i think people call them liberal democrats to stop sitting on the fence and get involved as again it moves our folk away from the politics of class, it defends ALL of our people and truely delivers the virtues of truth, justice, liberty and freedom.

A senior Conservative once asked me to a meeting, during that meeting he told me that he agreed with everything I said, he thought and felt the same but in the same breath as those words, he offered me the parliamentary seat of Chester if I joined their party. He wanted me to sell out my principles, my beliefs, my ENGLISH CORE. He thought that my pride and passion for England was something that you could pick up and put down on a wimm. I sat there and shook my head in disbelief as he thought I could be brought, that I would turn my back on my nation at the offer of a seat – how wrong he was.

See this is the difference between my vision of nationhood against there’s of class is that the establishment, New Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems made it personal because they are calling into question the very idea of England itself.

Ladies and Gentleman, Time is coming to take sides, to show your colours, to make a stand for i believe that perhaps not at the next election but certainly the one after that, the politics will be either Nationalist or Unionist, they’ll be no other option – you have to ask yourself which one protects England and her people, which one involves all and alienates none, which one delivers the politics of hope and which offers resentment and hate, it will be the new guard against the old, it will be about a new fresh approach to really engaging with and valuing the populas and not dictating to or ignoring their core values.

Folks, that time is coming, make sure you are on the right side – the ENGLISH SIDE

Thanks for your time and god bless England,

The crisis engulfing the British National Party opens opportunities for other right-of-centre parties and might perhaps lead to the formation of a new party altogether. Beginning a series of articles on right-wing alternatives to the BNP, Searchlight takes a look at the English Democrats Party.

Robin Tilbrook senses that this might at last be his moment. After several years struggling to get his party, which he has personally bankrolled, noticed he believes that the time for the English Democrats Party (EDP) has arrived.

The EDP was formed in 2002 to call for the establishment of an English Parliament. It positions itself on the right but denies it is racist, though this claim is undermined by the involvement of many leading activists from the English Defence League.

It has contested European, parliamentary and local elections but with very little success. Its one moment of glory was when Peter Davies, son of Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley, was elected Mayor of Doncaster in 2009.

With some high profile supporters, such as the columnist and TV critic Garry Bushell, the EDP thought the Doncaster result would herald a new chapter for the party. This failed to materialise and it continued its poor run of election results.

In the 2010 general election the EDP fielded 107 candidates, enabling it to qualify for a party election broadcast, but only saved its deposit in Doncaster North, the seat of the Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Last month the party stood in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election but despite running a vigorous and expensive campaign it received only 144 votes, one less than the Monster Raving Loony Party. By contrast the BNP received 1,560 votes.

And this is the heart of the EDP’s problem. Whatever its internal and political deficiencies the presence and profile of the BNP has restricted opportunities for the EDP. Tilbrook has long understood that his party would be able to prosper only if the BNP collapsed.

In the run-up to 2009 European election the EDP formed an alliance with the England First Party in the North West region. The EFP, led by Mark Cotterill, is a minuscule hard-right group based in East Lancashire. Its politics are quite different from the EDP, but they share a belief in an English Parliament and a hatred of the BNP.

White van man From flickr LoopZillaWhite van man From flickr LoopZilla

The two parties worked together, the EFP providing organisational and logistical support for the EDP. It was unclear whether the EDP would have been able to stand without it.

The driving force behind this link-up was Steve Uncles, the EDP’s national membership secretary, and Michael Cassidy, its Yorkshire chairman. Both are on the right of the party and appeared to favour a deeper link with the far right. Tilbrook agreed with the plan but he was driven more by short-term advantage, namely trying to stop Nick Griffin being elected as an MEP, which he believed would massively boost the BNP and end EDP hopes of becoming a major political party.

The plan only narrowly failed, but although Griffin was elected the BNP has not made the expected wider breakthrough and with its current internal problems and financial crisis the EDP senses another opportunity.

Tilbrook appears to have been keen to bring disillusioned BNP members into the EDP. However when former BNP members in Merseyside, Cumbria and Yorkshire began joining the English Democrats, it caused some rumblings of discontent.

It was the courting of Richard Barnbrook that caused most anger. Last November Barnbrook, who resigned from the BNP in August, approached the English Democrats. He knew that to retain his seat on the London Assembly, where he sits as an independent, he needed the financial and organisational support of a political party. Cliff Dixon, the party’s vice chair in London, voiced his concern but was told by Tilbrook to keep an open mind and that the final decision would be taken by the London Committee, chaired by Roger Cooper.

Uncles had other ideas and was keen to push Barnbrook’s application through as fast as possible.

Separately, Tilbrook had been in discussions with Eddy Butler, the former BNP national organiser who was expelled from the party after challenging Griffin for the leadership. However the two had different agendas. Tilbrook was looking to build the EDP while Butler was not convinced that the EDP, particularly in its current form, was the right party for him. Conscious that he had to keep the racial nationalists on board, Butler was unhappy with the EDP’s moderate nationalist programme. Rather, he preferred the idea of uniting the broad nationalist movement, from the racial nationalists to the right-wing populists, around a few shared themes while a longer discussion took place about what kind of party was needed.

Some have argued that Butler was biding time for Andrew Brons to make his move. While the Yorkshire MEP has stayed loyal to the BNP he is increasingly acting independently and separately from Griffin. Butler, though no longer in the BNP, works for Brons.

Dixon became increasingly concerned about the actions of Tilbrook and Uncles. Eventually he decided to speak out after the party hired Jim Dowson to run its fundraising. Not only did the EDP’s appeal letters look remarkably similar to those Dowson wrote for the BNP during the three years he worked for the party, but Dixon believed that Butler now had the EDP’s entire membership list.

After Barnbrook was accepted into the EDP at its January national council meeting, Dixon broke ranks and went public with his outrage.

He was quickly followed by Ed Abrams, a member of the EDP’s national council, who had already resigned from the party in disgust at the courting of BNP members.

“It does not please me one little bit to see the current turmoil that the party that I still consider to be my political home is in but if it is to survive then Tilbrook and Uncles have to go,” Abrams declared.

“I therefore call upon the loyal members of the English Democrats Party to call for a EGM and propose a vote of no confidence in Tilbrook and Uncles.

“Please remember that ENGLAND comes before everything, Uncles and Tilbrook have had there [sic] day, the cause and the good name of your party comes first and only by passing a vote of no confidence in these two will you be able to wipe the slate clean and move forward.”

Also supporting this position was Alistair Barbour, the BNP’s former Carlisle organiser who switched his allegiance to the EDP in protest at the extremism of the BNP. He too resigned from the EDP after other BNP members began to join though claims still to be loyal to the party’s overall aims.

“Do yourselves a favour, stay a progressive moderate party and do not allow the likes of Butler Barnbrook etc to take you to the right,” he wrote. “Tell them to crawl back to Griffin were [sic] they belong and take Uncles with them.

“Don’t let another so called nationalist party destroy England’s chances of recognition and salvation.”

The EDP is in a state of flux. The crisis in the BNP, which appeared to present an opportunity to the EDP to emerge out of the political margins, now seems to be spreading to the EDP. Whether the party can emerge stronger will be determined partly by what happens to the BNP but also by its own members’ reactions to the arrival of former BNP members in their ranks.

Published by Searchlight Magazine, February 2011.

Steve Uncles and Robin Tilbrook's mismanagement of the English Democrats has earned them and their party a well-deserved write up in the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight:

Dixon became increasingly concerned about the actions of Tilbrook and Uncles. Eventually he decided to speak out after the party hired Jim Dowson to run its fundraising. Not only did the EDP’s appeal letters look remarkably similar to those Dowson wrote for the BNP during the three years he worked for the party, but Dixon believed that Butler now had the EDP’s entire membership list.

After Barnbrook was accepted into the EDP at its January national council meeting, Dixon broke ranks and went public with his outrage.

He was quickly followed by Ed Abrams, a member of the EDP’s national council, who had already resigned from the party in disgust at the courting of BNP members.

I suspect that English Democrats members in the North West are more concerned about the possibility of Mark Cotterill having their membership details.

As you may remember Ed Abrams specifically asked Robin Tilbrook to "ensure that any page of facebook or any other social network site that has been set up in my name by members of the party is deleted".

So what did Robin Tilbrook do?

Well, rather than shut down Ed's Facebook page Robin Tilbrook instead had his chief goon deface it will personal attacks.

What a piece of shit Robin Tilbrook is.

Martin Butler has had the good sense to delete the libelous material and issue an apology on behalf of the party.

However, I suspect that Martin is lying and that he knows very well which officer of the EDP posted those remarks on Ed's page. It was most probably the same individual who uses fake Facebook pages to attack me and the same person who attacked Ed on the Socialist Unity blog; the fat, stupid, chavy, illiterate cunt who lives in Dartford; the man who has brought shame upon the English Democrats Party, linked it to neo-nazis, and reduced it and everyone in it to a laughing stock. Are those enough clues for you Martin?

Steve Uncles, the English Democrats Director of Smear Campaigns, has had enough of me and is now targeting Ed Abrams, following Ed's decision to quit the EDP. Over at Socialist Unity's coverage of Ed Abrams' resignation, someone called 'Socialist Brother' chips in with this:

It has all the hallmarks of a classic Steve Uncles smear, anonymous, cowardly, pathetic.

I contacted Socialist Unity to enquire whether the IP address of 'Socialist Brother' happened to be 81.2.97.151 and to my complete non-surprise it was. Andy Newman of Socialist Unity kindly sets the record straight with a follow-up comment.

The following is a letter from Ed Abrams of the English Democrats Party to Robin Tilbrook, party leader.

Published with permission, unedited and with no comment

Robin

It is with great sadness and regret that I write to inform you of my immediate and irrevocable decision to resign from all offices within the English Democrats party and from the party itself.

That decision, although painful is I feel the only recourse open to me - as I can no longer associate myself with the direction the party is taking.

To be honest, I have to say that I am frankly staggered that not only has the party not learned the lessons from that debacle of a tie-up with the England First Party, it seems hell-bent on making things worse and alienating our natural supporters even further by cultivating insane amalgamations with various right-wing factions. I simply cannot and will not support a party which enters into discussions, agreements and pacts with groups such as the BNP and the EDL - and nor will millions of ordinary English voters.

I blame Steve Uncles for these bizarre dalliances with the far right - and for the initial impetus to tie-up with England First. At that time, I was bullied into meeting their officials by Steve - afterwards, I made it perfectly clear-as-crystal to you told you I would never-ever be put in that position again. As there have been recent meetings and discussions with the BNP and EDL it has regretfully left me with little choice but to resign.

For some strange reason, Mr Uncles appears to believe that engagement with these groups is the right direction to take the party - I don’t, and neither do the many, many other former members who have left the party over the past two years as a direct result of the England First initiative.

The English Democrats should be the natural voting choice for any proud English person - the party should be about championing our country - and our people. We should have many millions of sympathisers and voters throughout the country .... To coin a phrase, 'Not Right, Not Left, Just English'.. But by pursuing the BNP and the EDL, the public perception of the party is that it has veered hard to the right; thereby alienating millions of our natural supporters and making the party strap-line sound like a sick joke.

After initial accusations from the media and the British Establishment that the EDP was a right wing organisation, the party worked hard to brand itself to the public as the English equivalent of the SNP but can you in your wildest dreams ever imagine that party having beer and sandwiches with Griffin and company?

No, neither can I.

In the 8 years that I have been a member I believe the EDP has taken the cause of ‘a fair deal for England’ and planted it firmly into the consciousness of thousands of English voters. However, I believe the party's mainstream breakthrough will never-ever happen just as long as Mr Uncles is allowed to play fast and loose with the party's public image. To be frank, it is he who is the biggest danger to the future of the party.

Over the years, virtually every member who has ever been in conflict with Mr Uncles has left the party, devoid of support and back-up from the top. Robin, your absolute failure to apply any controls to his role within the party and his ill-judged public pronouncements has seen many-a-good activist leave the party in disgust and disillusionment.

While Mr Uncles plays at cultivating right wing supporters of Pro-British Groups, England and her people continue to get shafted by the British Establishment. Millions and millions of people are routinely being filched, abused and fleeced - they are crying out for an inclusive champion, yet, amalgamations with groups like England First seems to be the overriding consideration of the party hierarchy. This cannot be right. Our fight must be against the British Establishment and what they have done and continue to do to our people and our country. Whilst I do agree that we have a problem with certain elements of the Islamic community, we as a party should not focus on this single issue but rather on achieving a united England under an English Parliament, free from British state interference. That should be our vision and one which we should be taking to the electorate.

And if the party does actually show signs of a breakthrough, I am afraid all the positive work that scores of party activists have done over the years will be unceremoniously undone when any junior reporter decides to type the name of the second highest official of the party into the Google search engine and view the resultant horrors for themselves. (Why not try it for yourself Robin?)

We have lost so many good, honest and hardworking activists because of the insane shoot-from-the-hip actions of one person. Robin, to say I am appalled that so little control has been exercised on him by yourself is somewhat of an understatement. You had/have the responsibility of controlling him. Whenever the opportunity arose to confront him and stop his scheming, you patently failed to do so - preferring to side with him and by implication back and further encourage his actions - thus leaving any opposition with little alternative but resignation. In my opinion, that inaction is unforgivable.

We have a country and 50 million people to save for God's sake, yet the party seems obsessed with avoiding the voting mainstream! In my view, existing and ex-Labour voters must be the party's target. They only vote Labour because they perceive them to be the party of the working class. It is clear that Labour has failed them - they will not vote Tory and are desperate to find a new political home. There is absolutely no reason why the English Democrats cannot fill that void. Those people in the Labour heartlands are the ones who will feel the British financial belt-tightening more than anyone, yet as far as I can see we have done next to nothing in trying to gain support in these areas.

England means more to me than life itself. Justice for our people is something I have always striven for - and it is a cause for which I will continue to fight! But remember, careless talk costs votes, credibility - and power. The sooner you and the rest of the NC realise this, the sooner a breakthrough will happen.

I would like to thank members of the party who have given me so much love and support over the years, I have made many lifelong friends. Please heed my comments Robin, the party is bigger than any one person - but certain people need to get off their power trips and put England first.(that's a small 'f' by the way).

Could you please ensure that any page of facebook or any other social network site that has been set up in my name by members of the party is deleted.

Shalom to you and your family

Ed Abrams

In very much the same vein as Steve Uncles previous smears against me, and following on from my previous post on the cross-pollination between the English Democrats and the English Defence League, the mystery female EDP supporters have all changed their Facebook profiles to mention me.

Helen North, whose interests include Sex Games, is friends with leading English Democrats. Steve Uncles and Ed Abrams are two of her English Democrat buddies visible in this screen shot. Tony Holyoak whose antics I've covered previously, is another.

Morrigan Oxford, who likes Steve Uncles, Robin Tilbrook, The English Democrats and Max Uncles (spawn of Steve Uncles), is also friends with leading English Democrats, one of whom is Steve Uncles.

Isla White is friends with Steve Uncles, Ed Abrams and Janus Polenceus, and is a fan of Robin Tilbrook, The English Defence League, Max Uncles and The English Democrats.

Anne Berkshire, who counts Steve Uncles and Robin Tilbrook amongst her friends, is - surprisingly enough - also a fan of Steve Uncles, Robin Tilbrook, The English Defence League and The English Democrats.

There is of course absolutely no suggestion that any of these womens' Facebook profiles are operated by Steve Uncles. The National Communications Director of England's leading party has far better things to do than to create fake Facebook profiles in order to pose as young women on the English Defence League website, and do God knows what else (what do middle-aged fat blokes do with fake Facebook profiles of pretty young women?).

Though, having said that, if you search for these women using the the EDP's email format (for example: islawhite@engdem.org) the search does return the correct person.

However, the same search using a hotmail or yahoo email address does not return the individual in question.

Oh look, Morrigan Oxford also has an email address containing the @engdem.org domain, so she must be a high-ranking person in the party.

And so too does Helen North, so presumably also an EDP high-flyer.

And Anne Berkshire, the EDP big-cheese.

And Sue Eastwood, that EDP mover-and-shaker.

And very possibly scores of others that are unknown to anyone other than the person in control of the English Democrats' email server. But does anyone know who that could be? One wonders what Louise Uncles of Abbott Laboratories would make of it all