Portsmouth councillor denies endorsing far-right groups after calling for them to "unite" with other parties

Councillor George Madgwick, leader of the Portsmouth Independent Party group, moved to clarify his comments after concerns were raised with the Local Democracy Reporting Service about the post he made in a Facebook group called ‘Portsmouth Patriots’.

In the post, the Paulsgrove councillor argues: “The entire right needs to get under one umbrella and stop the in-fighting. It’s always been the one issue on the right side of politics. Before Reform there was UKIP, Britain First, For Britain, Heritage and loads of other factions. They all need to get round the table and unite.”

Britain First is a far-right, fascist political party and hate group that promotes British nationalism, focusing on limiting immigration and opposing what it describes as the “Islamisation” of Britain. In 2014, the hate group faced backlash for staging “Christian patrols”, where members marched through predominantly Muslim areas, displaying crosses and distributing Bibles to provoke residents and promote an anti-Islam agenda.

Similarly, the For Britain Movement is a far-right party known for its nationalist and anti-Islam platform. The party was founded in 2017 by Anne Marie Waters after an unsuccessful bid for UKIP leadership. In the same year, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage wrote in The Telegraph that “racists nearly killed UKIP this week”. The Local Democracy Reporting Service reached out to Cllr Madgwick to clarify if his suggestion for far-right groups to “unite” with mainstream parties could potentially legitimise them.

Defending his words, Cllr Madgwick said: “I do not support or endorse far-right organisations in any capacity. Unfortunately, I have become a threat, in local politics, to the national parties and recently there has been a constant attack of false narrative on me to tarnish or hurt my reputation.

“My words and thoughts are strongly being taken out of context to suit the narrative of a minority of people who wish me harm. What I do recognise is that for many years the far-right, right and centre-right parties have splintered into multiple different factions and micro-parties. There is very little unity amongst the groups and that causes division amongst that view of politics.

“As a fan of politics I’m entitled to comment and post my opinions on the political spectrum and commenting opinions doesn’t mean an endorsement of any kind. I also have recently made comments on the far-left groups within Portsmouth, doesn’t mean I support them. I believe that all groups from all sides of politics should always look to work together when they’ve got a singular focus or aim.”