Adam Walker (British politician)
Adam Walker (born 1 April 1969)[citation needed] is the chairman of the British National Party. He was elected in a leadership election on 27 July 2015, having previously been appointed acting chairman by the National Executive when the then-leader, Nick Griffin, resigned.
Adam Walker | |
|---|---|
| Chairman of the British National Party | |
| Assumed office 27 July 2015 Acting: 21 July 2014 – 27 July 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Nick Griffin |
| Deputy Chairman of the British National Party | |
| In office 21 July 2014 – 27 July 2015 | |
| President | Nick Griffin |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 April 1969 Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England |
| Citizenship | British |
| Political party | British National Party |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Spennymoor, County Durham, England |
| Profession | Politician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch/service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1985–1990 |
| Unit | 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars |
Biography
Walker was born in Bishop Auckland in 1969 into a working-class background. The eldest of three children, his father was a joiner and his mother a seamstress.[citation needed]
Military and teaching career
According to Walker, on 14 June 1985, two months after his sixteenth birthday, he joined the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars and served for five years as a battle tank crewman.[citation needed] Following discharge from the army, Walker states that he worked for some time in the construction industry before studying for a National Diploma in land use and recreation and later became a technology teacher at Houghton Kepier College near Sunderland, a post from which he was dismissed following allegations of "using school computers to look at extremist literature and engage in racially and religiously intolerant chatter online during school-time".[1]
In September 2012, Walker was given a six-month suspended jail sentence and twelve-month driving ban for an incident on 23 April 2011, in which he verbally abused three schoolboys, who were between the ages of 10 and 12, chasing them in his Land Rover Discovery and slashing the tyres on their bikes with a sheath knife. After investigation by the General Teaching Council, Walker was banned for life from the profession in 2013.[2][3] He challenged the ban in court, but his legal challenge was dismissed in February 2014.[2]
Political career
In 2010, Walker represented the BNP as part of a delegation led by French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen to Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The Shinto shrine commemorates Japanese war dead and is revered by the far right in Japan. Visits to this shrine have traditionally been a sensitive point in international politics between Japan, Korea, and China.[4]
Before becoming party chairman, Walker had been the BNP's deputy chairman. He described Britain in a November 2013 speech as a "multicultural shithole".[3] He further said that Britons were facing "ethnic cleansing."[3] He worked for the party with its two MEPs, Griffin and Andrew Brons,[5] as well as serving as President of Solidarity – The Union for British Workers, a trade union established by the BNP.[6]
During the 2010 general election Walker campaigned alongside Griffin wearing army uniform, which attracted widespread criticism.[1] In a subsequent interview with Jeremy Paxman on BBC's Newsnight programme, when asked if the male in army uniform had been a "real soldier", Griffin replied, "The chap who's been there in army fatigues, they're his army fatigues from the first Gulf because he served there. He's there in that uniform to attract attention to the fact that we're the only major party saying we shouldn't be in Afghanistan – it's a war that's got nothing to do with Britain."[citation needed] When subsequently questioned Walker himself said that he was not a current member of the British Army.[7]
Commenting on a fire bombing of a synagogue in Germany by a Muslim, Walker said, "While out campaigning several months ago, I spoke to a Jewish man who stated that he was considering moving with his family to Israel in light of the rising anti-Jewish sentiment from Muslims. We don't have an Israel, I said – we lose Britain, we've lost everything!"[8]
After Nick Griffin stepped down as BNP leader on 19 July 2014 to become the organisation's president (he was later expelled from the party and thus the presidency in October 2014), Walker became interim leader until the leadership election in 2015.[9] This was contested by Walker and Paul Hilliard, the BNP Derbyshire Sub Regional Organiser. The results were announced on 27 July 2015, with Walker winning with 523 votes (76.58%) against Hilliard's 145 (21.23%), with 15 spoiled ballot papers (2.19%).[10]
Walker sought re-election in the leadership election in June 2019,[11] since the party constitution required a leadership election to occur at least once every four years. His only opponent was the BNP press officer and national spokesman David Furness.[12] The results were announced by the returning officer, David O'Loughlin, on 29 July 2019 at an unnamed venue in north west London. Walker won 308 votes (64.71%) to Furness' 161 (33.82%) and was re-elected BNP leader. There were 7 spoiled ballot papers (1.47%).[13]
Walker is from Spennymoor, County Durham, and has two children.[3]
Elections contested
UK Parliament elections
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Bishop Auckland | BNP | 2,036 | 4.9[14] |
| 2015 | Rotherham | BNP | 225 | 0.6[15] |
| 2017 | Bishop Auckland | BNP | 991 | 2.3[16] |
See also
References
- ^ a b Barling, Kurt. "Barling's London: A BNP ruse on the Barking campaign trail". BBC. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Teacher banned for life appointed to replace Nick Griffin as BNP leader". The Guardian. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Nick Griffin quits as BNP leader: Banned schoolteacher Adam Walker appointed as chairman as party founders". The Independent. 22 July 2014. from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ "Le Pen among Euro rightists in Japan WWII shrine visit". BBC News. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
David McNeil (14 August 2010). "Far right pays tribute to Japan's 'war heroes'". The Independent. from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2014. - ^ "BNP activist Adam Walker loses Michael Gove teaching ban challenge". BBC News. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ . British National Party. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ Daniel Trilling (12 April 2010). "Who is the BNP's "soldier"?". New Statesman. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ Watts, Henry (17 January 2017). "When fire-bombing a synagogue is not a hate crime". BNP. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ . British National Party. 2 July 2015. Archived from the original on 9 August 2015.
- ^ . British National Party. 27 July 2015. Archived from the original on 29 July 2015.
- ^ . British National Party. 4 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019.
- ^ . YouTube. 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020.
- . British National Party. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. - ^ . British National Party. 13 July 2019. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019.
- ^ . BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
"Adam Walker: Electoral history and profile". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2014. - ^ "Election 2015: Rotherham". BBC News. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "Election 2017: Bishop Auckland", BBC News. Retrieved 9 June 2017