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Paul Golding

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Paul Golding
Leader of Britain First
Incumbent
Assumed office
2014
DeputyJayda Fransen
Personal details
Born (1982-01-25) 25 January 1982 (age 42)
Political partyBritain First (2011–present)
BNP (until 2011)
National Front (previously)

Paul Anthony Golding (born 25 January 1982)[1][2] is a British nationalist politician and convicted criminal. He is known as the leader of Britain First, an organisation described as a "fascist paramilitary group".[3][4][5]

Golding was a British National Party Sevenoaks District councillor for Swanley[6] from 2009 to 2011, and was also the BNP's Communications Officer. In 2016, he stood as a candidate in the London mayoral election,[7] where he finished in eighth place.

Political career

He stood as British National Party candidate for Sevenoaks in the 2010 general election, and received 2.8% of the vote.[8] He stood as a Britain First lead candidate in the 2014 European Parliamentary election for Wales; the party received 0.9% of the vote.[9] Golding had been a member of the neo-Nazi National Front and once attended a Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday wearing women's underwear on his head.[10]

In May 2015, Golding threatened to bury a pig at the site of proposed mosque in Dudley, mistakenly believing this would contaminate the site and render it unsuitable.[11] During a visit to Northern Ireland that year, Golding and other supporters of Britain First mistook Newtownards Town Hall for a mosque.[12][13] At the Britain First Annual Conference in November 2015, Golding and his deputy Jayda Fransen led the meeting which agreed a number of policies including banning the media from using the word 'racism' and abolishing the BBC.[14]

He stood as a candidate in the London mayoral election in 2016.[15][16] He came eighth, behind George Galloway. Labour's Sadiq Khan won the election. Golding was accused of making libellous and Islamophobic comments about Khan during the election.[17]

In May 2014, Golding was arrested for criminal damage and breach of the peace during a protest outside the Indian Embassy in London.[18] In July 2014, he tried to have himself arrested at Bexleyheath police station over an incident at Crayford Mosque, but failed, an act widely considered to be a fund-raising publicity stunt.[19]

In March 2015, he was arrested on suspicion of assault during a Britain First march in Derby, as was an opponent who Golding had claimed assaulted him.[20] Also in 2015, Golding was convicted of harassing a woman, after mistakenly arriving at her home instead of that of a man allegedly linked to the 2005 London bombings. He was also found guilty of wearing a political uniform, an offence under the Public Order Act 1936. A restraining order was issued against Golding and he was fined for both offences.[21]

Elections contested

UK general elections

Date of election Constituency Party Votes % Result
2010 Sevenoaks BNP 1,384 2.8[8] Not elected

European Parliament elections

Year Region Party Votes % Result Notes
2014 Wales Britain First 6,633 0.9 Not elected[9] Multi member constituencies; party list

London mayoral election

Year Party Votes % Result
2016 Britain First 31,372 1.2 Not elected

References

  1. ^ "Britain First on Twitter: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRITAIN FIRST LEADER PAUL GOLDING, WHO TURNS 33 TODAY. OCS!"". Twitter. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Paul GOLDING". Gov.uk. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  3. ^ Adam Bienkov, "Britain First: The violent new face of British fascism", politics.co.uk, 19 June 2014
  4. ^ Willard Foxton, "The loathsome Britain First are trying to hijack the poppy – don’t let them", The Daily Telegraph, 4 November 2014
  5. ^ "Controversial group Britain First to march in Luton next month". Luton on Sunday. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Ex-Sevenoaks BNP councillor behind military campaign". Sevenoaks Chronicle. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  7. ^ York, Chris (27 September 2015). "Britain First's Paul Golding To Stand In London Mayoral Election". Huffington Post. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  8. ^ a b Sevenoaks, BBC News Election 2010
  9. ^ a b Vote 2014 - Wales, BBC News
  10. ^ "Britain First: inside the extremist group targeting mosques", Channel 4 News, 19 June 2014
    - "The shame of Paul Golding", Hope not hate website, 26 April 2014
    - "Far-right leader turned up to Cenotaph with knickers on his head", Political Scrapbook,10 November 2014
  11. ^ Chris York (10 May 2015). "Britain First Leader Threatens To Bury Pig At Site Of Planned Mosque". The Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  12. ^ Steven Hopkins (3 September 2015). "Britain First Mistake Town Hall For Mosque On Trip To Northern Ireland To Warn About Muslims". The Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  13. ^ John Monaghan (29 August 2015). "Far right activists investigated after photo outside Islamic prayer centre". The Irish News. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  14. ^ Steven Hopkins (17 November 2015). "Britain First: Public Can't Stop Laughing Over Far-Right Party's Plans To 'Ban Racism'". The Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  15. ^ York, Chris (27 September 2015). "Britain First's Paul Golding To Stand In London Mayoral Election". Huffington Post. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  16. ^ Mogule, Priyanka (27 September 2015). "Britain First leader Paul Golding to run for London mayor: Wants to hang opponents". International Business Times. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Britain First Send out Libellous Statements Against Labour Hopeful Sadiq Khan - TELL MAMA". Tellmamauk.org. 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  18. ^ Matthew Collins (9 May 2014). "The Insider's blog: Outside the Indian Embassy now." www.hopenothate.org.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  19. ^ Tim MacFarlan (17 July 2014). "Far right leader Paul Golding tries to give himself up for arrest – and fails". News Shopper. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  20. ^ Zena Hawley (9 March 2015). "I'll be back, says Britain First party leader Paul Golding after claiming he was attacked in Derby". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  21. ^ Sam Balls, "Britain First leader Paul Golding found guilty of harassment and wearing a political uniform", Essex Chronicle, 6 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
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