The British Democrats is a fascist political party that splintered from the British National Party (BNP) in 2013. The split was led by Jim Lewthwaite, a former BNP councillor in Bradford, and Andrew Brons, formerly one of the BNP’s two MEPs and before that a leader of the National Front.

As the BNP collapsed, the British Democrats offered a home for defectors and exiles. However, the group failed to capitalise on any early momentum and support quickly drained away. Other than fielding small numbers of candidates at elections, the group has spent much of the last decade gathering dust.

The British Democrats received an injection of new members in 2022, celebrated by Lewthwaite as “unprecedented growth”. Many of the new recruits were former members of the anti-Muslim party For Britain which had folded that year, including Cllr Julian Leppert in Epping Forest and other former BNP figures in London, Essex and Kent.

Despite this influx, the group stood just five candidates in the 2023 local elections, receiving poor results and its sole sitting councillor, Julian Leppert, losing his seat. It has however gained a handful of councillors at the parish level, the lowest tier of local government.

Lewthwaite and other figures remain active in the UK’s traditional fascist milieu, including the fascist magazine Heritage & Destiny, and in 2022 he made an attempt to relaunch the Yorkshire Forum, a far-right discussion group. The British Democrats also maintain links to Patriotic Alternative (PA), the most active fascist group in the UK, with PA activists often campaigning for its candidates in election periods.