Eddy Butler

"For other people of similar name see Eddie Butler or Edward Butler"

Eddy Butler is the current head of the British National Party Elections Department and has been dubbed the party's 'election guru' by their newspaper "Freedom". [ [http://www.bnp.org.uk/freedom/Vof73-5.pdf 'May 3rd 2007: The Campaign Starts Now!'] article from "The Voice of Freedom"]

Butler first came to prominence in the early 1990s when he was party organiser in Tower Hamlets. Whilst in charge here Butler masterminded the 'Rights for Whites' campaign, a locally-based initiative that sought to highlight perceived council bias against White British. The campaign, which initially presented itself as independent before linking directly to the BNP, was instrumental in building up support for the party in the area which culminated in the election of Derek Beackon in Millwall in 1993 [N. Copsey, "Contemporary British Fascism: The British National Party and the Quest for Legitimacy", Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004, pp. 55-6] .

Butler's success brought him promotion within the party and he was soon appointed National Elections Officer. Whilst in this position he was the victim of a knife attack, allegedly carried out by members of Combat 18 in 1994 during a period of strained relations between the BNP and the group. [N. Copsey, "Contemporary British Fascism: The British National Party and the Quest for Legitimacy", Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004, p. 66] Butler also became closely associated with party 'modernisers' such as Tony Lecomber, Michael Newland and others associated with "The Patriot" magazine. As a member of the Bloomsbury Forum, Butler was closely linked to the founders of the Freedom Party and joined that group in 2001. [N. Copsey, "Contemporary British Fascism: The British National Party and the Quest for Legitimacy", Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004, p. 69] Although appointed as Campaign Director, Butler has since returned to the BNP and played a leading role in the 2006 local elections. [N. Lowles, [http://www.searchlightmagazine.com/index.php?link=template&story=161 'Hope v Hate - The 2006 local election campaign '] , "Searchlight"] The January 2008 edition of Searchlight reported that Butler had resigned as Eastern regional organiser citing pressure of other party work.

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