Filmmaker Miles Blayden-Ryall follows the Britain First movement for four months during 2015 as they plan demonstrations in Luton and Rotherham. The driving forces behind their activities are former British National Party (BNP) press officer Paul Golding and 29-year- old law graduate Jayda Fransen.
One of Britain First's main claims is that they are different from any other far right movement insofar that they are not "racist" and admit supporters irrespective of age, sex and religion. Yet such statements seem extremely hollow in view of their rabid Islamophobia. Some of the things that Golding and Fransen say are quite shocking in their combination of sheer ignorance and prejudice.
Eighty years ago the British Union of Fascists under Sir Oswald Mosley preached similar doctrines, leading to regular clashes between members of his group and anti-Fascists. In the Seventies there were similar conflicts between the National Front and the anti-Fascist movement. Britain First seem hell-bent on causing similar social disorder, despite their protests to the contrary; the two leaders manipulate social media with deliberately provocative videos to emphasize their points.
What is abundantly clear is that the Britain First movement deliberately harass ordinary people for their own self-interested ends. They never listen to others and refuse to answer questions that might appear too difficult to answer. Even filmmaker Blayden- Ryall ends up realizing that they really are not worth listening to. The film ends with the two leaders refusing to allow him to continue his documentary, which seems a very good idea.
Despite their allegations to the contrary, the Britain First movement attracts only a few people to its rallies - a maximum of two hundred a time. Most of their attendees are white working class men spoiling for a fight, with little or no understanding of anything, least of all the importance of multiculturalism. Blayden- Ryall claims that the leaders' views are potentially insidious, especially if they are embraced by others; but this documentary suggests the opposite. Britain First is a marginal movement led by two paranoiacs to be pitied rather than listened to.