Who is Jack Buckby, the fascist dropout that contested Jo Cox’s seat?

Jo Cox was murdered. She was shot and stabbed by a man who has since been linked to neo-Nazi groups and reportedly shouted ‘Britain first’ as he did it. She has been remembered by MPs, hailed as a “21st century good samaritan”, and Barack Obama personally called her widower to send his condolences.

The by-election forced by Jo Cox’s death was contested by Jack Buckby for Liberty GB, a far-right party, while the major parties agreed not to contest it out of respect. Buckby tweeted a video explaining why he was running. He claimed that the Labour party was “responsible for the cultural and demographic crisis, and destruction of Britain”. He also said that Labour voters had been “duped” by the party and that Labour was walking the election with “smug little grins on their faces”

He invoked Mrs Cox’s memory when explaining his decision, saying: “I’m standing in Batley and Spen because I don’t want Jo Cox’s death to be in vain.”

In a press release Buckby also said: “The Labour Party has blood on its hands. And by shutting down debate and labelling working class people concerned about their communities as racists, they risk driving desperate, disenfranchised people to further horrendous acts like this.”

So who is Jack Buckby? Who is the man who turned up to a freshers’ fair with a skinhead minder in tow? Who is the 23-year-old who wore a Union Jack tie while poking Nick Griffin in the head with an umbrella? Who is the man who was once called the ‘rising star’ of the right?

Buckby without a cause

He describes himself as a ‘paleoconservative’ and a ‘culturist’. His party, Liberty GB have an anti-EU, anti immigration platform. They want to abolish the Human Rights Act, deport all illegal immigrants and stop all immigration for the next five years.

Buckby, who was expelled from the University of Liverpool in 2013, has a long history of working with the far-right. He was originally part of the BNP youth wing, until he left when they became ‘racist’. It’s not certain how or when Mr Buckby ascertained that the BNP had become racist.

It’s fair to say his star has waned – he’s since been working as Liberty GB’s press officer. In 2014, he ran in the EU elections for the party, hoping to become an MEP. He finished last, receiving 0.02 per cent of the vote – behind such politically-renowned organisations like The Roman Party, the Pirate Party, and Yorkshire First.

In fact, the party did so badly, that they received the fewest votes of any party, ever, in the UK’s European elections since the system was introduced. Buckby will have to improve his tally to force Labour out of the seat.

Liberty GB, who want to abolish all “multicultural and so-called equality quangos” according to their manifesto,  has also called Baroness Warsi a “professional Muslim”. Their leader, Paul Weston, was cited in white supremacist, terrorist and mass-murderer Anders Breivik’s manifesto, after writing for the far-right site GatesofVienna.net. Buckby gave an interview to the same site in 2014.

Buckby has form in challenging the Labour party: when speaking with right-wing web personality Gavin McInnes, he agreed with McInnes who said that the Labour party had deliberately “imported” “towelheads”, as a “malicious act” in order to sabotage the white working class. McInnes is, interestingly enough, the only journalist Buckby will now speak to.

Buckby was expelled from the University after various incidents – he later released a Youtube rant on a channel called ‘Ban Koran’, which accused his expulsion of being illegal. He claimed the university had served him with a ‘200 page dossier’, explaining why he wasn’t welcome at Liverpool any longer.

Mary Skinheaddins

He is no stranger to controversy – his Liverpool career started and finished with a bang. In 2013, he turned up to the fresher’s fair with a skinhead minder in tow, only to be harangued by anti-fascists who forced them to go home in a taxi.

He’s previously supported an AIDS-related poster campaign from US white supremacist group National Alliance – saying that “we need these posters on campus.” The posters advocated avoiding sex with’ intravenous drug abusers’, ‘bisexuals’ and ‘blacks’.

His organisation, then known as the ‘National Culturalists’, saw him speaking at events alongside major far-right figures such as Nick Griffin, former head of the BNP. 

His current party, Liberty GB, have much the same cultural ends – according to their manifesto, they want to “promote British values and assimilation” and stop the “indoctrination” of children in schools, as well as turning back the “Islamisation of Britain”.

At the time he was expelled, the University put out this statement: “The University is committed to freedom of expression within the law. We would not seek to prevent a group or individual representing a particular point of view providing this is done legally.

“We do not, however, tolerate the publication of any material that is offensive, intimidating, threatening, indecent or illegal and appropriate disciplinary action is taken against any individuals found responsible for such behaviour.

“It would be inappropriate to discuss individual cases.”

Buckby also hit the headlines in Liverpool when he claimed the Lee Rigby killing in Woolwich was “a perfect example of what Islam is all about.” Buckby later attacked a professor in his post-expulsion rant, calling Professor Moosavi “dangerous”, after the Professor had mentioned that British foreign policy was playing into extremists’ hands.

Professor Moosavi when contacted for comment said: “I never met Jack and I didn’t have any real issues with him. I was aware of his support for fringe views but I didn’t really engage with him about them.”

So Jack Buckby, former member of the BNP and anti-immigration and anti-Islam campaigner, is hoping to unseat the Labour party from a seat that no-one else is contesting out of respect for their dead MP. He is doing it while invoking famed immigration campaigner Jo Cox’s memory, and despite the fact that he received the lowest vote total ever in an EU election last time he stood. So with no chance of winning, Buckby – who bills himself as a defender of British values – has grabbed a dead woman’s memory, with a message directly contrary to his own, twisted it to his liking and is running with it.