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The New Labour Association (NULA) is a British socialist organisation and affiliate to the Labour Party created by Deputy Chairman Oswald Mosley to advance the principles of Maximism and Totalism within the wider Labour Party and the Union of Britain. The formal successor to Mosley's Popular Revolution Party (PRP), the New Labour Association was created upon the dissolution of the party and its merging into Labour in 1931, and carried with it much of the PRP's institutional and administrative structure that had seen success in the 1931 General Election. The New Labour Association acts as the coordinating and administrative body for all of Mosley's other endeavours, including the Action newspaper, the paramilitary Popular Revolutionary Guards (or Blackshirts), the 'Vigour, Order, Labour, Triumph' (VOLT) youth organisation and indirectly the 'January Club' social club.
The New Labour Association's chief inspiration is that of the Fabian Society, though outside of both being wide-reaching affiliates of Labour, the two organisations share little in common. Unlike the PRP that preceded it, whose general ideological direction gradually drifted with Mosley's whims and political shifts and whose stated aim varied between being a coalition of like-minded Labour members, a ginger-group or a fully independent political party, the New Labour Association was created from the offset with the intent of being a mass organisation through which the ideology of Maximism could be mobilised within Labour. As such, the New Labour Association is regarded as a test-ground for Maximist governing principles, including an aggressively centralised power structure around its Leader, and a highly regimented structural organisation that bears more similarities to a paramilitary organisation than a political society. As a result, NULA is considered to be a party-within-a-party that often acts autonomously from the wider Labour Party, often leading to tensions between the organisation's leadership and Labour's National Executive Committee.
The organisation and structure of the New Labour Association (NULA), as of 1936
Ideologically, the New Labour Association militantly adheres to the ideology of Maximism, and officially Leader Oswald Mosley has the final say on all decisions made by the Executive Committee and thus total control over the organisation. However, political commentators have noted some room for deviation within the Departments and Committees of NULA, initially stemming from Mosley's sometimes quixotic ideas that, combined with the general ambition of many NULA members, has since given rise to notable factions within the organisation. These factions fall into three rough groups:
- The 'Mosleyites', doctrinaire followers of Oswald Mosley's writings, manifestos and plans, dominate NULA's apparatus and make up the majority of NULA membership. Other than Mosley himself, important Mosleyites include Assistant-Director Ian Dundas, Director of Policy and Minister of Industry and Labour Alexander Raven Thomson, Director of Propaganda and Minister of Information Wilfred Risdon, and Director of Research George Sutton.
- The more radical 'Beckettites', eponymously named after NULA Director-General John Beckett, and also led by Director of External Affairs John Scanlon and Deputy Director of Propaganda William Joyce. A sizable minority of NULA members, the Beckettites usually alignwith the broader ideology of Maximism, but are noticeably more anti-Semitic, anti-bureaucratic and revolutionary in intent, adhering to a 'national socialism' inspired by Thomas Carlyle and Henry Hyndman.
- The 'Liberal Maximists', led by the so-called 'Dorneywood Clique' of Cynthia 'Cimmie' Mosley, Harold Nicolson, John Strachey and Robert Forgan. These moderates tend to be figures aligned with some of Mosley's political ideals, primarily his plans for wide-reaching interventionist economic reform, but who disagree with the more militant, "excessive" side of Maximism. However, if push comes to shove, the Liberal Maximists would still be expected to support the Leader in any potential crisis.
The New Labour Association has grown to being one of the foremost political forces within the Union of Britain, a feat propelled by the highly visible role Oswald Mosley played during the 1932 Parliamentary Crisis, and Mosley's subsequent ascension to Chairman in April 1933. While the precise membership of the society is known only to NULA's Executive Committee, credible estimates put the total rank-and-file of NULA and its associated organisations as potentially north of 200,000, a number that has risen as Mosley has mobilised the organisation in preparation of the upcoming 1936 General Election, in which Maximist-aligned candidates are expected to do very well.
| Name | Position | Faction |
|---|---|---|
| Oswald Mosley | Leader of NULA | Mosleyite |
| John Beckett | Director-General of NULA | Beckettite |
| Ian Dundas | Assistant-Director of NULA | Mosleyite |
| Bryan Donovan | General Secretary of NULA | Mosleyite |
| Sellick Davies | Treasurer of NULA | Mosleyite |
| Wilfred Risdon | Director of Propaganda | Mosleyite |
| William Joyce | Deputy Director of Propaganda | Beckettite |
| Alexander Raven Thomson | Director of Policy | Mosleyite |
| Richard Bellamy | Deputy Director of Policy | Mosleyite |
| George Sutton | Director of Research | Mosleyite |
| Ernest D. Hart | Deputy Director of Research | Beckettite |
| John Scanlon | Director of External Affairs | Beckettite |
| A.G. Findlay | Director of Public Relations | Mosleyite |
| Fred Williams | Chairman of Vigour, Order, Labour, Triumph | Mosleyite |
| Tommy Moran | Chairman of the NULA Industrial Committee | Mosleyite |
| H. Burnett | Deputy Chairman of the NULA Industrial Committee | Mosleyite |
| Eric Piercy | Director of the National Action Committee, Commander of the Blackshirts | Mosleyite |
| F.M. Box | Deputy Director of the National Action Committee, Commander of I Squad | Mosleyite |
| Neil Francis Hawkins | Director of the London District Action Committee, Commander of X Squad | Unaligned |