:Jack Buckby

{{Infobox person

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Jack Buckby

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| image = Jack Buckby August 2019.jpg

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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1993|2|10|df=y}}{{Cite news|url=https://tameside.directory/people/jack-buckby/|title=Jack Buckby, Journalist|work=Tameside Directory|access-date=2021-10-19|language=en-US}}

| birth_place = Lancashire, England, UK

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| years_active = 2012–present

| party = British National Party (until 2013)
Liberty GB (2013–2017)
For Britain Movement (2017–2020)

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| spouse = Martina Markota

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| website = {{url|jackbuckby.co.uk}}

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Jack Buckby (born 10 February 1993) is a British far-right political figure and author who was previously active in a number of groups and campaigns, including the British National Party, Liberty GB and Proud Boys. In 2017 he was associated with Anne Marie Waters and the For Britain Movement party.

Early life and the BNP

Buckby joined the British National Party after meeting its leader Nick Griffin.{{Cite web|last=Francey|first=Matthew|date=2013-02-20|title=Meet the Boy Wonder of the British Far-Right|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/jack-buckby-is-proud-to-be-britains-next-nick-griffin/|access-date=2020-06-25|website=Vice|language=en}} He was active in its youth movement, known at various times as BNP Crusaders and Resistance.{{Cite web|date=2013-08-16|title=Revealed: The third man in THAT Traditional Britain photo - and what|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/revealed-the-third-man-in-that-traditional-britain-photo-and-what-he-says-about-the-new-loony-right-8771448.html|access-date=2020-06-25|website=The Independent|language=en}} He started a far-right youth group called the Natural Culturists in July 2012, while studying political science at the University of Liverpool.{{Cite web|title=British student Jack Buckby spearheads far-right political movement - Macleans.ca|url=https://www.macleans.ca/news/world/anti-multicultural-academic/|access-date=2020-06-25|website=www.macleans.ca|date=19 March 2013 }}{{Cite web|last=Francey|first=Matthew|date=2013-04-10|title=The Boy Wonder of the British Far Right Is Sad That Thatcher Died|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/jack-buckby-margaret-thatcher-national-culturists/|access-date=2020-06-25|website=Vice|language=en}} Griffin introduced him at a meeting of the Alliance of European National Movements in 2012. He was described at the time as a potential future leader of the BNP to succeed Griffin.{{Cite news|first=Nazia |last=Parveen |date=2016-06-19|title=Jo Cox memorial service remembers '21st-century good samaritan'|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/19/jo-cox-memorial-service-birstall-labour-mp|access-date=2020-06-25|issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web|date=2016-06-19|title=A former BNP member is going to stand for Jo Cox's seat in a by-election|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dead-murdered-labour-mp-batley-and-spen-by-election-bnp-politician-jack-buckby-a7089966.html|access-date=2020-06-25|website=The Independent|language=en}} Buckby left the party the same year, saying that the “open race hatred became unacceptable". He was expelled from the University of Liverpool.{{Cite web|date=2014-05-09|title=VIDEO: Bitter Buckby lashes out at Liverpool Uni in Youtube rant|url=https://thetab.com/uk/liverpool/2014/05/09/bitter-buckby-lashes-out-at-liverpool-uni-in-youtube-rant-13114|access-date=2020-06-25|website=University of Liverpool|language=en-GB}}

Liberty GB and Anne Marie Waters

Buckby joined Liberty GB, a new far-right party, in 2013. He stood as a candidate in the 2014 European Parliament election for the South East England constituency in third position on the party's list, behind the founder Paul Weston. The list received 0.11% of the vote.{{Cite news|title=South East England (European Parliament constituency) - BBC News|language=en-GB|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/eu-regions/E15000008|access-date=2020-06-25}} By 2016, he was serving as the party's press officer.{{Cite web|author1=Tim Hume |author2=Fred Pleitgen|title=British referendum campaigning resumes|url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/19/europe/uk-brexit-campaigns-resume/index.html|access-date=2020-06-25|website=CNN|date=19 June 2016 }}

In June 2016, he tweeted that the Orlando nightclub shooting was the fault of LGBT people. Following the murder of Jo Cox in 2016 by a far-right activist, Buckby stood as the Liberty GB candidate in the 2016 Batley and Spen by-election to fill Cox's seat, appearing on the ballot as "No to terrorism, yes to Britain".{{Cite news|date=2016-09-27|title=Candidate list released for Jo Cox seat|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-37489236|access-date=2020-06-25}}{{Cite news|last=Walker|first=Peter|date=2017-07-27|title=Ukip leadership hopeful gets help with campaign from ex-BNP member|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/27/ukip-leadership-help-campaign-ex-bnp-jack-buckby-anne-marie-waters|access-date=2020-06-25|issn=0261-3077}} Large parties, including the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats did not stand candidates due to the circumstances of the by-election.{{Cite web|title=Brexit Britain: BNP posts Jo Cox '˜Muslim' slur through neighbours' letterboxes|url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/crime/brexit-britain-bnp-posts-jo-cox-muslim-slur-through-neighbours-letterboxes-1795945|access-date=2020-06-25|website=www.yorkshirepost.co.uk|date=29 June 2016 |language=en}} He came sixth, with 1.1% of the vote.{{Cite web|date=2016-10-21|title=Labour win big in Jo Cox's old seat|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/far-right-candidates-lose-deposit-labour-win-big-jo-coxs-old-seat-26590|access-date=2020-06-25|website=inews.co.uk|language=en}}

In February 2017, Buckby told a student activist on television to "take in a Syrian refugee, I hope you don't get raped".{{Cite web|last=Beever|first=Susie|date=2017-02-09|title="I hope you don't get raped": Batley candidate's live TV rant|url=http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/watch-former-batley--spen-12582290|access-date=2020-06-25|website=YorkshireLive}}{{Cite news|last=Fisher|first=Lucy|title=Is Anne Marie Waters too extreme even for Ukip?|newspaper=The Times |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/is-anne-marie-waters-too-extreme-even-for-ukip-mjx5hxvqk|access-date=2020-06-25|issn=0140-0460}} He is thought to have left Liberty GB in June 2017, after which he was media manager for Anne Marie Waters's campaign in the 2017 UK Independence Party leadership election.{{Cite news|first=Peter |last=Walker |date=2017-09-11|title=Ukip risks becoming 'UK Nazi party' if it selects wrong leader|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/11/leadership-hopeful-warns-wrong-leader-could-turn-ukip-into-uks-nazi-party-henry-bolton|access-date=2020-06-25|issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news|first=Lucy |last=Fisher|title=Ukip expected to announce Anne Marie Waters as leader|newspaper=The Times |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/ukip-expected-to-announce-anne-marie-waters-as-leader-p5cl39c9h|access-date=2020-06-25|issn=0140-0460}}{{Cite web|title=Meet Anne Marie Waters – the Ukip politician too extreme for Nigel Farage|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2017/08/meet-anne-marie-waters-ukip-politician-too-extreme-nigel-farage|access-date=2020-06-25|website=www.newstatesman.com|date=18 August 2017 |language=en}} He told an undercover reporter "I'm basically the campaign manager. But I don't make it too public."{{Cite web|title=HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media|url=https://consent.yahoo.com/collectConsent?sessionId=1_cc-session_1f42fbfa-8006-4263-a03f-122ccd1ef8a7&lang=en-gb&inline=false|access-date=2020-06-25|website=consent.yahoo.com}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Waters came second, with 21.3% of the vote. Following the leadership election, Waters started a new party called the For Britain Movement, which Buckby joined.{{Cite news|last=Humphries|first=Will|title=Ukip loser Anne Marie Waters will start far-right party|newspaper=The Times |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/ukip-loser-anne-marie-waters-will-start-far-right-party-fsgps673r|access-date=2020-06-25|issn=0140-0460}}

Proud Boys

Buckby was a former member of the Proud Boys and has been described as the "head" of the Proud Boys in the UKKenes, Bulent. "The Proud Boys: Chauvinist poster child of far-right extremism." European Center for Populism Studies (2021): 1-37. as well as having edited their magazine. He has since stated: "I have had zero involvement with anybody in the Proud Boys since late 2016" and disputes roles assigned to him in the organization by Gavin McInnes.{{cite web | url=https://www.populismstudies.org/the-proud-boys-chauvinist-poster-child-of-far-right-extremism/ | title=The Proud Boys: Chauvinist poster child of far-right extremism - ECPS | date=February 2021 }}

Alleged recantation of racist beliefs

In an interview with Channel 4 News on 10 July 2020, which also quotes William Baldet of the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right, Buckby said that he had repudiated his former extremist views and recognised their troubling nature.{{Cite news |date=2020-07-10 |title=Mother talks about her son's rapid descent into far-right extremism |language=en-GB |url=https://www.channel4.com/news/mother-talks-about-her-sons-rapid-descent-into-far-right-extremism |access-date=2020-08-06}}

Buckby's claim to have fully renounced his racist beliefs has been questioned by Political Research Associates who point out he has continued to make xenophobic (anti-immigrant) and Islamophobic comments post-2020. Megan Kelly, J. DeCook. [https://politicalresearch.org/2022/04/01/not-so-reformed Not So Reformed How “Countering Violent Extremism” Groups Elevate “Former” White Nationalists]. Political Research Associates. April 1, 2022.