Further evidence that Advance UK is relaxed about working with established extremists comes in the form of a lengthy online interview that Gorton & Denton candidate Nick Buckley has given to the far‑right National Housing Party.
Despite its almost whimsical name, the organisation’s ideological lineage is unmistakably fascist. It emerged in the early 2020s under the stewardship of two long‑standing figures on the far‑right: John Lawrence, formerly of Britain First in Oldham, and Pat McGinnis, a London‑based ex‑organiser for the British National Party.
Core demands
From its inception, the party anchored itself to two core demands – an end to permanent immigration and the UK’s withdrawal from the post‑war refugee protection system.
After gaining official registration in spring 2022, the group began contesting local elections, quickly becoming a source of ridicule even within far‑right circles. McGinnis’s one‑vote performance in a Camden Council by-election was a striking illustration of the party’s complete inability to gather any meaningful support.
Its offline activity has been similarly limited. Aside from a scattering of small meetings and minor demonstrations, most of its efforts have gone into producing online videos and commentary for a tiny audience, often veering into conspiracy‑theory territory.
The organisation remains firmly on the fringes. Its only local election candidate last year, former Britain First supporter Lloyd Morgan in Warwickshire, secured just a few dozen votes.
Its online reach is equally negligible: YouTube videos rarely attract more than a few dozen views, and its posts on X barely register within the wider far‑right ecosystem.
They are threatening, however, to field 11 candidates in 2026 local elections: 1 in Oldham, 1 in Grimsby, and 9 in London (1 in Sutton, 1 in Mitcham, 1 in King’s Cross, 1 in Summerstown, 1 in Regent’s Park, and 3 in Holborn and Covent Garden ward).
Poor leadership
The party tried to get active in Oldham a few years ago on back of some Tommy Robinson activity in the Limeside / Hollinwood area of the town but this soon fizzled out due to poor leadership.
They did manage to recruit a couple of ex-BNP activists, Gary Bergin and Paul Rimmer, but its unclear whether either is still active with the party or, in Bergin’s case, active at all.
Rimmer is still very active on X but now can usually be found promoting Reform, not Advance. There have been signs in the past year that NHP has been trying to collaborate with other smaller parties, not least of all in the hugely self-important but wholly ineffectual Belmont Group/Accord/Declaration, which includes Robin Tilbrook’s English Democrats.
NHP will be very happy that Buckley is seen to be taking them seriously.
But in reality the party has become so marginal that even other fringe groups and activists largely ignore it. One of the few exceptions came in October 2025, when activist Paul Rimmer delivered remarks on its behalf at the neo‑Nazi Heritage & Destiny conference, an odd development given that H&D has repeatedly mocked the party.
Another exception, of course, is Advance UK by-election candidate Nick Buckley.
