After Tyndall 's departure , Webster became party chair , but was ousted in 1983 by a new faction led by Nick Griffin and Joe Pearce . In May 1985 , this faction — who adhered to the Strasserite variant of Nazism — secured control of the party 's directorate and suspended the membership of their opponents . Their focus was not on attracting electoral support but on developing an activist elite consisting largely of tough working-class urban youths , particularly from the skinhead subculture ; its supporters became known as " Political Soldiers " . The Strasserites officially reformulated their party along a centralised cadre system at the November 1986 AGM . Their ideology was influenced by their strong links with members of an Italian fascist militia , the Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari ( NAR ) , who were then hiding in London as fugitives after committing the Bologna massacre . Like the NAR , the NF Strasserites emphasised the far-right ideology of the Third Position , which they presented as being opposed to both capitalism and Marxist-oriented socialism . They were also influenced by the Nouvelle Droite , a French far-right movement that advocated long-term strategies of cultural influence to achieve their goals
Bologna massacre
Bologna massacre
National Front (UK)