The Anti-Socialist Union was a British political pressure group that supported free trade economics and opposed socialism. It was active from 1908 to 1948 with its heyday occurring before the First World War.
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Coming from the same laissez-faire economic position as contemporaries such as the Liberty and Property Defence League and the British Constitution Association, the ASU was established in 1908 by Daily Express editor R. D. Blumenfeld.[1] Avowedly non-political its main membership came from the Conservative Party and the ASU campaigned against the social reforms enacted by the Liberal Party governments of Henry Campbell-Bannerman and Herbert Henry Asquith, denouncing these as socialist initiatives.[1]
The group was active in the election campaigns of January and December 1910 when some of its rallies and meetings ended in violence.[1] Enjoying a circulation of some 70,000 for its journal around that time, the ASU included a young Stanley Baldwin amongst its membership.[1] Other leading members in the early years included William Hurrell Mallock, Walter Long and Samuel Hoare.[2]
The group went on hiatus during the First World War before being revived initially under the name Reconstruction Society before becoming the Anti-Socialist and Anti-Communist Union, attacking such figures as Harold Laski and Maurice Dobb whilst also attempting to prove links between the Labour Party and the Soviet Union.[1] By this time however its role had largely been usurped by the British Empire Union and with no local branch structure it struggled for influence.[1]
Although avowedly a free trade movement the ASU found itself linked with the fascist movements that began to emerge in the 1920s, largely due to their shared opposition to communism. Under the presidency of Brigadier-General R.B.D. Blakeney the British Fascists (BF) forged links with the ASU with a number of ASU members from military backgrounds joining the BF. Leading ASU figures such as George Makgill, John Baker White and even Blumenfeld became associated with the BF.[3] Nesta Webster, a leading BF ideologue, was also a member of the ASU and wrote and researched a number of their publications.[4] Also at this time the chairman of the ASU was Wilfrid Ashley, who would later also serve as the Chairman of the Anglo-German Fellowship.[5] Generally however the Union disavowed fascism and did not formally work with any fascist groups.[1]
The group continued until 1948 when it was wound up, turning its assets over to the Economic League.[1]