Oswald Mosley in Birmingham

Before ever becoming Britain’s most notorious Fascist politician, Oswald Mosley was a charismatic force in Birmingham, leading the Labour Party’s struggle to break the iron grip of the Chamberlains and their Conservative adherents. That it succeeded by 1929 was largely due to Mosley’s commitment, his money, his energy and his charm. Within years he had fallen out of love with the Labour leadership, blaming their stolid, unimaginative approach to unemployment; deserting his Smethwick supporters he set out to create a New Party and by 1931 Birmingham Labour voters reviled him and he was violently driven from the city.