Action

Action was published in 222 editions between February 1936 and June 1940 under the direction of Oswald Mosley. Action was one of a small group of ultra-nationalist publications produced in Britain in the thirties; only one complete set of Action survives today. The six complete editions reproduced here are all from 1936 and are taken from the master copy set retained by the printers. They represent an intriguing insight into a fascinating episode in the political and social history of the United Kingdom at a portentous moment.Mosley is today viewed as a figure of the extreme right although he himself always denied that the politics of his movement were right wing, describing himself as essentially left wing in his political orientation. However, it is difficult, if not impossible, for a modern reader to comprehend the British Union of Fascists in any other light. If one examines the Mosley claim at literal face value there was clearly some measure of justification for this statement.