Elliott Fountain, former English Democrat councillor, one-time Police and Crime Commissioner candidate and admirer of Enoch Powell has claimed that he is the new leader of the EDL.
Fountain tweeted, “Proud to be the new leader of the EDL, on national news tomo to make announcement.”
It isn’t yet clear if Fountain’s claim is credible, or if it is simply a drug-fuelled fantasy. It has been reported in the Boston Standard, but as so often in local media, there is nothing to suggest they’ve done anything to fact check his claims. A number of journalists seem to have contacted Fountain via Twitter, but the story has yet to appear anywhere else.
The appointment(?) of Fountain as leader would be particularly surprising following the announcement of Tim Ablitt as chairman of the EDL after a meeting of the “regional organisers” last week.
Fountain certainly isn’t an obvious choice for leader given his predilection for making an arse of himself of Facebook and drug-addled rants against opponents. He lost his seat on Boston Borough Council earlier this year because he didn’t bother to turn up for six months. If this is for real then the EDL are clearly desperate.
An alternative possibility is that this is one of the first signs of a power struggle within the EDL, now that Tommy Robinson/Stephen Lennon has given his erstwhile comrades the heave-ho.