ILP and New Party Forgan entered local politics as a member of
Glasgow Council after he had seen active service in the war. Forgan was one of the signatories of the Mosley Memorandum, which outlined his political vision and soon followed Mosley into the
New Party when it was set up. He had officially left the
Labour Party on 24 February 1931 and sometime that year co-authored with
Adam Marshall Diston The New Party and the ILP (written as an appeal to ILP members). He was appointed to a council for policy and strategy formation that was set up to decide the running of the party and also acted as
Chief Whip during the New Party's brief run in Parliament. At the
1931 general election, Forgan polled 1,304 votes in West Renfrewshire in what represented one of the best results for the New Party in a disappointing election. A close friend of
Oswald Mosley, Forgan was godfather to his son Michael.
British Union of Fascists With Mosley having embraced fascism, Forgan followed his lead and on Mosley's behalf led unsuccessful talks with the
British Fascists that were aimed at having that movement taken over by the New Party. Forgan joined Mosley's
British Union of Fascists and was initially Director of Organisation. Forgan was keen to stress that the BUF had no ban on
Jews despite the activities of
Adolf Hitler. Indeed, Forgan attempted to court influential Jews, such as
Liberal MP
Harry Nathan and
Sir Philip Magnus-Allcroft, 2nd Baronet, through the January Club and even held meetings with the leaders of the
Board of Deputies of British Jews. Forgan was also keen to keep the BUF aloof from rival
far-right groups such as the
Imperial Fascist League as he felt that it was essential to avoid making the BUF seem too foreign in ideological terms. As a result of his work, Forgan was promoted to deputy leader. Forgan particularly disliked the growing influence of
William Joyce, a staunch anti-Semite, who replaced
Wilfred Risdon, a colleague of Forgan from the ILP and the New Party, as Director of Propaganda the same year. Forgan took no further role in politics. ==Sources==