Polish property mogul launches new political party to support European immigrants in London elections and to make 'Europhobia' a hate crime

  • A new political party called Polish Pride was launched outside Parliament today 
  • Party, whose full name is Duma Polska: Polish Pride, plans to field 100 candidates in the London council elections on May 3
  • Brainchild of Prince John Zylinski, 65, a millionaire property developer of Polish heritage best known for challenging Nigel Farage to a duel
  • Party will support eastern European immigrants and demand that 'Europhobia' be recognised as a hate crime

Polish property millionaire Prince John Zylinski launching Duma Polska: Polish Pride 

Polish property millionaire Prince John Zylinski launching Duma Polska: Polish Pride 

A new political party called Polish Pride was launched outside Parliament today to support eastern European immigrants and demand that 'Europhobia' be recognised as a hate crime.

The party, whose full name is Duma Polska: Polish Pride, plans to field 100 candidates in the London council elections on May 3 and across Britain in the future.

It is the brainchild of Prince John Zylinski, 65, a millionaire property developer of Polish heritage best known for challenging Nigel Farage to a duel.

He stood outside the House of Lords flanked by about 40 supporters in front of a transit van with a Polish ace's spitfire painted on the side.

'I want to produce a political earthquake in London,' he told MailOnline. 'The Polish community needs to come out of the closet. The Polish ghetto needs a voice in this society. Polish is the second language in Britain but what representation do we have?'

He added: 'Poland is Britain's closest ally. Poles saved the country in the Battle of Britain and our work ethic is saving it now.'

Mr Zylinski's party to support European immigrants, plans to field 100 candidates in the London council elections on May 3 and across Britain in the future

Mr Zylinski's party to support European immigrants, plans to field 100 candidates in the London council elections on May 3 and across Britain in the future

Mr Zylinski launched outside Parliament today to support eastern European immigrants and demand that 'Europhobia' be recognised as a hate crime

Mr Zylinski launched outside Parliament today to support eastern European immigrants and demand that 'Europhobia' be recognised as a hate crime

About 140 Polish pilots took part in the Battle of Britain in 1940. The 303 'Kościuszko' Polish Fighter Squadron claimed the highest number of kills of any on the Allied side.

Lewisham-born Mr Zylinski was a contender for London mayor in 2016 and won 38,000 votes, 70 per cent of which were cast by non-Polish voters.

His supporters, who were mainly male and spoke little English, separated into a group of Romanians and another of Poles as they waited for Mr Zylinski to arrive.

'I want a better situation for Polish immigrants,' said Bartosz Levandowskiz, 24, a builder who had been in Britain for six months.

'The situation is bad because the banks won't open accounts for us. It is bad but I'm here because the situation in Poland is worse.'

The boroughs in which Polish Pride intends to compete include Ealing, Barnet and Merton, with others to be unveiled ahead of nominations in April.

Under current law, all EU citizens living in Britain are entitled to vote in British elections.

Mr Zylinski describes himself as a Brexiteer but said that he voted Remain because of the 'potential side-effects' on his countrymen

Mr Zylinski describes himself as a Brexiteer but said that he voted Remain because of the 'potential side-effects' on his countrymen

Typically, as few as 1,500 votes are required to win a council seat. There are 500,000 Polish immigrants in London and the same number from European countries like Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary, who Mr Zylinski plans to court as supporters.

Only about 120,000 of London's Poles are on the electoral roll, however, meaning that the fledgling politician faces an uphill struggle in getting out the vote.

Mr Zylinski describes himself as a Brexiteer but said that he voted Remain because of the 'potential side-effects' on his countrymen.

'People in Poland feel that the EU is the fourth Reich through the back door,' he told MailOnline. 'Poland and the UK are the two most Eurosceptic countries in Europe – the UK because it has never been invaded and Poland because it was invaded.

'Britain has 500 years of history of confronting any power that tries to take over Europe, whether the Papacy, the French, the Germans or the EU.

'But I decided to vote Remain as an expression of solidarity with my people because I feared that Poles would be attacked afterwards.'

The new party's policy proposals include building a 'large monument' to commemorate the Polish WWII pilots and pressing for full UK citizenship for EU migrants legally residing in Britain.

Mr Zylinski's aristocratic family was uprooted by Poland's communist government before fleeing to the UK during the Second World War.

His father was a famous Polish war hero who led a victorious cavalry charge against the Germans before Poland was routed. Three quarters of Mr Zylinski's family were killed by the Nazis.

The exiled prince challenged Mr Farage to a duel in 2015 because of his anger at the Ukip grandee's criticism of migrants and desire to challenge the 'benefit scrounger' preconception of eastern Europeans. Mr Farage did not accept.

Mr Zylinski, who is understood to be funding the campaign himself, is known for his luxurious White House property in Ealing, a reconstruction of his grandmothers's C18th Polish palace that was razed during communist rule.

'I made millions and millions of pounds,' Mr Zylinski told the Guardian. 'I won't tell you how many but last year when I divorced my wife I gave her 35 flats.'