Anti-racist activists get into gear this weekend

From Searchlight by Sonia Gable:

BNP to contest three by-elections while Brons website announces new party

The British National Party is to contest the three parliamentary by-elections this month. Eddy O’Sullivan is standing in a 12-strong field in Manchester Central and Gordon Riddell faces 13 opponents in Corby. Both elections will take place on 15 November.

The Middlesbrough by-election has just been set for 29 November and the BNP has already announced it will field a candidate. Party treasurer Clive Jefferson has today appealed for supporters to donate £2,500 by 7 November to pay for targeted mailings, election literature and visits by the party’s advertising lorry, misnamed the Truth Truck. Presumably it has been repaired since its encounter with a low bridge in Sunderland.

At the general election the party polled 4.7% in Corby, 4.1% in Manchester and 5.8% in Middlesbrough. The by-elections will give an indication of the party’s falling support, though by-elections – which generally attract more candidates but a lower poll – are never directly comparable with a general election.

All three elections are too early for Andrew Brons’s new party, True Brits, to introduce itself to voters. True Brits made its first public appearance at the Traditional Britain Group conference on 20 October in a leaflet distributed by Kevin Scott, a former BNP activist in the North East and secretary of the new party’s steering group.

Scott followed this up with an announcement on the Nationalist Unity Forum today which said only that “we have resolved to form a new party” which will be “a successor to, but not a clone of” the BNP, omitting its name and requesting that former BNP members and others contact him if they are “prepared to help us in this important venture”.

From HOPE not hate:

HOPE not hate activists are out and about around the country this weekend. We got off to a flyer in Manchester this afternoon where we delivered 2,650 leaflets in Ardwick ward. The BNP is contesting this ward in a council by-election and it also fits into the Manchester Central parliamentary by-election.

Another 1,300 leaflets were taken by supporters who live in Hulme and Moss Side, two more wards in Manchester Central.

Over the next ten days HOPE not hate activists will be looking to deliver 25,000 leaflets across the Manchester Central constituency.

From We Are Norwich:

WE ARE NORWICH is a growing coalition of trade unionists, community groups, faith groups and individuals opposed to the visit of the English Defence League (EDL) to Norwich on Saturday 10th November 2012.

There are nearly 1000 in our Facebook Group and around 600 on our mailing list. We have held numerous stalls around the city and hosted a public meeting of 120 people. We intend to hold a safe, peaceful family-friendly counter-demonstration.

We will meet in Chapelfield Gardens from 11 am on Saturday November 10th where there will be stalls, speeches and live music. We are liaising with the police to hold a march through the city. More details to follow.

We Are Norwich is on Hay Hill opposite Primark TODAY from 11.00 am until mid afternoon if you have any questions or would like to know more about plans to stand up for a peaceful and inclusive city of Norwich.