Exploiting our Armed Services

From There's Nothing British About the BNP:

Another tasteless attempt by the BNP to exploit the warm feelings the British public has towards our Armed Forces arrived in my in-box.

This innocent-looking email purports to be a disinterested appeal for support for a wounded British soldier. But, beware.

It claims to be a personal plea but it is not signed.

It claims to be non-political, but the web-version of the email is on the BNP website and the return address is the BNP HQ.

It claims to be on behalf of Fusilier Tom James, but he is not quoted, nor is anyone related to him.

It smacks of the BNP. Their clumsy attempts to associate themselves with the heroism of Britain’s armed forces are deeply resented by our soldiers who fight for the British values Nick Griffin seeks to destroy: fairness, tolerance and looking out for the little guy.

Give it a rest, Nick.

The Church of England warns clergy against BNP election wiles

From Ekklesia:

The Church of England has advised its clergy not to give the British National Party a platform in church buildings, or even meet with representatives of the racist Party.

The advice comes in new updated guidance from the Archbishops’ Council Mission and Public Affairs Division issued today (1st February).

The Church has previously stopped short of recommending that the far right party's candidates not be invited to meetings in the run up to the general election, at which local people can grill their election candidates. Other churches, such as the Methodist Church, have however been more unequivocal.

However, the new guidance acknowledges that:

The recent discourse of the far-right has developed in a direction where intolerance is often cloaked in the language of culture and faith, both of which can be used to fuel racism and religious hatred.
Lately the British National Party has sought to promote itself as a guardian of ‘British Christian heritage’ against an increasing ‘islamification’ of British society and the leadership of the mainstream churches
BNP supporters and candidates claim to have established a ‘Christian Council of Britain’ which erroneously stresses the 'godly importance of race and nation'.
Often those elected from such parties will seek to make civic capital through contact with church leaders to increase their local standing.
Church leaders need to have thought through how they will react. Local churches may now be faced with deciding how to distance themselves from groups and councillors - whose racist policies and attitudes they opposed during the elections, while maintaining pastoral engagement with those who voted for them and council officials who continue their work as public servants.

The guidance suggests:

It is not advisable to meet groups promoting racist policies as this gives them credibility and publicity. It is advisable not to give them a platform in churches or church buildings, as this can be used to suggest support for their policies (even by implication). This is a decision that will need to be taken by groups organising activities around local campaigns and pre-election hustings.
The Church cannot accommodate those who would discriminate on grounds of ethnicity. There is a need for consistency and integrity when confronting racism. Racism is indivisible – we cannot attack it in one area and collude with it in other areas of life.
The 2010 General Election will be fought on different issues and through a different system to the 2009 European and local elections.
Christians need to be alert to the language and policies evident in electioneering by extremists and more general anti-immigrant rhetoric. The BNP will almost certainly have election broadcasts.

The guidance also recommends that statements by local church leaders re-emphasising the Church’s abhorrence of racism and prejudice "should be prepared early and a decision taken about the appropriate time to make such an intervention".

Churches are under no legal obligation to include the BNP in election hustings meetings, the guidance points out, or give space to such parties for public meetings, if they consider this ‘association’ could have a detrimental effect on their reputation and activities.

BNP Publicity Stunt II (possibly)

The leader of the British National Party, Nick Griffin is expected to be the keynote speaker at the ‘American Renaissance’ conference February 19th – 21st.

The conference is due to be held at:*The Westin Washington Dulles Airport 2520 Wasser Terrace, Herndon, Va. 20171 United States.

On their website, American Renaissance (AR) reveal that the topic of Nick Griffin's speech is “Victory Against All Odds.” AR writes:

In June 2009 he stunned the political establishment by winning a seat in the European Parliament, representing North West England. He is widely recognized as one of Britain’s most colorful and dynamic young politicians.

Yes, that's right, the topic of the speech that Nick Griffin is presenting to American Renaissance is - himself; a man not only dynamic, but also full of colour.

However, in order to speak at the meeting of white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other denizons of US extreme politics, Mr Griffin has to leave on a junket to the United States.

In this he would be be neglecting his constituents who elected him to the European Parliament. No problem. He has done this before. When parts of Cumbria were flooded last year, Griffin was at a meeting of European racists. But he did write a letter to those flooded out to express his sympathy.

More importantly, if Griffin goes to this "jolly" in the US, he neglects his own fight for election to the British Parliament in the approaching British general election.

Bearing this in mind I am doubtful that Griffin will actually turn up to deliver this speech. His ambition to gain access to Westminster as an MP for Barking is too important to jeopardise.

It seems more likely, in my opinion, that Griffin will eventually pull out of speaking in the USA, citing harrassment.

When the BNP has a set-back it habitually blames political correctness, media, liberals, LibLabCons, zionists, muslims, non-white people and practically anything else but itself. Nick Griffin has won sympathy in the past by "playing the martyr". This is a well-established BNP strategy.

Therefore, taking a gamble, and based entirely upon past performances of the leader of the BNP, I speculate that the BNP leader's supposed visit to address American racists is cunningly planned to be BNP Publicity Stunt II.

As noted in BNP Publicity Stunt I:

The BNP leadership seems to believe that any publicity is good publicity, because it gives their noxious racist party 'brand recognition'.

They believe that this 'brand recognition' is all that is required for people to vote for them in the coming general and council elections.

Working on the conviction that the British people are too stupid to make up their own minds about who to vote for, the BNP has embarked upon a programme of publicity stunts designed to keep their name in the media.

Unless, of course, Griffin has already given up the fight for the BNP and has an eye on a future lucrative US speaker circuit career.

Anyone care to take a wager?

__________________________________________________________

*UPDATE

The AR conference has now been cancelled at the Dulles Marriott and the Washington Dulles Westin hotels, probably as a direct result of complaints to the management for considering hosting such a divisive event.

The conference seems to be scheduled to go ahead, however, at a secret address. An American anti-racist group writes:

We expect “white nationalist” group New Century Foundation / American Renaissance to attempt to reschedule their Northern Virginia event at other Dulles airport area hotels. We urge such other hotels to follow the example of the Dulles Marriott and the Dulles Westin in considering the ethical costs that would be associated with white supremacist conferences. Hate hurts us all.

Moreover, American Renaissance’s leader Jared Taylor has openly stated that the upcoming conference will mock diversity

It is the idea of 300 of us all in the same room, laughing openly at the idea that diversity is a strength, that is more than the hypocrites who run the country can stand.”

We urge other area hotel leaders who might be reading this – don’t let your hotel be used to host hate and to mock our very principles of human equality. Tell “white nationalist” group New Century Foundation / American Renaissance that there is no room for hate in the Washington DC metropolitan area and suburbs.

We support our unqualified, universal human rights for all. We urge white supremacist and “white nationalist” supporters to drop the burden of the hate of supremacism from their hearts, and to rejoin the family of humanity in support of our universal human rights.

Union Challenges Invitation of British National Party to US Conference

From Workers Uniting:

Leaders of the largest trade unions in the UK, Ireland, North America and Canada have made a fierce protest against the decision of a large hotel chain to host a conference due to be addressed by the leader of the far right British National Party (BNP) Nick Griffin.

In a letter to the Westin Hotel from the world’s first international union, Workers Uniting which represents three million working people, expresses deep anger about the decision of the management to allow an individual whose views are so offensive to many to address a white supremacist conference on its premises.

The Westin Hotel chain has over 160 hotels and resorts worldwide. Workers Uniting, the world’s first global union is a partnership between Unite from the United Kingdom and the United Steelworkers (USW) from the United States and Canada.

In their letter signed by Derek Simpson, Tony Woodley and Leo Gerard they say:

Workers Uniting is appalled that the Westin would allow an individual whose views are so offensive and abhorrent to many, to hold a public address on its premises.
You should be aware that a court order was made against the BNP after legal proceedings were issued against them on grounds that their membership requirements discriminated on grounds of, amongst other things, race. In 1996 Griffin received a nine-month prison sentence (suspended for two years) after being found guilty of distributing material likely to incite racial hatred. As well as this, Griffin is reported to have referred to the Holocaust as the 'Holohoax'.

Derek Simpson, Tony Woodley and Leo Gerard are urging the hotel management to reconsider their decision in order to avoid serious reputational damage to their business.

For more information contact:Saba Mozakka, Unite, 020 7420 8916, saba.mozakka@unitetheunion.comConnie Mabin, USW, 412-562-2616, cmabin@usw.org

Time To Give Money (or Time) To Hope Not Hate

This is a press release from Hope Not Hate:

By now, you’d think I’d be used to Nick Griffin’s outrageous remarks. But the BNP leader’s recent comments about the Haiti relief efforts were truly appalling. Griffin said:

Sending aid to rioting ingrates while our own people die is stinking elite hypocrisy.

Calling suffering Haitians “rioting ingrates” is pure heartlessness, and now I’m more committed than ever to stopping this man from becoming an MP in Barking and his party from winning council seats across the country.

We’re planning to fight back on 13 February with a national Day of Action which will deliver over 500,000 pieces of anti-BNP literature. But for this to happen, we need to raise £15,000 – can you donate to help us stop the BNP?

Based on the London Assembly elections, Griffin could become an MP with a swing of just 3.8%.

Donate £10 now to stop him:

The response to the earthquake in Haiti has brought out the best in us, with many thousands of people contributing money and time to help the Haitian people.

It has also revealed Griffin’s callous disregard for human life and lack of any sense of compassion or justice. The thought of him winning a seat in Westminster horrifies me.

But it is a reality we may wake up to in a few months time. On Feb 13th we’ll be working hard to stop this happening: in our key battlegrounds – Barking, Dagenham and Stoke-on-Trent – we’ll be delivering special newspapers. On top of this we’ll be delivering over 400,000 leaflets across the country. We’re aiming to distribute over 500,000 pieces of literature in total – can you donate £10 to our cause to make this happen?

We don’t have big corporate sponsors or millionaire funders – what we have is you. Please contribute £10 or whatever you can afford to help pay for our Day of Action.

We have proved time and again that when we organise against the BNP we stop the BNP. The maths are simple – but I need your support to make sure we can put this infrastructure in place.
Please donate whatever you can afford now.

By Nick Lowles of Hope not hate

___________________________________________________________

If you are interested in Hope not hate, Norfolk's local work against the BNP, please do not hesitate to email to offer volunteer time for leafleting, canvassing or other campaign work in the region.

Email Hnhnorfolk@gmail.com giving a contact number. Thank you.

The BNP's unworkable policies

In one article published today, Edmund Standing demonstrates how the BNP’s ‘voluntary repatriation’ policy is a sham.

It's worth reading the article to appreciate how Edmund Standing demolishes the BNP's manifesto on repatriation, concluding:

The BNP’s policies for radically reversing more than 60 years of demographic change are completely unworkable and ideologically racist. In order for their plan to be fully realised, Britain would have to see ‘ethnic cleansing’ take place on a large scale, whether through deportation, sterilisation, or extermination. While the BNP’s new image is populist and patriotic, its policies would ultimately lead Britain down the road to Fascism.

A few days ago There's Nothing British About the BNP began a series of brief articles that calculate how much various BNP policies will cost each one of us in hard cold cash.

There's Nothing British About the BNP has worked out that BNP tariffs on imports could cost £1,300 per person, that the BNP’s manufacturing plan would lose 8 million jobs, and that closing the City could cost you another £1000 - and these are just the first three articles in the series.

Leaving aside all questions of morality, BNP policies do not make much sense.

Take the BNP's foreign policy - it seems characterised by wilful ignorance and insult, as shown in this BNP leaflet: Not only is it unnecessarily rude, it is factually incorrect. It assumes that all Turks are Muslim, overestimates their number (the population of Turkey is less than 75 million, and includes children and old people of course), and implies all are 'low-wage' and waiting to "swamp Britain".

Not surprisingly this insulted Turkey which urged police action against the BNP, provoking this Little Englander retort from the deputy leader of the BNP, Simon Darby, which disregards any BNP responsibility for the Turkish reaction:

What on earth has the business of a British election got to do with Turkey? Further evidence if it were needed that they don't understand the core principles of democracy and free speech and have no right to be part of Europe.

A belligerently undiplomatic attitude that seems designed to stir up even more trouble.

* * * * * * * * * *
The BNP summarises its foreign policy as follows:

Britain’s foreign relations should be determined by the protection of our own national interest and not by our like or dislike of other nations’ internal politics.
We would have no quarrel with any nation that does not threaten British interests.
We will maintain an independent foreign policy of our own, and not a spineless subservience to the USA, the ‘international community’, or any other country.

Fine words for a sort of British splendid isolation, except that they are untrue.

The BNP cultivates its subservience to the US for as long as the BNP leadership goes cap in hand to rallies of white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the KKK in the United States of America. In fact Nick Griffin is expected at a meeting of the US far-right next month, abandoning his responsibilites as an MEP and his campaigning for a seat in the British Parliament for this latest fund raising junket.

In addition Nick Griffin, MEP, has set himself the task of joining with other European far right groups represented in the European Parliament, chasing European funds, also in contradiction to the BNP's stated aims.

In the past Griffin has had contact with others he regards as fellow 'nationalists', especially if he believes they might further his personal ambitions or if they might fund himself and his party.

In the eighties Griffin developed a close political relationship with Roberto Fiore, a convicted Italian terrorist, who was then living in the UK on the run from justice.

In 1986 Griffin took a fundraising trip to Libya as guests of Colonel Gaddafi's regime. He also made contact with Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran, the US black separatist leader Louis Farrakhan, and both sides of the conflict in Ireland.

More recently Griffin revealed in a wide ranging interview with Russia Today last year how his party was building stronger ties with an increasingly nationalist Russia and Europe’s last dictatorship, Belarus, saying the UK needs a nationalist answer to globalism - paradoxically including strong links with other nationalist parties abroad.

But not all nationalist countries.

Turkey, for example, is a nationalist country, but prospects of closer ties with the BNP seem dim.

* * * * * * *

The nastiness, inhumanity and racism of the BNP

From Paul Crofts:

If anyone is in any doubt about the nastiness, inhumanity and racism of the BNP then their response to the disaster and devastation in Haiti and an issue closer to home, their attitude to asylum-seeker children in the UK, illustrates this in ways that can only shock.

British National Party Party leader Nick Griffin criticised the Haiti aid effort in the following way.

Sending aid to rioting ingrates while our own people die is stinking elite hypocrisy

The BNP’s legal officer went even further and attacked the humanitarian teams who set off to help in Haiti:

I am frankly sick and tired of seeing media stories about simpering white people in some foreign hell hole run by the most violent and corrupt despots on the planet, swanning about before the cameras acting smug and superior over dealing with ‘johnny foreigners’ whilst ignoring the devastation, mass deaths and tens of thousands of dying people in their own countries.

Fortunately the British people have responded to the humanitarian crisis in Haiti in precisely the opposite way, thus demonstrating the sort of compassion and humanity that I am proud of – one that recognises when we need to help people in dire need and whose need is clearly greater than our own, irrespective of the nationality or race or ethnicity of the person concerned. The reference to “johnny foreigner” makes me sick to my very being and strengthens my resolve to oppose a political party that can voice such distasteful and vile views.

The story closer to home illustrates the BNP’s attitude to asylum-seeker children who are being cared for by Northamptonshire Social Services. On Northants BNP’s blog (“Northants Patriot”) they had this to say:

In excess of £2.5million has come out of Northamptonshire tax-payers income tax rather than their council tax to pay for the upkeep of just 112 children in the last financial year who should have been immediately sent back to their country of origin, or back to the last country they travelled through before arriving in the UK.

Whatever the issues are around asylum-seekers, the one thing that any decent, humane and caring person will agree with is that we should provide support to children who find themselves (for whatever reasons) in the UK without their parents or any other family member to care for and protect them. Most, if not all, of these children will be deeply traumatised, having been trafficked to the UK and dumped here, probably on or near the M1. Many will have been abused and injured during their journey here. The stories of how and why such children are here will be complex and complicated – but as children they are not to “blame” for the predicament that they find themselves in.

The BNP’s attitude to how we should treat such children in desperate need illustrates that racism and xenophobia are so central to their ideology that they are blind to simple humanity. They are not seen, by the BNP, as children, but rather as “the other”, “the enemy within”, the ones we hate, the ones we must dispose and get rid of as quickly as possible – we must eliminate them from our considerations and our care. Just one small step from, well, just eliminating them! So simple, so quick, so easy...

Such attitudes would lead directly to genocide and gross and disgusting human rights abuses if ever the BNP got even a whiff of power. For this reason, and this reason alone, we must stand up and aim for the defeat and humiliation of the BNP as a "political" party and the relegation of the ideas they stand for to the history books.

By Paul Crofts

Nick Griffin expected at white supremacist conference

From There's Nothing British About the BNP:

Left Foot Forward is carrying an interesting story that Nick Griffin MEP is to attend a white supremacist conference in America.

BNP leader Nick Griffin will join Ku Klux Klan members, neo-Nazis, holocaust deniers, anti-immigration extremists and eugenicists at the white supremacist American Renaissance conference in Virginia next month.
Griffin is an enthusiastic attendee of these sorts of racial hygiene events. He has regularly visited similar conferences hosted by the conspiracy theorist David Duke in America with his wife Jacqui. In May 2005 Griffin attended Duke’s European-American Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Also at the conference was the Swedish National Democrat’s ideologue Vávra Suk, Front National’s Jean-Michel Girard, Simon Darby (deputy-chairman of the BNP), Karl Richter and Marcus Haverkamp from Germany’s neo-Nazi party National Democratic Party (NPD), Deirdre Fields from South Africa, Don Black the founder of the neo-Nazi forum Stormfront, Lady Michele Renouf and a host of other white supremacists and extremists.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, an organisation that aims to combat racism and extremism, American Renaissance, the group who are organising this 2010 event, “promotes their views by attacking racial, ethnic, and religious diversity, which they call ‘one of the most divisive forces on the planet’ and therefore ‘dangerous’”; and that, “many of North America’s leading intellectual racists have written for American Renaissance or have addressed the biennial American Renaissance conferences.”

Griffin has spent 10 years attempting to re-model his party into a popular nationalist movement that supports neo-racism and non-integrationist ethnopluralism. Attending this conference would do serious damage to the BNP’s cosmetically enhanced image.

by Maurice Cousins
__________________________________________________________

HnhNorfolk agrees with the point 'Nothing British' makes (above) that attending this conference "would do serious damage to the BNP's cosmetically enhanced image".

So why would Nick Griffin contemplate such a move?

One theory is that the BNP is desperate for funds at the moment, although that is difficult to judge due to the lack of proper records. The BNP could face more fines or even prosecution for breaking the law over its accounting. The BNP has been fined five times in two years for breaking rules on financial records. Late last year it submitted accounts to the Electoral Commission but independent auditors Silver & Co said they did not give a "true and fair view” of its affairs. The auditors wrote:

In our opinion it cannot be said that the accounts comply with the requirements of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, as adequate records have not been made available.

In addition, the BNP is not receiving any new membership fees since the Equality and Human Rights Commission took legal action against the party, freezing membership applications, accusing it of breaching race relations laws.

Even the most loyal and long-suffering of existing BNP members are starting to question the BNP's accounting practices, and many members have already left the party in disgust.

BNP's pursuit of foreign handouts:

The BNP often proclaims itself as being totally independent of the US and other foreign countries.

In reality, however, one of Nick Griffin's first tasks on becoming a Member of the European Parliament was to form a colalition with other far-right European parties in pursuit of EU funding. However, as EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS announced:

The European Alliance of National Movements (AENM), the coalition of far-right parties formed October 2009 in Budapest, has failed in its an attempt to get its hands on European Parliament cash, as the jumble of reactionary rightists did not manage to file the application on time.

There have also been numerous questions raised over the years about the BNP's acceptance of donations from the US far-right through various intermediaries (see here, here and here).

Surely Nick Griffin will not risk the credibility of the BNP, such as it is, in order to solicit funds from the US far-right?

Spot the BNP Publicity Stunt (I)

The BNP leadership seems to believe that any publicity is good publicity, because it gives their noxious racist party 'brand recognition'.

They believe that this 'brand recognition' is all that is required for people to vote for them in the coming general and council elections.

Working on the conviction that the British people are too stupid to make up their own minds about who to vote for, the BNP has embarked upon a programme of publicity stunts designed to keep their name in the media.

This blog will try to identify each of those foolish, unnecessary, time-wasting, sometimes embarrassing, always self-promoting publicity stunts as they appear in the weeks ahead. Your suggestions are welcome.

From the BBC:

BNP to put own seals on ballot boxes over fraud fears

The British National Party is so concerned about fraud at the general election that it intends to place its own seals on ballot boxes. The party fears its opponents will seek to sabotage its aim of winning a seat in Parliament for the first time. So it has invoked the Ballot Act of 1872, which allows candidates to put their own seals on boxes, in an effort to avert tampering. Independent election officials always seal boxes when polls close.

BNP spokesman John Walker said his party would apply its own seals in the London seats of Barking - where leader Nick Griffin is running - and Dagenham and Rainham. The BNP hopes to do well against incumbent Labour MPs in both contests.

Mr Walker claimed there had been suggestions in the past that boxes had been opened and BNP votes spoiled or removed, or other parties' votes added. He said:

We know it happens. We just cannot prove it. It is a shame we have to invoke these things. But some council staff are in the pocket of the local Labour party and we suspect they would use any means to tamper with votes.

A Labour spokesman said:

We are confident that when the general election comes the British people will clearly reject the disgusting politics of the BNP. That will be because their politics are vile and divisive not because of any bizarre paranoia about ballot boxes.

From UNISON press release:

Commenting on the British National Party’s allegations over voting sabotage, and plans to put their own ballot seals on boxes, Dave Prentis, UNISON’s General Secretary, said:

It is outrageous for the BNP to attack the morality and integrity of the Local Government workers, who handle the ballot boxes. It is a mark of a paranoid and desperate party. They need to face facts – they are not getting any votes because the British people are not swallowing their racist views.

(Not sure who photoshopped this one. Whoever it was, good one).

Building capacity

From Hope not hate:

It’s been another busy few days getting everything for our 2010 campaign. We’ve been raising money, sorting out schedules with the printers and frantically putting the finishing touches to our new campaign office, which should open later this week. We’ve taken on two new members of staff, one dedicated to developing and supporting local HOPE not hate groups and the other to work exclusively with faith communities.

We’ve also been building capacity for our offline activism. An incredible 7,200 people have signed up for our 2010 campaign, with almost 4,600 committing themselves to be active in their local area. Over the next few weeks we expect to launch dozens of new HOPE not hate groups as we begin to organise the 1,245 people who have said that they are willing to become local organisers.

Obviously our focus has to be prioritising the areas at the greatest risk so it is fantastic that 2,166 people have indicated their willingness to travel to our key priority areas.

We are building something really special. Even the BNP appear to be getting rattled. In their latest leaflet, distributed in Barking & Dagenham over the weekend, they began to warn voters about outsiders ringing them up. The fact that most of the 60 BNP supporters who were out came from outside the borough obviously is completely different!

by Nick Lowles

What Will You Do To Stop Griffin?

From Hope not Hate:

The BNP are on a high after Nick Griffin’s election as an MEP. And now Griffin has announced that he’ll be standing in the General Election to be the next MP for Barking.

In response, more than 6,000 people from across the country have stood up to Nick Griffin and said: “never again.” But what’s been even more amazing is that thousands of people have said they will act to stop this happening again. Thousands have offered to organise. Thousands have offered to make phonecalls. What will you do to help?

Say “never again” and then sign up to take action.

http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/whatwillYOUdo

Each and every day the BNP give us further reasons to stop them. Nick Griffin has criticised the generosity of millions of people across the world and the urgent help so many of us have given to Haiti. And Simon Darby – the Party’s Deputy Leader and candidate to be MP in Stoke-on-Trent – responded to a BNP member being sent to prison for bomb making by arguing that this is the “logical conclusion of multiculturalism.”

The BNP have announced plans to spend more than ever before on the General Election – both in Barking and Dagenham but also throughout the country. That means we need to hit the streets and organise carefully now, before it’s too late. And to put all of our resources in the right place we need to know what our supporters will do to help out.

There are a couple of questions I’d like you to answer and after you sign up we’ll send you a detailed strategy document about how we plan on moving forward in the coming weeks and months.

We need to each take ownership over the end result and work as hard as possible to make sure Griffin and his BNP fascist sidekicks don’t win a seat in Westminster.

So what will you do to stop them? Click below to see what we’re doing to stop the BNP and let us know how you will help.

http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/page/m/4c18d54/618eb539/61e176bb/167f546c/1347929221/VEsE/

2010, and Hope not hate prepares for the elections

From HOPE not hate:

Nick Lowles assesses the BNP’s chances in the forthcoming elections (cut down to regions nearest Norfolk - for the complete article see HOPE not hate)

The next eighteen months will determine whether the British National Party can build on its European election success and become a permanent fixture on the British political landscape.

With a possible change of Government, mass disillusionment with mainstream politics and the worst economic recession since the war, there should, on paper at least, never be a better opportunity for the BNP to expand its base. The election of two MEPs has allowed it to give paid employment to more than a dozen of its key organisers and it has already established itself as a household name. In the eyes of some voters, it is the ultimate and possibly the only protest vote.

However, the opportunity presented to the BNP will not last forever and the fascist party needs to do well in the forthcoming local and general elections if it is to maintain its momentum. And that means winning dozens of new council seats and strong double-digit results in its key parliamentary seats.

National push

The BNP is likely to contest over 200 parliamentary seats in the general election. Although many of them will be little more than paper candidates, the party will be looking to save its deposit in the majority by securing at least 5% of the vote. In a handful of seats it will hope to do a lot better and in one, in Barking, in east London, Nick Griffin, the party leader, will push the incumbent MP close. Although Griffin remains the underdog he will be hoping that the strong BNP support on the Becontree estate pushes him over the line.

On the surface it would appear that Griffin has a big hurdle to overcome if he is seriously to threaten to take Margaret Hodge’s Barking seat. In 2005 the BNP polled 17.0%, which, though it was the highest ever BNP result in a parliamentary election, was a long way off Hodge’s 47.8%. However, events since then have moved in the BNP’s favour. The 17% was gained before the BNP really took off in the borough and only a year later it polled 41% in a large section of the constituency in the council elections.

Boundary changes have also helped Griffin, bringing three strong BNP wards into Barking from neighbouring Dagenham. Griffin’s notoriety will also be a boost, while Hodge will suffer from the national swing against Labour, currently measured at 8%.

Of the 11 wards that make up the Barking constituency, the BNP is considered frontrunners in five, neck and neck in one and close to Labour in another two. In only three wards will the Labour Party begin the campaign comfortably ahead of the BNP, though these are areas where we would normally expect a higher turnout.

He will also be helped by the decision of the Christian Party to make Barking the main focus of its election effort. While the CP has absolutely no chance of winning, it could take enough votes from Labour to hand the seat to the BNP.

The BNP will also hope to do well in Thurrock, Essex, where in the European election it received 17.5% of the vote, just behind Labour (18.3%), the UK Independence Party (21.7%) and the Conservatives (22.8%).

High expectations

May’s local elections offer the BNP its best chances for success. Searchlight has identified 100 wards where the BNP poses some form of threat. Of these 30 are wards where the BNP is defending seats. . . Overall, Searchlight is expecting the BNP to contest in the region of 1,000 council seats in 2010, which would be a record. Many will be in London, where every seat is up. The 100 risk wards include 53 where the BNP either came first in the last election it contested there or needs a swing of less than 5%. The BNP threat is concentrated in a handful of local authority areas. The 100 risk wards fall in 30 local authority areas. However, 51 of them are in just 10 local authority areas. The concentration is even more stark when one counts the highest risk wards. All but three of the 25 wards most at risk fall in 10 local authority areas, as do 38 of the 50 most at risk wards.

Most of the risk wards also happen to be in the BNP’s target parliamentary seats. As reported in last month’s Searchlight the biggest threat lies in Barking and Dagenham, where there is a serious risk of the BNP winning control of the council and possibly even a parliamentary seat in the general election. Barking and Dagenham was already the front line for this year’s elections even before Griffin announced that he was standing in Barking in the general election. The BNP currently has 12 councillors in the borough and needs 26 to take full control of the council. In the party list section in the 2008 London Assembly elections, the BNP came first in seven of the borough’s 17 wards and within a whisker of winning three other wards. The same vote in a council election would give the BNP at least 21 seats and place it neck and neck in another nine – enough to put the BNP within striking distance of taking overall control of the council.Griffin and the BNP will be hoping that his decision to contest the Barking seat will generate the same media interest and frenzy that propelled the party’s 12 councillors to victory in 2006. . .

A key determiner in the local elections is whether the general election is held on the same day. The traditional view is that the BNP will not perform as well in a general election as it does in local elections. Certainly, that has been the case in the past but whether that is true now remains to be seen. The BNP has hardened its vote and, as was shown in the European election, it can poll well in national contests. While the BNP vote is likely to be squeezed by the major parties, it might well hold up stronger than it did in 2005.

The campaign for HOPE

The HOPE not hate campaign will prioritise the key risk wards in the local elections. While we will produce general material that can be distributed wherever the BNP stands, our main focus will be in those wards where BNP councillors are up for re-election and where BNP candidates stand a good chance of winning. Our general election priorities coincide with our key local authority priority areas.

The HOPE not hate campaign has two clear objectives, to suppress the BNP vote and to turn out the anti-BNP vote. We will do the first by highlighting the true nature of the BNP, challenging its lies and myths and exposing the poor quality of its existing councillors.

We will once again work closely with the Daily Mirror, producing localised tabloids and supplements in the main newspaper, and hosting another HOPE bus tour.

High rewards

The stakes are high in 2010 but so are the rewards. The BNP could take control of a local authority, win a parliamentary seat and have dozens of new councillors. The alternative scenario is that the BNP falls short in Barking and Dagenham, Griffin is humiliated in Barking and a large chunk of its councillors lose their seats. The first situation would give the BNP a platform for a major assault on the 2011 local elections. A failure this year could initiate a period of decline for the party.

Which scenario wins out will depend largely on how successful we are. We have proved in recent council by-elections that we can beat the BNP in its strongest areas. However, given the scale of the threat we cannot do this alone.

The 2010 HOPE not hate campaign will be our biggest yet.

For it to be successful we need everyone to get involved.

By Nick Lowles