Making The BNP Look Reasonable

The worrying thing at the moment is the kind of democracy we will have, if any, in say 10 or 15 years time. Let's face it, New Labour have made a hellishly effective start at dismantling it already.

The European Union seems to think that ever falling turnouts at European elections shows that the people of Europe are quite content with 'the project'. Anti-EU parties have been castrated by being sucked into the 'parliament' as if anything can be attained from within. As Marshal Petain found in France, that doesn't work.

The anti-democratic nature of the EU has also succeeded in castrating our own parliament, with at least 70% of laws coming from Brussels. That has left our MPs nothing to do but 'flip' houses, clean out their moats and hunt down the most expensive TV home cinema they can find to bung on their expenses. Our system has never been so despised or our politicians more loathed than they are at present.

Then up pop the BNP. The reason they do so well seems to be because they don't need a great deal of money for campaigning, their opponents, from the nutty 'Unite Against Fascism' to holier than thou Dave Cameron, do their job perfectly well for them. I wonder how many people would have voted BNP on June 4th if they hadn't read so much hysterical nonsense about them in the mainstream media, from the mouths of mainstream politicians?

To top it all Harriet Harperson is now talking about introducing a law making it illegal for the BNP to only accept membership applications from white people. I wonder if that will also apply to the Association of Black Police Officers? If they do make it illegal I can't imagine thousands of black people rushing to join. Pesonally, as well as not agreeing with their national socialist policies, I would never want to join a party that denies membership to black people any more than I would want to join the Orange Order.

To keep things in perspective the BNP gained fewer votes in these Euro elections than they did in 2004. Let's defeat them, and Labour and the other misfits, by being a bit more grown up. When I've heard Griffin interviewed he pretty soon cracks under intensive questioning and makes a fool of himself. That's the way to beat them, by further chipping away at freedom and democracy the establishment play into the hands of people like Nick Griffin.

Following is an excellent article from The Times Online

When Nick Griffin was pelted with eggs outside Parliament this week, the protest divided public opinion over whether it was a legitimate expression of anger or a foolhardy stunt that handed unwarranted publicity to the British National Party.

It has also widened a rift in the anti-fascist movement over how to combat the rise of the far-right party.

United Against Fascism (UAF) is planning a series of physical demonstrations over the coming months based on Tuesday’s confrontation, which forced Mr Griffin, the BNP leader and newly elected MEP, to abandon his victory press conference. The approach has frustrated seasoned anti-BNP campaigners, who believe that the stunt allowed Mr Griffin to portray himself as a martyr.

There were violent tussles between the protesters and supporters of Mr Griffin and Andrew Brons, who won the BNP’s second European seat in Yorkshire and the Humber region, and police are investigating two allegations of common assault.

BNP leader pelted with eggs at Parliament
UAF, which was set up five years ago as an umbrella organisation for anti-racism groups and trade unions, says that it will picket Mr Griffin wherever he goes. It accepts that there is potential for further violence but insists that the action is necessary to combat the BNP.

Searchlight, a separate organisation that has campaigned against the BNP and its predecessors since the 1960s, is cautious about such protests and says that a more “constructive” approach is needed. Searchlight initially joined UAF when it was created but broke away following policy differences. This week it launched a widespread digital media initiative called Not In My Name. The organisation is being advised by Blue State Digital, the internet strategy firm responsible for President Obama’s winning US campaign, and plans a variety of online initiatives to raise awareness and funds.

This weekend an appeal video featuring various celebrities will be posted online to urge the public to donate. More than 84,500 people have already signed up to its database, making it bigger than those of any of the mainstream political parties.

The Royal British Legion yesterday accused Mr Griffin of trying to politicise “one of the nation’s most beloved symbols” after he repeatedly wore a red poppy during the European election campaign. The charity is demanding that Mr Griffin stop wearing the poppy, after private appeals to his “sense of honour” were ignored.

In an open letter to The Guardian, the charity wrote: “True valour deserves respect regardless of a person’s ethnic origin . . . Stop it, Mr Griffin.”

Campaigners are also organising a petition to take to the European Parliament next month, saying that while the BNP has won seats, it does not represent Britain. The number of signatures had exceeded 56,000 by Wednesday, only two days after it was begun.

Campaigners aim to surpass 132,094, signatures — the number of votes that Mr Griffin attracted in the North West region.

Searchlight is hoping to raise enough money to wage its biggest campaign against the BNP, from advertisements on buses to leaflets aimed at areas where voters are BNP-friendly.

Nick Lowles, the campaign coordinator, said it was a positive way to express discontent. “We need to harness people’s anger in a constructive way, rather than throwing eggs at the BNP,” he said.

However, Anindya Bhattacharyya, a spokesman for UAF, claimed that the strategy was not adequate to defeat the BNP. “If fascists simply organised on the internet then it would be fine. But they foment their race hatred on to the streets. That’s where we have to stand up to them,” he said.

UAF is planning an emergency national conference in Manchester on July 18 and aims to picket events such as the BNP’s annual rally in August.

Mr Bhattacharyya defended the tactics displayed on Tuesday. He said: “I think the far greater danger is that he [Mr Griffin] becomes legitimised.”

Harrogate College is under pressure to justify its decision to employ Mr Brons as a politics lecturer. Mr Brons, 61, a former chairman of the National Front, has worked at the college since 1970. He confirmed to The Times that there was a “tentative agreement” for him to return in September but said that now he was an MEP he would not take up the offer. In 1984 the then principal of the college was a character witness in court for Mr Brons. He was convicted of behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace after he was arrested while selling National Front newspapers.