Bradford BNP on the brink

One the British National Party’s most important branches is on the verge of collapse. Electoral defeat, demoralisation and personal infighting has caused the Bradford branch of the BNP to splinter.

It is a far cry from the heady days of 2004 when the BNP gained four councillors in the city and just missed out on several more. That year also saw the branch recruit more members than any other in the country.

Since then it has all been downhill for the BNP. In 2006 the BNP lost three councillors, while gaining only one. The party’s share of the vote dropped substantially in the 2007 local elections and these disappointing results proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

There had been deep divisions and suspicions within the BNP branch for several years. The revelation that the local organiser, Andy Sykes, was working for Bradford TUC and Searchlight rocked the party, caused several key activists to drop out and created an atmosphere of paranoia.

There was particular animosity between James Lewthwaite and Paul Cromie. Both became councillors in Bradford South but there was where the connection ended. Their relationship soured as Lewthwaite became close to Angela Clarke, the Keighley councillor who was detested by Cromie and Mark Collett, the party’s national head of publicity.

Cromie was the chairman of Bradford BNP and Lewthwaite was leader of its councillor group, but they both led quite separate groups within the local party.

In February 2006 Angela Clarke walked out of Bradford BNP after Collett publicly abused her at a BNP meeting. At the time she was dating Warren Bennett, the party’s head of security, who was soon to have his own fallout with the party leadership.

Cromie’s relationship with Lewthwaite worsened, with Cromie repeatedly and quite publicly blaming his colleague for the party’s decline in the city. On several occasions he called on the party leadership to discipline or even expel Lewthwaite.

The BNP in Keighley never recovered from Clarke’s resignation. It lost the subsequent by-election and in the most recent council elections slipped to third place in the ward.

Darryn Manby, another Bradford South activist, became the local organiser, supposedly in conjunction with Nick Cass, the Yorkshire regional organiser, who had taken on direct responsibility for the ward. In June 2006 Cass confidently boasted that the BNP was going to put forward a complete slate of 30 candidates across the city and win seven seats.

It never happened and the BNP slipped back further. Cass disappeared from view and Manby accused Collett of “gross incompetence” in a dispute over leaflet designs and subsequently resigned as organiser. He went on to say that Collett was “arrogant and interfering” as the argument, which included accusations about funding, prompted resentment across the wider membership.

A new branch committee was formed in June, with Neil Craig as organiser, Alec Edwards as treasurer, Andrew Clarke as secretary, David Taylor as leaflet and design coordinator and Les Nakonecznyi as sales and publications coordinator.

Cromie was not impressed and refused to get involved. He was furious that Lewthwaite had been appointed group development organiser, and as a result Cromie and his wife Lynda, since May 2007 also a Queensbury councillor, began operating independently of the branch.

The new branch secretary was full of hope that this new committee-led structure would overcome the problems of the past. “The new system is all about a transparent and accountable leadership,” he told members, “a recognised team of six individuals, each with different skills, working for the collective good of the party as we strive to expand membership and increase the size of the BNP vote.”

The BNP operation in Keighley, meanwhile, collapsed. Chris Kirby had taken over the branch and made it clear that he saw it as quite separate than Bradford. But he did not have the stomach for the fight. After a serious falling out with Ian Dawson, then the BNP’s national group support officer, which included refusing to attend a reconciliatory meeting called on the instructions of party leader Nick Griffin, Kirby walked out.

Despite Clarke’s fine words the committee failed, with several people resigning after just one meeting. Frank Brammah pulled out as organiser for Bradford North and Clarke, demoralised at the failure of the local party to work together, quit as secretary.

Craig remains as organiser but has little to organise. The Cromies continue to operate independently and Lewthwaite, who is no longer a councillor, meddles behind the scenes.

As Searchlight watches from the sidelines, it is important to note that these internal disputes are a consequence of political defeat. As we have seen in Oldham, Blackburn and now Sandwell, electoral decline is quickly followed by internal unrest.

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