April 16, 2008

Race, diversity and 1 May

Operation Black Vote's Simon Woolley on the closest run and bitterest mayoral contest to date

This third London Mayoral contest will be by far the closest run yet. It’ll also be the bitterest.

Of course, a bittersweet dynamic of this fierce contest should lead to a better-than-average voter turnout - crucial if the BNP are to be denied any Greater London Assembly seats. But my worry is that many Londoners will be left feeling ‘don’t we deserve a better contest than this?’.

Unlike the previous two mayoral elections race has taken centre stage and I’m sorry that it has because London generally has a lower level of racial tension than we have seen in recent years in Paris, Bradford, or Birmingham.

For hundreds of years, particularly in the last 50, the capital's teeming diversity has been its strength. Diversity won us the 2012 Olympic games. But that’s not to say there aren’t tensions, or that tackling race inequality is no longer a priority.

The fact is that for the vast majority of people living in the capital, particularly the young, their identity as a Londoner is worn as a badge of honour. The identity of race and religion are not diminished, however, whether or not you are born here; the inclusive nature of London is very appealing. The biggest problem young Londoners face is not a racial divide but rather a territorial division that pits one neighbourhood against another - that's a serious problem for any mayor.

The capital's identity politics, as in the politics of voting, also takes on a life of its own. When the novelist Jeffrey Archer began his ill-fated quest to become the capital's first Mayor he made it his business to schlep all over the capital in an attempt to win over potential voters.

He courted the black vote so much that it was said he would go to the opening of a fridge if he knew there would be a black audience. It began to pay dividends. Archer would tell anyone who would listen, that he was not like his then exceedingly unpopular Conservative Party. His politics, he argued, were ‘for a world beating multicultural city, dynamic as they are different from the ‘run of the mill politics’. In a poll commissioned by Operation Black Vote (OBV) back in 1999 asking black communities who they would vote for as Mayor, Archer beat Livingstone, Trevor Phillips, and Susan Kramer. The next Tory candidate Steve Norris continued Archer's narrative that celebrated multicultural London.

So, why has race negatively come to the forefront this time around? There are two main factors. The first has been the wholly disproportionate attention towards Ken Livingstone’s former equality aide Lee Jasper, and a number of black groups and individuals, including Doreen Lawrence and Pastor Nims.

No-one in the black community condones financial wrongdoing but many have asked, was the scale of this focus on these allegations fair, and how come everyone targeted by this media onslaught just happens to be black?

The second element has come from Boris Johnson himself. His remarks about Africans and Africa have forced him to make an unreserved apology. Johnson has had to learn quickly that the politics of London demands that it’s not enough not being a racist, you have to be a passionate anti-racist.

There is a third racial element, which until last week largely went ignored. The Ken v Boris Punch and Judy Show has focused attention away from the politics of race hatred: BNP. Masquerading as democrats, and even courting their once archenemies - the Jewish community - the BNP are hoping their claim that they are no longer bigoted boot boys will win acceptance.

If they can keep up the charade, and there is a low voter turnout, the BNP would hope to pick up one or two Assembly seats. The result would be disastrous for London. The very essence of what brings people to London from all over the world to a multi-cultural metropolis would be threatened by politics that has its roots in fascism.

Some commentators have suggested the BNP’s success might not be a bad thing as it would shake up the mainstream parties. I disagree. Any far right political success directly translates into racial abuse, verbally and physically. Worse still their bigoted ideas would, even more, seep into mainstream thinking.

Last week, the mainstream candidates stopped attacking each other to unite against the threat of the BNP. Speaking at OBV’s coalition against the BNP, Boris Johnson declared that Londoners must register to vote and defeat the BNP. Ken Livingstone argued that as well as attacking the capital's cultural identity the BNP’s racial hatred ‘would turn visitors away’.

I agree with both of them and would add that, if we value what we have in London, lets protect it on May 1st.

New Statesman

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry for going off topic here but i just couldn't let this one go.

On stormfront they are celebrating by saying that 7 new councillors have been elected in the last few days.

What they fail to mention is that they are 7 parish councillors.

Now what these idiots need to do is go on the official parish councillors website Google it.

According to this website there are in excess of 100,000 parish councillors. They are involved in dealing with garden benches, bus shelters garden swings etc etc.. "hardly saving the country from the invasion of Muslims"!!!

However it seems that certain BNP members are trying to elevate the importance of these parish elections to some level of national relevance.

To get an understanding of a parish council I would suggest that BNP members should watch The Vicar of Dibley and put this supposed success of 7 new councillors into perspective.

It either stinks of desperation within the BNP ranks to demonstrate any kind of success to its donors, or they are assuming that BNP members are so stupid and gullible that they would see this as some kind of road to success.

Should members be questioning the fact that this has been the pinnacle of their political success in the last 10 months?

Anonymous said...

Rivals take to the streets

(From The Northern Echo.)

Rival marchers strode through a North-East city today.

A small crowd of around 40 National Front supporters marched from Manors Metro Station in Byker to the Bigg Market in Newcastle city centre. After a brief speech, police officers were left to clear up an array of St George’s flags left by supporters.

Earlier in the day an anti-racism gathering met at the foot of Grey’s Monument, in the city. A group of around 50 supporters then marched to the Bigg Market to protest against the National Front parade. Access to the Bigg Market was denied for the public for a hour as a huge police presence kept the two groups apart.

Now in its fifth year, Sunday’s annual National Front parade was organised by party member Steve Hillman. The 41-year-old electrician said part of the group’s ambition for the day was to lobby the country’s leaders for a St George’s Day bank holiday.

He said: “It’s an important occasion for us because St George is our patron saint. St Patrick’s Day has become a huge occasion over here and we want our saint’s day marked properly. It seems we’re losing our national identity. We’re holding the march so people can see what’s happening. We want to raise our profile and welcome people to get involved in what we’re trying to achieve.”

One anti-racism supporter in attendance was expected to be Elswick councillor Dipu Ahad.

He said before the march: “It’s really important we make sure these far-Right groups aren’t welcome in society. It’s a worry at the moment because they’re manipulating lots of young people by trying to fit their ideologies with what the young want to see. We want to stop people in Newcastle being misled.”

Anonymous said...

From icWales.co.uk (10 April 2008):

THE Presiding Officer of the National Assembly has launched a strong attack on the British National Party as it puts forward more local election candidates than ever in Wales.

In a Senedd reception at which he accepted the honorary presidency of the anti-fascist campaign group Searchlight Cymru, Lord Elis-Thomas, right, urged local authorities to refute “lies” told by the likes of the BNP about asylum seekers and ethnic minorities.

The Presiding Officer said: “We know from experience the dangers of racism and fascism – and how close the BNP came to winning a seat on the North Wales list in the last Assembly elections

“he BNP had 5% of the vote in North Wales, and this was in spite of the fact that they have not stood in the past.

“We know that the BNP is targeting seats in areas where migration has played a major part over the past few years. The BNP has therefore adopted candidates for Wrexham Council and they are also keen to target other councils including Cardiff, Newport and Swansea.

“So it is timely that Searchlight Cymru is being set up, and reinforces the cross-party nature of the fight against racism.”

He added: “This reception has been arranged to draw attention to a number of things:

To set up Searchlight Cymru:

to celebrate establishing the www.searchlightcymru.org.uk web site which gives detailed information about the BNP in Wales;

to show the cross-party agreement that exists for the campaign against racism in Wales, and to show the cross-party agreement against using race and migration issues to scare electors;

and to challenge the BNP where they are standing – the BNP has its highest ever number of candidates – a total of 36 candidates for 56 seats, including 29 council seats and 27 community council seats.”

Lord Elis-Thomas said the former Commission for Racial Equality had issued detailed guidelines with regard to racism and the election process.

“For instance, the 22 local councils in Wales should refute any false or misleading information which appears in their area and which could lead to racial hatred, or which could damaged good race relations,” he said.

“A strategy of quickly issuing statements which refute false information – as long as the responses are factual and that they are not party political – helps to lessen the suspicion and prejudice which are sown, and it would encourage a more open public discussion.

“Councils should have facts and figures available to refute any allegations which could be made during the election.”

The Presiding Officer said some of the lies that councils may have to deal with included:

Swollen figures to indicate the numbers of asylum seekers and refugees, and the cost to the public;

allegations that more crimes are caused by ethnic minorities, and that the police ignore this;

allegations that neither the police nor other public authorities treat racial attacks on white people seriously;

the suggestion that every Muslim supports terrorism, and that they want to force their culture and religion on others;

and allegations that ethnic minorities receive more favourable treatment than disadvantaged white communities when public money is distributed.

Lord Elis- Thomas said: “The law allows councils to take steps to promote positive attitudes towards equal opportunity.

“For instance, they can publish information which is factually correct about ethnic minority communities in the area, including the correct number of asylum seekers; explain what the council is doing to meet its racial equalities duties in the way it achieves its functions; and use local media to publicise any initiatives which have brought every part of the community together and which have been as advantageous to everybody.

“Therefore these elections are an opportunity to remind ourselves of the value of our diverse communities’ contribution and to celebrate this value, rather than continue to concentrate on problems.”

Anonymous said...

re: NF St George's Day March in Newcastle (er, well I thought St George's Day was 23rd April but never mind).

Last year I suggested that St George's Day should be marked in my home town. The response was minimal. I think about three people got involved.

Good news this year is that a local pub is going to host a St George's Day event, and a local community association is running the event.

And the pub is the town's only Polish Pub/Restaurant.

And the community association is the Polish Migrant Workers Group.

Interesting eh ???

Anonymous said...

Should members be questioning the fact that this has been the pinnacle of their political success in the last 10 months?

I suspect a vof troll at work here. Every now and again he/she pops up to attack the present BNP leadership but is always appealing to their membership rather than to antifa. Strange?

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with irishtony we do have to put the parish councillor into perspective, i mean if the bnp have got 7 in the last few days what does that give them powerwise??????

control of a couple of duckponds....

tulip