London elections 08: Only by turning out in force on Thursday can Londoners ensure the BNP is denied a foothold in London
About two weeks ago, I spoke at a unique and remarkable political meeting in south London. Other speakers included the candidates from the major parties, each battling to become London's new mayor. On the wall behind us was a huge poster, portraying and attacking the British National party (BNP). Yes, we have major political differences on many issues, but against the far right, we were and remain united and ready to speak out, with one voice.
Of course, Britain has a long history of fighting fascism and racism. We remember the Battle of Cable Street in 1936. Anti-fascists - from ardent socialists to Irish Catholic dockers, from honourable freedom fighters to the local Jewish population - all joined forces to erect roadblocks and defy Oswald Mosley and his Blackshirts, preventing them from marching through east London.
My late father, Barnett Janner, had been MP for Whitechapel and St George's from 1931-1935, and I still remember my family's disgust and hatred at the racist evils of the Blackshirts. Happily, they were roundly beaten and had little political impact.
Then came the war - this time, an international battle against nazism, fascism and racism, in all its forms. We won - and we believed that the evils of Hitler's philosophies were buried for ever.
So today, Britain is a bustling, multicultural, multiracial nation - with churches and temples, mosques and synagogues. We are proud of our democracy, in all its forms. And recent immigrants have made their valuable contribution to our national culture.
All four of my grandparents migrated to Britain from eastern Europe in the 1880s. They saw Britain as land that offered peace, tranquillity and respect for minorities - in their case, for their Jewish beliefs and standards. So how sad it is that we are seeing attacks on our British diversity of cultures, especially from the far right. The BNP, among their policies and ideologies, seek the repatriation of immigrants to their countries of origin. The BNP is not prepared to accept the diversity of our races and colours, our religions and our origins.
Today, we do not need to build roadblocks on the streets to combat the threat from the BNP. Instead, on May 1, we all have the chance to ensure that the threat from the far right is minimised, at the ballot box. Of course, we shall each choose our own mainstream party - and we should not forget that south London political gathering, where the democratic voice was clearly heard - which I was proud and happy to echo.
Britain has a fine tradition of fighting fascism. Next Thursday, every Londoner's vote counts. Please use yours, for decency, democracy, coexistence and goodwill. Please join with those candidates, who differ greatly on many policies, but spoke out with one voice against today's dangers from the far right.
Greville Janner
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April 28, 2008
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BNP-linked neo-nazi pipe band in Sandwell.
Taken from The Stirrer
"NEO NAZI" PIPE BAND INFILTRATED ST GEORGE'S DAY PARADE
http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/neo-nazi-pipe-band-not-official-2804081.html
28-04-2008
Sandwell Council has denied booking an Ulster marching band accused of having “neo-Nazi links” for the borough’s St George’s Day parade last week. Website reports suggested the British Ulster Alliance Flute Band were officially selected to lead the march from Stone Cross to Dartmouth Park.
The allegation was made at www.westbromblog.blogspot.com and when we raised it with the local authority last night, they promised an urgent investigation (see the link).
Now the Cabinet member for Culture and Leisure Linda Horton has told us: “The only bands hired and paid for by Sandwell Council were the Northfield Caledonia Pipers and Dancers and the West Midlands Fire Service Band.
“If anybody else has come here they have infiltrated.”
She said she was “gobsmacked” by the news.
Horton said the issue would shortly be discussed at a debrief meeting, and commented: “We need to look at the fundamentals of the parade. It might be a good idea to make it more like the Tipton and Wednesbury carnivals, and maybe not have the march.”
One of the organisers Geoff Collins said he, “felt sick to the stomach” at the revelation.
“We definitely didn’t book them, and we have no links with the far right. Our parade has always been for everybody, and want nothing to do with any political party.”
Our research suggests that the role of the British Ulster Alliance Flute Band may have been exaggerated by the West Brom blogger – but there’s no doubt they were represented.
Given their alleged links with extremist groups that’s worrying enough – though perhaps not as worrying as the fact that an official band can be seen on a youtube video apparently leading a singalong of “No Surrender To The IRA”.
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More about the British Ulster Alliance:
British Nationalist Group Set To Visit Fountain
Derry Journal - Feb 24 2004
THE BRITISH Ulster Alliance, a group formed in October 1999 by what was described as 'loyalists, patriots and British nationalists on the mainland,' will be visiting the Fountain in Derry at the end of this week as part of what they call an ' educational visit.'
The group, which is vehemently opposed to the peace process, said they are coming here as part of their annual visit where they visit loyalists areas "to witness life in British communities adjacent to republican strongholds and who face the constant threat of violence from the IRA and its supporters."
On its website the right wing British nationalist group said: "This year, for the first time, we will also be visiting the small and besieged Fountain Estate in Londonderry.
"The Fountain is the only Protestant housing estate on the west bank of the River Foyle. Previous Loyalist communities have all been forcefully ejected from the west of Londonderry due to a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing by Irish republicans."
The British Ulster Alliance added: "The BUA's visit to this brave community will hopefully reassure the residents of the Fountain that they are not forgotten about and that, as fellow British citizens, we offer them our full support."
The British Ulster Alliance claim their visit is part of what they call a new initiative called 'Interface Action' which they say will be focused on the plight of Loyalist communities in Ulster that face threats, intimidation and violence from adjacent republican strongholds.'
The group said they will be visiting Loyalist interface communities and offer financial, political and moral support. The British Ulster Alliance was officially formed in October 1999 by loyalists, patriots and British nationalists in England.
The group said: "From its inception the Alliance has vehemently opposed the 'Peace Process', viewing it as an addition to the 'Anglo-Irish Agreement' and other similar pro-'united Ireland' initiatives introduced by successive British governments.
Their website goes on to say: "The Alliance sincerely believes that the surrender of loyalist weapons would rapidly accelerate the sell-out of Ulster.
"Loyalist communities cannot trust the present government to defend them from those who still advocate the policy of 'Brits out'. Until the time when a British government emerges whose loyalty lies with the people it is meant to represent, loyalists must be prepared to defend themselves."
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Some examples of BNP links to the British Ulster Alliance (BUA):
1) Warren Glass (was the BNP's west London organiser) has links to the BUA (also has links to the Loyalist Volunteer Force and Combat 18)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/programmes/2001/bnp_special/membership/other/warren_glass.stm
2) Dave Hill (active in the BNP in the mid-1990s) has links to the BUA.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/programmes/2001/bnp_special/membership/organisers/dave_hill.stm
3) Racist attack on an Asian man at a British Ulster Alliance march attended by BNP members in London:
"At one, a British Ulster Alliance march attended by BNP members in London, I was taking photographs. After it was over I was walking down Whitehall near Downing Street when I got a blow from behind. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in an ambulance."
('BNP-expert Andi helps campaign', 29/04/2005', The Asian News)
http://www.theasiannews.co.uk/news/s/491/491694_bnpexpert_andi_helps_campaign.html
From the West Brom Blog.
EXCLUSIVE: Neo-nazi, terrorist sympathisers lead Sandwell council backed St Georges Day parade
Friday, April 25, 2008
Every year there is a major St Georges Day parade through West Bromwich, activley supported (Bob Piper* assures me in quite clearly that despite council support he personally does not support the parade) by fellow bloggers Tom Watson and Bob Piper along with other councillors of all political colours. For a number of years now the WBB has been reporting on the nasty political undercurrent at this event, but usally it takes no more form than a flying visit from Nick Griffin and his fellow knuckle draggers. This year however we got this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nZ1ltp1OUI
No surrender to the IRA scum? Hardly appropriate for a self styled "family fun day" I think you will agree.
If your not aware, the band leading the parade is the 'British Ulster Alliance Flute Band'. The BUA are listed by Searchlight, the Anti-Fascist League and Anti-Fascist Action as a "neo-nazi" organisation. Asides from their links with the BNP, they are also linked to Combat 18 - the "armed wing" of the British neo-Nazi organization Blood & Honour - and their leader was imprisoned in 1993 for gunrunning for the proscribed terrorist organisation the Ulster Defence Association. Speaking to the‘Sunday Mercury’ in 2004, one Mr. Gerry Gable, who is the editor of the magazine Searchlight said: “Both the National Front and British National Party support the BUA. Many members of the BUA are also members of these groups.”
The BUA are also well know for their links to football hooliganism and are totally opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process. These guys are so extreme that the DUP will not even attend marches with them! So what does the St Georges Day association and Sandwell Council and do? Let them lead our St Georges Day parade of course.
*He can perhaps get his fellow councillors to ensure that bigots are not again allowed to march on Sandwell's streets - i'm sure he would find cross-party support for that, well except from the BNP.
http://westbromblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/exclusive-neo-nazi-terrorist.html
I see that utterly sane Lee Barnes, the BNP’s legal eagle, is back on the old anti-Jewish drug habit again: he’s devoting a disproportionate number of recent articles on his odious blog to attacking his new obsessions: The Jewish Chronicle newspaper, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Community Security Trust. BNP twat.
From The Guardian:
Morrissey donates £28,000 to show he really hates racism
Sean Michaels
Monday April 28, 2008
Most of us end disputes through the power of rhetoric. We make eloquent, compelling arguments, apologise for misunderstandings, and express our heartfelt opinions. However Morrissey takes a different tack. He donates loads of money.
Yesterday's Love Music Hate Racism carnival at Victoria Park, London, was by all accounts a success. Hard-Fi and the Good, the Bad & the Queen played, spirits were high, music was loved and racism was hated. But the event would not have been able to happen at all were it not for a bail-out from Moz and his friends, it emerged this weekend.
Morrissey donated a reported £28,000 and persuaded his management, booking agency and promoters to chip in another £45,000 after one of the festival's major sponsors pulled out. Event organisers Martin Smith and Lee Billingham said they were "extremely grateful" for Morrissey's "generous financial contribution".
The donation comes several months after Morrissey's much-publicised kerfuffle with the NME (and a planned Love Music Hate Racism campaign), when he made some rather dubious comments about UK immigration. In an interview with Tim Jonze, Morrissey stated that "the gates of England are flooded. The country's been thrown away". He later insisted that he had been misinterpreted, hates racists, and may be pursuing the NME with legal action.
Now he's put his money where his mouth is. "This is a historic event, spreading an important, anti-racist, message so it must be allowed to go ahead," he told journalists. "This is something I am committed to and we appreciate everyone coming together so quickly to make it happen."
http://music.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,333778668-122385,00.html
FA chiefs show BNP candidate red card
County football chiefs have called for an honorary vice-president to be kicked out of the FA after learning he is standing for election as a BNP candidate.
Stan Leese is representing the far-right party in Stoke-on-Trent's Northwood and Birches Head ward in Thursday's polls.
Mr Leese, of Woodhead Road, Abbey Hulton, told electors in his campaign leaflets that he has dedicated most of his life to local football, and was recently made a life vice-president of the Staffordshire Football Association in recognition of his efforts.
However, the admission has earned him the red card from the FA's directors, who are outraged at his political stance. They point out that the FA has a strict policy of tackling racism and inequality, and that they are bitterly opposed to the BNP's policies.
Mr Leese's campaign leaflet says: "I have lived in the city all of my life and have been involved with local football since 1946, now becoming a life vice-president for Staffordshire FA."
His letter to electors is attached to a campaign poster warning of the supposed impact of the city's growing Muslim population, and calling for the Shelton mosque development to be stopped.
Staffordshire FA chief executive Brian Adshed said he has now asked Mr Leese to quit or face disciplinary action. "The chair of the association has spoken to him regarding both his continuing membership of the association and his affiliation to the BNP," he said.
"He has also been written to asking him to withdraw his membership of the association before polling day. Subject to that not being received, he will be dealt with by the board of directors at their next meeting on May 22.
"Everything about the political party he is standing for is inconsistent with the aims and objectives of the FA. It really does fly in the face of everything we are trying to achieve. We operate a policy of inclusivity and equality for all, whatever their race, gender or sexual orientation.
"I was very disappointed when I saw Mr Leese's leaflet as he has been an FA member for a long time and is more than aware of what we are trying to do."
Mr Leese was unavailable for comment.
The Sentinel
http://norfolkunity.blogspot.com/2008/04/fa-chiefs-show-bnp-candidate-red-card.html
Taken from the Staffordshire-based website, The Radical Press.
BNP prepare to scare
23/04/08
By Matt Taylor.
The British Nationalist Party has launched a campaign aimed to scare voters into supporting their party on May 1st.
The BNP’s promotional flyers depict images of Muslims sticking their fingers up and walking clench-fisted towards the camera.
This they compare to 70 years ago with a picture showing families, a church and pot-banks to show how things used to be.
In the literature designed to help Stan Leese get into office as councillor for Northwood and Birches Head, the far-right party promise to say “no to asylum seekers’, “no to antisocial behaviour” and no “to the Central Mosque”.
They go on to accuse the City Council of trying to appease the Muslim community by giving them land to build a mosque for a fraction of its value.
BNP councillor for Abbey Green Alby Walker said he was involved with making the leaflets and defends the content. He said:
“This is one of the council’s pet projects and it is to curry favour with the muslim voters.
“We are not trying to win them over.
“No more mosques will be built in Stoke on Trent if we get majority power in the local council.
“This is the creeping Islamification of Britain.
“The land should not have been given to them. It was not decided by councillors but council officers. It stinks and it is immoral.”
When asked what the BNP councillors would do if there was a backlash from Muslim people as a result of their policies, Mr Walker said:
“Then we can’t be responsible. If they behave in any unlawful way then that would be up to the police to deal with.”
Last year the BNP doubled their numbers in Stoke on Trent city council to their current six-strong group. And they have ten candidates for the elections this year.
Elected Mayor Mark Meredith said:
“The issue about the land for the mosque has been going on for years. The decision was made before I came into power, but I supported it.
“The Muslim community need a new mosque and this area has been disused for years. This will visually improve what was a run down site and accommodate the community.
“Anyone can suggest ideas to us to develop unused sites. We have done the same for different groups of people such as the Baptists in Milton. We are committed to considering whatever part of the community suggests for the use of waste land.
“This city is made up of a diversity of cultures and we want to build on and support all different sides of that.”
Lawrence Shaw, a resident in Northwood and Birches Head ward, said:
“This is deliberate scare-mongery and is completely non-sensical in an area which is so mixed and as diverse as ours. So I can’t see them getting the support around here.”
http://www.radicalpress.co.uk/news-BNP.html
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