July 28, 2008

The democracy dodge and the 4 year rule

Some time ago we remarked that in the 25 year history of the British National Party only two leadership elections had ever taken place, and that only one of them could be described as a relatively fair contest.

That long-plotted election saw Nick Griffin unseat BNP founder John Tyndall in a campaign notable for its rank dishonesty, and during which Griffin (largely responsible for the destruction of the National Front) openly threatened that a Tyndall win would “lead inevitably to a most disastrous split”.

The second leadership election came eight years and several self-serving constitutional changes later - years of ruthless purging and disruption by a leader beset with accusations of financial mismanagement.

It was, as we know, anything but a fair contest, the terms on which it was fought laid down by the incumbent Griffin, who shamelessly appointed his own man as Returning Officer, and then proceeded against challenger Chris Jackson's campaign in his habitually odious style of threat, smear, vilification and disinformation. And when Griffin inevitably won his Mugabe-esque victory the purging began.

In the aftermath Griffin spoke of changes to come in his infamously deranged "vermin, liars and thieves" blog post, but never quite got around to making them - unsurprisingly, with the BNP apparently insolvent at the time according to figures coming into our possession some weeks ago, and the Decembrist revolt brewing in the background.

Two would-be challengers came forward in the spring, Kirklees councillor Colin Auty's doomed campaign perhaps best expressing how widely discontent with Nick Griffin's leadership has spread on the so-called moderate wing of the party; while - incomprehensibly - hard-liner Chris Jackson again threw his hat in the ring.

The BNP's dirty tricks department set out to defuse both men (especially the dangerous Auty) very quickly and their challenges lapsed through lack of support - a lack of support not least engendered by threats that anybody exercising their consitutional right to sign nomination papers would face expulsion.

Early on came Griffinite talk of yet another change to the BNP's (apparently unobtainable) constitution that would allow a leadership challenge just once every four years. This is clearly the change that Griffin never got around to last year.

In light of simmering internal disaffection for Griffin, the existence of well-connected anti-Griffin factions on the moderate and hard-line wings of the party, the abortive challenges and the Decembrist disruption, it would be unwise for Griffin to simply impose the all important change since he would hand his numerous opponents a very thick stick with which to beat him.

To stave off accusations that the intended change is little more than the dictatorial stitch-up it is, the matter has to be dressed up in democratic clothing and presented to the membership as essential to the stability and security of the party.

For some time Griffinites have been busy selling the "stability and security" line, with dark talk about shadowy external forces manipulating leadership challenges against good-guy Griffin. "Stop the challenges and you stop the disruption" is the claim - despite the fact that those making the most noise and behaving in the most disruptive manner were the Griffinites themselves.

Rather ingeniously, Griffin has chosen the forthcoming Red White and Blue event to be the simultaneous venue for an EGM of voting members - ingeniously because the RWB will afford a whole weekend of glad-handing by the man himself and a whole weekend of pro-four year rule propaganda to put the voting members onside when the EGM considers the matter.

Holding an EGM will also have the happy effect of intimidating the more weak-minded and of identifying those prepared to risk openly opposing Griffin's will.

The result will be a foregone conclusion.

Griffin will have his way, as his spokesmen on BNP web hangouts have promised, and no matter that the manipulated and bamboozled membership will have effectively turned the BNP into a one man dictatorship - something even the Nazi Tyndall never attempted - they will leave the EGM having convinced themselves of how very democratic it all was.

To put this in context, Nick Griffin has only ever faced one challenge to his leadership. He won it by a long mile.

Paranoia, anybody?

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

As usual the BNP membership will allow itself to be walked over and shat upon. Nick Griffin really has got the membership he wants.

Anonymous said...

Nice to see you back, Denise. :)

The Green Arrow said...

I don't know about the Tyndall/Griffin contest being fair, Denise.

Against his better judgement, Tyndall fought a fair campaign abiding by a "gentleman's" agreement not to go below the belt(Tyndall refused to use the testimony of Griffin's former lover Martin Webster), while the Griffinites sent unsolicited mail to all BNP members with pictures of Tyndall in a Nazi uniform.

Anonymous said...

With all this stuff about the accounts coming out (again0 and the exposing of more lies, this time about the "Truth Truck", I've a feeling that if this four year rule comes in, the BNP will lose hundreds of long-standing members who are just sick to death of the whole thing, particularly that fat one-eyed bastard at the top.

Anonymous said...

It is evident what Griffin is up to, using the BNP as a private bank account for him and his cronies. If all the people with half a brain left the party it would fragment away to nothing as did Griffin's part of the NF in the 1980s.

Anonymous said...

"If all the people with half a brain left the party it would fragment away to nothing as did Griffin's part of the NF in the 1980s."

Yup - reminds me of that old joke -

"I've half a mind to join the BNP" - "Well half a brain is all you need !"

Old Sailor

Anonymous said...

They won't be able to stage a meeting at RWB. They'll be too busy trying to fight off the invading anti fascist armies!

Anonymous said...

They'll have more to worry about this year than a poxy meeting; oh yes, they certainly will have!

Anonymous said...

Has anyone seen the BNP paintings up for auction on the front page of their shit-site???

They may be genuine - however, I wouldn't be surprised if peado-boy has finally managed to work out how to use one of the filters in Photoshop!

Anonymous said...

"They won't be able to stage a meeting at RWB. They'll be too busy trying to fight off the invading anti fascist armies!"

The antifa protest is scheduled for Saturday and the EGM is on Sunday. It will be a two pronged attack, anti fascists one day, ex fascists the next.

Twin track

Anonymous said...

May i correct you ALL J Tyndall has never worn a GERMAN ARMY UNIFORM OR ANY TYPE OF NAZI UNIFORM YOU CAN SEE BY THE PICTURE'S THAT IT IS A WHITE SHIRT AND THE TROUSERS ARE BLACK WITH THE ARM BAND SYMBOL OF THE SUNWHEEL.
you do like to exaggerate.
I have a white shirt and a pair of black trousers does this infer that i have NAZI uniform ?.

GET IT WRIGHT.
KEITH AXON

Antifascist said...

'GET IT WRIGHT.
KEITH AXON'

I thought it might be interesting to see the high calibre of the opposition. ;-)

Tyndall was a nazi through and through, Axon, and you're a moron. Now fuck off and don't comment on here again.

Anonymous said...

I wander where "Spelling Bee's been hiding recently?

Axon The Saxon can hardly complain to being called a nazi, when he calls himself a "national socialist" (which is the full name and unabreviated of the nazis.

Keith's nick name is Steptoe? I wander why this is???

---------------------------------
From the national socialists blog, posted last January: -

Anonymous said...
put the charges up in winter ,because we may have a hot summer and proffits for share holders will make a dive iff we do ,this is corparet gread by privetised companys who constantly want to make bigger proffets every year and iff we do'not ,put the price up .all uttillites /gass/electricty/water .should be state controled and not run in the interrest of gready shareholders.
the gready severn trent want their bill payed in 8 months .gready basterds ,i pay my bill over a period of 12 month so stuff your threats severn trent.s
keith axon.
national socialist.
10:48 PM
--------------------------------
National socialists obviously can't spell, which is why they are outcasts from society, me guesses???

Anonymous said...

Hope you all enjoyed the classic "Steptoe The Spelling Bee" mistakes, lol

Anonymous said...

Hope Axon isn't now banned from our antifascist site.

He might be a self-proclaimed unreformed nazi, but his bad spelling always brings a smile to my face.

Antifascist said...

'Hope Axon isn't now banned from our antifascist site.

He might be a self-proclaimed unreformed nazi, but his bad spelling always brings a smile to my face.'

Nah, I'll let his piffle through if he makes me laugh enough. ;-)

'our antifascist site'

I like that. :-)

Anonymous said...

@ keith axon

I have a white shirt and a pair of black trousers does this infer that i have NAZI uniform ?.


No, but whatever it is it ain't half effective at scaring the birds off.

Echelon_g26 said...

I wonder if any ex-Griffinites going to the meeting on Sunday to ditch Nick will meet an "accident" at the hands of "anti-fascists".

Or will ol' one eye use the threatened antifa turn out as an excuse to cancel the meeting...in fact who will benefit from the anti-BNP demo if Griffin is able to manipulate it to his own ends?