August 18, 2008

Nick Griffin fends off challengers and gains severance package in stage-managed EGM

 
Welcome to the BNP's family fun weekend
  • Challengers must get 5% of long-term membership to endorse them
  • Severance package of approx £30,000 could bankrupt BNP instantly
Amid cries that the Extraordinary General Meeting at the BNP's Red, White and Blue was 'a sham and stage-managed' there is jubilation in the Griffin camp following the startling acceptance of, in particular, two proposals.

The first was the ludicrous attempt to stop leadership challenges being made annually by changing the rules so that they could only be made every four years. Clearly this was never a serious proposal and was never expected to get through but an even more outrageous proposal did win and that was to limit challengers to those who could gain endorsement from 5% of the membership.

Whether this means members who have had unbroken membership of the party for two years or five years has not yet been made clear (though two year membership sounds most likely - there's not that many who have been in the party for five years apart from Griffin himself). Colin Auty's recent leadership challenge failed because he was unable to find one hundred two-year members to support him. If this two-year membership rule is still the case, the numbers are difficult though manageable. The BNP has a notoriously high turnover of members, only retaining an estimated 10% of the membership permanently (or until they're thrown out on some pretext or other) which, taking the BNP's claimed 10,000 members at face-value (though the true figure is unlikely to be anywhere near that), leaves a pool of 1,000 from which the challenger would have to find 50 signatories. If you don't think this is bizarre, consider this: just a dozen nomination signatures could get you elected on to a local authority.

Fifty signatures would be difficult enough but if the pool turns out to be the entire membership, any challenger would be expected to obtain 500 signatures, a next to impossible objective especially when one considers that the party refuses to release the membership list to any challenger (using a dodgy and possibly illegal interpretation of the Data Protection Act for its purpose) and that the challenger gets no opportunity to present his/her case to the membership as a whole as part of the challenge campaign.

Assuming the two-year rule is to be the one used, it's apparent that the membership doesn't trust Griffin in the least. A poster from a member of the BNP via the NWN blog says;

'If anyone thinks that the HQ will release confidential membership details which are both accurate and up to date to a would be challenger think again. They will supply a dummy set of records and then protest when the 200 or so names are submitted because a handful are (deliberatley) false.'

This appalling and anti-democratic change to the BNP has its internal opponents seething. As one of the dissidents said in another comment on the North West Nationalist blog;

'...let's just suppose for the minute that any potential challenger knows 500 people without having access to the lists. Can he/she be sure of their membership status? Or that, having achieved the impossible and collected 500 signatures, the membership will not suddenly have leapt to 15,000 in the meantime? Failing a successful legal challenge, there is now no way that Griffin can be removed from the leadership of the BNP - fact!'

That this farce was completely stage-managed is obvious. Just a few days ago, the party happened to mention that it intended to publish membership figures every July (which will be interesting to compare with the official numbers reported to the Electoral Commission each year). Then there is the fact that Griffin's four-year proposal was spoken against by his long-acknowledged supporters - Richard Barnbrook, Arthur Kemp, the vile Mark Collett, Eddie Butler and co, none of whom would say anything against Griffin or his machinations even if you held a knife to their throats because they all rely on his continuing patronage for their survival and their wage packets - some of the latter very considerable.

The second proposal that those inside the party don't really seem to have realised the potential impact of yet, is the agreement to give Nick Griffin and subsequent party leaders a severance package. I'm sure we can all name the severance package we'd like to give Griffin but in this case, as usual with King Nick, this one is all about money. It's worth remembering though before we get into this, that the BNP states in its accounts that none of its employees has a pension. Part of Dave Hannam's statement in the accounts says;

'Because of the size of the party and the number of staff the party does not have a pension scheme, but this position is under continual review.'

It would be untenable for the party to give Nick Griffin a pension but not to give one to the rest of its employees, so instead of a pension, Griffin has wangled himself a 'severance package', meaning a payout rumoured to be as much as £30,000 if and when the membership of the party comes to its senses and boots the pig farmer out on his ear.

A payment of this magnitude will - and Griffin will certainly know this - bankrupt the party instantly. At any given moment, the BNP is operating on a financial knife-edge and a slip of any kind will damage it irreversibly. As a for instance, we reported here just a few days ago that the party had to accept a CASH donation of £5000 to subsidise the Red, White and Blue. Without that, there was less than £5000 in the bank and the party would have had to go into the red or borrow money, assuming that the latter is possible.

Despite the propaganda that's being thrown around to the contrary, numbers were well down this year - 2600 over the weekend, compared to last year's claimed 4000. Seats, marquees, generators, toilets and the rides were all cash on delivery, which would mean a lot of the £5000 will be gone already, and the temporary bouncers that were taken on for the weekend for £50 cash in hand a day each plus food and petrol would have knocked a sizeable dent in any money that was left. Even the children's rides weren't as popular this year - which is a laugh for us because they also made a large loss last year - meaning another few hundred pounds was poured away so the BNP could have its annual ego-massage and Griffin could make sure he got what he wanted to secure his future. Naturally, the party will have made a bomb out of letting tent space to the members and selling them ASDA-burgers for £2 a go - only to see that money disappear into the usual black hole.

For a party so financially rocky, the idea that it has been committed to a sudden payout of £30,000 at the whim of its mercurial leader, is startling and, even more worrying for the membership, this decision comes just a short while after the party has suffered numerous exposes about the treasury and what it gets up to and in particular, what Griffin is getting up to on the quiet. While he and the loathsome Mark Collett both seem to be making a fortune, the party's finances seem to be chugging inexorably downhill.

If Griffin suddenly decides he's had enough, the BNP is dead.

We'll leave this (for the moment) with a quote from a current member of the BNP (though not for long by the sound of it):

'I'm cutting up my membership card and sending the pieces to Griffin telling him he can stick his dictatorial regime up his vast backside.'

So there.

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like a lot of the fash agree with you

"I think Mr Griffin has got everything he wanted.

I'm afraid this rather makes me lose faith in the BNP ever being generally electable - nomatter how brilliant some individual candidates. How can they be electable when the membership are so easily conned and their party constitution remains so authoritarian?

What would happen to someone wanting to mount a leadership challenge would they be allowed to go around the country to hold meeting as in an attempt to get the 5% of votes needed, or would they be expelled the first whiff of a challenge that griffin gets.

Griffin has done the BNP up like a Kipper, and he is now officially living off of the hard work and money of nationalists.

Don’t renew your membership of donate money until he pisses off. and piss off he will when he realises that their is no longer any money to be made.

I'm gobsmacked Mr Griffin has got away with this piece of chicanery - and still made people think he must have had some sort of defeat!!!"

And the rest. He'll bankrupt it before anyone else gets it.

Can someone demand to see a reciept for the purchase of the TRUTH TRUCK?"

Anonymous said...

A severence package on an elected post. Is this legal ?

Please bear in mind it is legally impossible to sue an unicorperated body, you need to sue the principle officers, i.e. Chair. Secretary, and Treasurer.

Can any body spot the problem ?

If so will they spell it out in words of one sylable or less so that Cyclops and his chums, and the rest of the knuckle draggers, can understand.

Mark you the fact that the Nutzies think that thier Plastic Hardman/Leader (Or how you spell it), is on an income for life if they treat him with the loyalty Gri££in expects should help put the Nutzies back in thier tin of Zyclon B. (AKA Cymag)

Old Sailor

Anonymous said...

What with the revelation that the pedophile will be one day taking over from Gri££in, the party is well and truly fucked.

So much for the quiet diplomacy of Chris Hill.

Makes you wander what his true game is?

Anonymous said...

Cyclops and Paedo Boy have finished the BNP for good. And the rank and file sheep have done nowt about it.

Anonymous said...

It's kind of ironic that racist BNP members look at all the wars, political instability and strife in third world countries and exrapolate that the problems are because the people are not of a white Anglo-Saxan heritage, using all manner of bullshit eugenic arguments to back up their biggoted arguments (i.e, saying that malnourished, battle-weary black people in the police state that is Zimbabwe haven't got the intelligence to topple Robert Mugabe for instance), when the wealthy fully nourished racist inhabitants of a wealthy western country fail to see the truth about Nick Griffin.

The self-proclaimed "Nordic aryans" are the subhuman racial group lacking a significant IQ, and not black or Asian people.

Anonymous said...

The BNP members will presumably now learn to love their Griffin, warts and all

lol

Anonymous said...

they all rely on his continuing patronage for their survival and their wage packets - some of the latter very considerable.

I've heard £191,000 was split between Collet and Griffin. It makes you wonder exactly how much money really is washing around the BNP, not safely tucked up in legitimate accounts.

Anonymous said...

"selling them ASDA-burgers for £2 a go"
burgers that along with the roll and relish AND including a couple of pence for the gas to cook them ten at a time would cost at the very most about 20p each. What a fucking ripoff.
Don't underestimate the amount of money that would have been made from this type of scam, it's a bloody foryune. On the other hand the fat security guys probably atre half the stock so maybe the profits weren't that good after all. LOL

Anonymous said...

Anyone who is a serious candidate for leadership should be able to get the signatures of 5% of the 2-year plus membership. They will have been in theparty for long enough to get to make contact with and gt to know,leading members and organisers who will be able to assist them. But it certinly won't make it easy for the 'plants' and troublemakers.

Anonymous said...

Didn't Fingers Griffin promise at one point that if he ever left the party he would destroy it first? Looks like he's got his way.

Anonymous said...

I'm in the BNP but like most of my friends in the party am utterly pissed off at what's been happening, with the corruption that riddles the party and in particular with Nick Griffin who most of us used to regard as some kind of cut-price saviour. Well we were wrong. He's a disaster and having learned some of his history I can see that he always has been. I was at the EGM and I'll tell you that while his lordship walked out with a smug grin on his fat face more of us walked out saying that's it, never again. It's time to get out before Nick Griffin takes the party and everyone in it down with him and there was much quiet talk about how Sadie, Ian, Matt and the rest of them might have actually had some justification for what we are told they did - note that people in the party are starting to question the official version of the story. There was also some talk of starting a new group.
So why am I writing to you lot? Because a couple of people mentioned Lancaster Unity or Lancaster UAF and it turned out most of us had read some of your articles and had started to believe there was a bit of truth in what you say. Not politically - we all think you're reds, naive and you don't know the first thing about patriotism - but you seem to have the facts right when you're talking about that pervert Mark Collett and there's a lot of dodgy shit you seem to have found out about Nick Griffin which is being confirmed all over the place. Okay, not many of us think much of you but if you're right about some of this, you could be right about a lot more regarding internal corruption and that concerns us ordinary members as much as it concerns you.
Still, all I wrote for was to tell you that it's definitely two year membership for the signatures. You might as well have that confirmed so you don't have to speculate all the time.

Anonymous said...

This is great news then, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

This blog seems to be remarkably well informed. I'd like to know which of Griffin's cronies is the source of all this information and how this gets to the enemies of the BNP. I was under the impression Griffin had rid his inner circle of State assets, Searchlight moles and other assorted "vermin"....seems not after all........uhhhhmmmm?

Anonymous said...

"I've heard £191,000 was split between Collet and Griffin. "

No....that was the total amount of money invoiced by VAnguard promotions, Collett the Wallet's pet business venture. This is according to the Annual accounts on the Electoral Commission website, it's not a secret. How much of that is pure profit is completely unknown - known only to the Wallett himself of course.

Anonymous said...

"This blog seems to be remarkably well informed. I'd like to know which of Griffin's cronies is the source of all this information and how this gets to the enemies of the BNP. I was under the impression Griffin had rid his inner circle of State assets, Searchlight moles and other assorted "vermin"....seems not after all........uhhhhmmmm?"

i think this is well answered by the thoughtful post from 'no name no number'. These are not state assets who are writing to Lancaster Unity, nor are they moles or any other kind of vermin. They're ordinary members who have finally realised that Griffin and Collett and all the rest of those shits are crooks, ripping off the members for their own gratification. Good for them. At least they are showing that they have some honour, unlike their glorious leader.

Anonymous said...

"I was under the impression Griffin had rid his inner circle of State assets, Searchlight moles and other assorted "vermin"....seems not after all........uhhhhmmmm?"

There never were any state assets, Searchlight moles or vermin. It's all smoke and mirrors to deflect shit from Griffin himself.

Anonymous said...

"This blog seems to be remarkably well informed. "

My money would be on the one with the biggest mouth, plenty of competition but two names stand out - a steroid fuelled sexual pervert and a nazi-boy arrogant douchebag money grabbing gobshite.

Anonymous said...

Gri££in will soon be starting his appeal for the "Truth Limosine", allowing him to spread the BNP message to some of Britain's most expensive, most fashionable restaurants in Kensington and Chelsea, accompanied by perverted child stalker peedoboy and his (Michelin star-munching) Norfolk BNP dining club chums.

The One Eyed Monster will then gulp down several bottles of "Truth Champagne", accompanied by several Truth Oysters (to join in Martin Reynolds' sordid swingers party), followed by the most expensive "Truth Desert" on the menu.

Not all of Gri££in's extravagance will reach fruition, however.

The "Truth Tip" however, will remain safely in Cyclops's clamy pockets.

Anonymous said...

"My money would be on the one with the biggest mouth, plenty of competition but two names stand out - a steroid fuelled sexual pervert and a nazi-boy arrogant douchebag money grabbing gobshite."

Martin Renolds and Mark Collett hardly get a good press from lancaster Unity. Why would they be passing on information?

Anonymous said...

"The "Truth Tip" however, will remain safely in Cyclops's clamy pockets".

CLASSIC, HA! HA! HA!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Griffin is trying his damnest not to go back to court against the rebels as he knows that it will be the end of him when everything comes out

MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Anonymous said...

The 5% compromise is in fact no compromise at all, and I’m convinced that this 5% level was Griffin’s intention all along, because without a membership list it’s totally unachievable, and leaves him in the position of an unchallengeable dictator. Mr Griffin has no political ambition for the BNP at all, to him it’s simply a source of income. For the sake of our nation, and our people, he must be stopped.

We must be honest with ourselves now, the only we can save our nation (from being breed into oblivion) is by getting MP’s elected, then ask ourselves under Griffin’s leadership are we ever likely to achieve that? Mr Griffin does not want a serious political party, or even a party that grows much above 6 or 7 thousand members, simple because he’ll lose control of it. Last Sunday there was no opposition to Griffin, despite what people may think they saw at the EGM, all that was just another of Griffin’s cleaver road show again. Once again can I ask people to be honest and ask yourself if Collett would ever dare speak against Griffin, knowing that be doing so he was risking his position on the BNP’s gravy train, face it we were all set up!

We need a leader with management skills not a charismatic actor/conman. I’m sorry to be so blunt, but yesterday the BNP took one big step closer to becoming the Nick Griffin fan club.

Anonymous said...

Griffin has almost made it impossible for someone to challange his leadership. 5% of membership (over 2 years) to sign your nomination, aparantly a list will be supplied.

However, should he lose or be booted out of the BNP, because "no one would employ the ex chairman of the BNP" , he gets an excellent serverance package that would bankrupt the party.

I wonder how Richard Barnbrooke would go on for a job should he lose his GLA place? Would the BNP help?

The package is statutory redundancy, plus one months pay per year worked up to a maximum of 8 years, and one weeks pay for each further year.

Statutory redundacy is 1.5 weeks’ pay for each full year of service where age during year is 41+

I believe that Griffin became chairman in 1999, giving a total of 9 years as chairman.
Statutory redundancy = 13.5 weeks
one year @ 1 week = 1 week
eight year @ 1 month = 8 months

According to NWN NG's monthly pay is £1843 net, unless he to is "self employed" like the rest of the "paid BNP staff"?

I calculate his weekly pay as £425.31 (monthly pay*12/52)

13.5 weeks = £5741.69
8 months = £14744

total £20485.69

However, if the party pay his correctly, i.e. on PAYE, the party will have to foot a massive tax and NI bill too.

Whilist this may bankrupt the BNP, it is hardly going to keep Griffin in the life style he is accustomed too.

Green Gordon said...

From Permanent Revolution:

Good turn out for Derbyshire anti-BNP rally, shame about the tactics

Anonymous said...

The BNP has fewer than 5000 members, and only 1,400 were at the RWB with only 250 bothering to vote in the EGM.

Green Gordon said...

And another... I've never heard of a constitution guaranteeing a severance package... If Griffin was to be chucked out, the committee ruling on constitutional legality might just chuck it out. There'd be no way of forcing them to pay out after all...

Anonymous said...

"This blog seems to be remarkably well informed. "


Too well informed - if I was still in the BNP, id be very worried about the source of leaks. What if the membership list with my fmaily details on it was to fall in the wrong hands. I am not sure if it is some loose lipped fecker or just bloody incompetence. Either way I would be asking questions starting with my branch and regional organisers. After all if the man in charge of security allows private photos of his sexual antics to fall into enemy hands then what about confidential information he is supposed to be securing? Id be very worried what next is going to find its way out of the closely guarded (yeah right!) inner circle and ends up on here where it will be seen by loads more than who visit BNP site. If I was for example close to the top Id be worried about excuse the expression getting fingered by Griffin for being the spy in the camp, the searchlight mole and getting the push.

Anonymous said...

A number of posters have questioned how our community gets such good a solid information, is it the case that the BNP members dont adbide by the "loose lips sink ships" rule, or are we just very good at what we do?

I believe its probably a combination of both, plus a health dose of frustration and anger by some very senior people still within the BNP, those who didnt have the balls to jump and prop up Sadie and Auty with their limp wristed attack, but are more than happy to stay still by the side of Griffin but feed us some very important accurate information in the hope and knowledge that we will bring him down.

Double edged sword for us really, we are using them, but they are using us.

tulip

it is only my theory

Anonymous said...

"getting fingered by Griffin"

Ooooohhh get you dear and get to the back of the queue.

"Martin Renolds and Mark Collett hardly get a good press from lancaster Unity. Why would they be passing on information?"

Depends who they are talking to in the first instance, no one suggesting the Wallet or the FatOne has Ketlan's number on speed dial, but someone trusted to one of them might be deliberately or accidentally passing on info. Would be good to be a fly on the wall at Griffin's farmhouse as he chews the carpet demanding to know "who is against me today"

Anonymous said...

Why are you allowing through postings from unrepentant racist scum. This is supposed to be an anti-fash site yet there are more postings on here now from BNP members and their racist supporters than there are on ScumFront.

WTF?

Green Gordon said...

The constitution is still online at: http://www.bnp.org.uk/pdf_files/Constitution%209th%20Ed%20Sep%202005.pdf (I've purposely not made it a link) though the post that contained it originally has been taken down.

Green Gordon said...

And more:

photos:
http://flickr.com/photos/tags/upcoming%3Aevent%3D998173/

Gotta love this one:
http://flickr.com/photos/hrhdtr/2772287525/

Antifascist said...

'Why are you allowing through postings from unrepentant racist scum. This is supposed to be an anti-fash site yet there are more postings on here now from BNP members and their racist supporters than there are on ScumFront.'

Don't be a twat. It's an insight into the feelings of the BNP membership and the post is useful to us in a lot of ways, not the least of which is that it confirms some important information directly from the horse's mouth, so to speak. If you relied on good sense rather than kneejerk reaction, you might've realised that.

Anonymous said...

"Why are you allowing through postings from unrepentant racist scum."

Use your fucking brain.

Anonymous said...

"Why are you allowing through postings from unrepentant racist scum. This is supposed to be an anti-fash site yet there are more postings on here now from BNP members and their racist supporters than there are on ScumFront."

Don't listen. Whoever it is is a moron.

Anonymous said...

Did Donna Hancock turn up to the RWB with her 'partner'?

Anonymous said...

Why are you allowing through postings from unrepentant racist scum. This is supposed to be an anti-fash site yet there are more postings on here now from BNP members and their racist supporters than there are on ScumFront.

TROLL

Anonymous said...

"Don't be a twat. It's an insight into the feelings of the BNP membership and the post is useful to us in a lot of ways, not the least of which is that it confirms some important information directly from the horse's mouth, so to speak. If you relied on good sense rather than kneejerk reaction, you might've realised that."

Well said that man. Understanding the mindset of the people conned into believing the BNP is some kind of hope for them is useful intel and provides information which the mainstream parties need to listen to and try and bridge the gap between elected and electors.

It's hardly giving a platform for the racist poison of the BNP - pillock !

Anonymous said...

There are some kind souls on here who reckon that I can put together a decent, readable analysis of the BNP's Accounts (as per my series of articles).

BUT, when it comes to RWB I just haven't got a clue what is going on!!

The only items in the accounts are ticket sales (income) and cost of event (expenditure). But I'm not sure either looks terribly likely!

And where does other income appear :- food sales, letting of space, etc etc ?? Or does this 'other' income simply vanish into ... er ... somebody's pocket?

So to help me along, can anybody remind me how much RWB tickets cost [this year, and perhaps 06 & 07 for purposes of analysis]?

Anonymous said...

"Why are you allowing through postings from unrepentant racist scum. This is supposed to be an anti-fash site yet there are more postings on here now from BNP members and their racist supporters than there are on ScumFront."

Whether you consider Lancaster Unity right to use this or not is irrelevant. It's a judgement call and it's up to the authors of the site to judge each post on its merits. LU has done us proud in the two or three years it has been going. Get that stick out of your arse and you might realise their judgement has been pretty good so far.