October 25, 2009

Ross on Wye Match Report

This article was submitted by one of our readers, Landale. We welcome any contributions from our supporters (as long as those contributions conform to the law and are in reasonably good taste). Please send your articles to us via email.

The protest against the Trafalgar Club Dinner at the Chase Hotel was different to recent protests in that it was a home grown affair. Homemade banners and posters, very clearly local people unhappy that not just had the BNP had chosen their part of the world to defecate in, but that a local hotel, used by the community was hosting it.

As I arrived shortly before 6, the Police seemed to be setting a rendezvous point to the north of the town and that was the direction a number of partially-filled minibuses arrived later on. The police presence was heavy, although there were only about 30 on the gate (significant numbers in reserve) – there were 50-100 of us – and as the mugs/guests arrived in minibuses or cars they were greeted with cries of ‘Shame On You’ and the Police line pushed. At one point a member of Antifa was taken off for a chat.

One car (with dress shirt hanging in the back) pulled up as if to turn in and then drove off not to return – did they see the light? A highlight was a Volvo estate – the sudden jerky reversing skills amused us (but not the police) and seeing it get egged was a nice touch. Also we felt privileged to get a two fingered salute from the passenger of one minibus – rather fat and a Brons lookalike, but then all fascists look the same in the dark.

On my way back to my home in a place even more remote than Llanerfyl I mulled over the winners and losers;
  • The BNP were reminded yet again that they and their ideas provoke revulsion, it must have been like eating in the hotel in ‘The Shining’ – you were the only people in the hotel, so you, real Billy No Mates LOSE!!
  • The Taxpayer – I believe that 150 police were involved that night to protect Gri££in and the Trafalgar Club – we have to pay for it, so We the people LOSE.
  • The Hotel - the story seemed to be that you were allegedly hoodwinked into the booking and that you couldn’t cancel it. If this is the case, it really doesn’t wash, the law covering hotels and licensed premises gives ample methods to cancel, particularly if there was deception as to the real purpose of the event.
Darkly, my opinion is that you just thought callously ‘so what, business is business’ and that you, in doing so, failed to consider the wellbeing of your staff and the community in your actions. You also need to consider that you lost all your other trade that night as the hotel was closed to all but the BNP. You also now have the tag of being a fascist friendly place – so you’ll find you may no longer be favoured with community and charity functions.

Hosting the BNP you will discover is a good way of losing business and we have an economic downturn; you are now in the same league as the New Kimberley Hotel in Blackpool! Haven’t they have just gone out of business? So Chase Hotel Ross-on-Wye, you LOSE!

However, for the community of Ross-on-Wye it was a protest where many local people who had never protested about anything before (and indeed had never met before) came together to show their disgust and disapproval of the BNP and the hotel for its support of fascism and its disregard for the community by hosting the event. Build on it and keep on working together – if there is a winner, as a community, You WIN!

14 comments:

Antifascist said...

Excellent report. Thanks, Landale. :-)

Anonymous said...

Good to see another one of the regular commenters posting an article here. It'd be great if loads more joined in and LU could have all original content.

Anonymous said...

"One car (with dress shirt hanging in the back) pulled up as if to turn in and then drove off not to return – did they see the light?"

Well, they lost their bottle at least.

Pete Green said...

Thanks, Landale. :-)

And from me.

ST said...

"all fascists look the same in the dark"

LOL Craftily done.

Anonymous said...

Nick Griffin: Video that proves BNP leader joked about black people 'walking like monkeys'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1222682/Nick-Griffin-Video-proves-BNP-leader-joked-black-people-walking-like-monkeys.html

Anonymous said...

FUCKIN FASCISTS

Anonymous said...

Brilliant article and well done. Now that the post-QuestionTime dust is beginning to settle it's more vital than ever that the pressure is kept up.

Griffin has sold the phoney moderate stance to the hardcore nazis in his ranks by convincing them it would pay dividends in the long run. He led these people to believe that if they just toned it down they'd eventually be accepted into the mainstream.

And to be fair it worked to the extent that they now have two MEPs but what has happened since? Lost elections, humiliation in front of the highest ever QT audience, the same protestors dogging their every move and now the press gunning for them.

Make no mistake the Anti-BBC adgenda of certain papers has been cast aside on this issue. No UK paper will stand for being described as liars, which is in effect what Griffin did on QT. To my knowledge there are two undercover journalists who have infiltrated the BNP and have been undetected since early 2009. When they go to print Griffin is finished -not only with the public but with his own party members. IMHO everyone will be shocked at the extent to which he holds them in contempt -this isn't criminal but goes much, much further than the dubious requests for money. When this blows up even the most hardened anti-fascist is going to be shocked.

The BNP rank and file have been instructed to swamp comment boards on major papers and to sign up for You Gov polls to skew the results and give the impression that QT was a triumph.

However the truth is that long serving BNP members are incandescant at Griffin for his poor performance and this has brought many long term grievances to the fore.

Many members see trying to win over the mainstream as a waste of time and regard groups like the EDL as moving in the direction the BNP should be going. There are still some folk sitting on the fence but if the EDL go from strength to strength and if they do start standing for election -expect some pretty surprising defections.

To avoid landing anyone in the shit I'll avoid too much detail but factions in one of the 'celtic' nations are considering going it alone and concentrating their efforts on attacking the mainstream nationalist party by being pro-independence with added racism and anti-Englishness. This is causing an increasingly bitter and hostile split between them and those who want to remain British.

Many Griffinites are becoming disillusioned and are now beginning to think the previously unthinkable. Griffin himself will not entertain the notion of remaining in the party under new leadership and is expected to form a new party if his position in the BNP becomes untenable.

The BNP are set to go the way of the national front. The only thing that can save the party now is their first westminster seat and the prospects of that do not look encouraging.

All of the above I can substantiate and alone paints a pretty bleak picture of life in the BNP.

It's partly the hard work of the anti-facist movement that has brought us to this point. Circumstances, and the stupidity of many high ranking members have also helped but after twenty off years the BNP are about to be smashed. Within the next five years the BNP will be virtually non-existant.

As I said at the start the pressure must be kept up on the BNP -they are a dead party walking but the real challenge will be to spot the new facist threat when it emerges. IMHO the EDL are a flash in the pan -a short term threat that needs to be dealt with but they won't last.

Wes said...

Does anyone have the link to the youtube video that broke the uk population down, it was an animation and broke the myth that Britain is full.

I cant find it anywhere!

Thanks

Wes said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKCUIYRgGcA&feature=player_embedded

Found it!

B said...

Bloody good stuff and great to see there are still plenty of people prepared to go out and show that they are against the fash. Well done to all that went and thanks to the writer.

B said...

And here's an article from the Sun (and the Scottish Sun) on the same event.
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2699171/BNP-banquet-to-raise-250k-at-The-Trafalgar-Club-in-Herefordshire-flops.html?
What a washout for the nazis.

Hen said...

Are the EDL Casuals still meeting up to take on the 635 Group and Antifa in Leeds this Sat?

Anonymous said...

The next party to focus on is UKIP. They are planning to take over the BNP voters when it implodes. Farrage is standing down and Lord Pearson (of Wilders fame) is likely to be the driving force over this strategy. Let's not wait until its too late again!