Where's there's a BNP will, there's a cock-up...

It doesn’t do much for the far-right BNP’s “learn our language” stance on immigration when a candidate uses poor grammar in his campaign 'leaflet'.

Will Blair’s challenge for the Rother Valley parliamentary seat is currently being publicised by eight sheets of home-printed A4, clumsily stapled together. It consists simply of a single “policy” diatribe about immigration and foreigners. There's no mention of any local issues at all, although there's a lot about what has supposedly been happening in Birmingham.

At the height of it Mr Blair' grumbles: “We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!”

Four pages later, he concludes: “If your [sic] coming here for free housing and benefits please try somewhere else.”

Mr Blair would no doubt want immigrants to abide by the laws of this country while they are learning the language. So he might like to think about this.

There are no official election details about his campaign agent, or indeed any contact information, despite Mr Blair currently representing Maltby on Rotherham Borough Council. And that makes his "leaflet" illegal.

Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, Section 110 any printed election material must contain the name and address of its printer and promoter. Failure to do so could result in investigation by the police and a fine of up to £5,000. It could even result in a petition to re-run the election, should the candidate actually win.

All this information is readily available in a handy guide for candidates produced by the Electoral Commission, the independent body charged protecting the integrity of and public confidence in the democratic process.

So Rother Valley's voters could be forgiven for wondering why they should vote for a man who wants to help make the country's laws, but who is evidently unaware of the basic legal requirements of standing for Parliament.

Rotherham Advertiser