A bad, bad day for the BNP - how sad, how very, very sad

This article was submitted by one of our readers, Iliacus. 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.

Griffin's failure in Barking, and the almost laughable performance by Simon Darby in Stoke-on-Trent (in reality the word actually is superfluous - it was a laughable performance, at several levels), have attracted significant media comment - and of course put big smiles on the faces of anti-fascists (and rational human beings!) everywhere.

But in the long term the local council elections may prove to be even more significant in pointing to the BNP's decline. Now once upon a time it was relatively easy to explain the structure of local government in England, but successive piecemeal reorganisations have led to different arrangements in different places so I shall review BNP performance (with passing reference to other parties of the right) by the different types of council. (And at this point I need to point out that what follows is based on the 148 local authorities whose final results are available as of today - the few remaining authorities are unlikely to affect the general picture.)

London Boroughs

I have figures for 15 London Boroughs, all of which feature all-out elections (i.e. the whole council is up for election every four years). In 14 of these the BNP had no councillors, and still have no councillors! The fifteenth of course is Barking & Dagenham, which the BNP was claiming as a target for outright control. They went in holding 12 seats - and lost the lot!

Across the 15 boroughs 868 councillors were elected. The BNP scored...nil.

Metropolitan Boroughs (the 'Mets')

These are the authorities within what used to be the Metropolitan counties (before they were abolished by Thatcher). Areas like South & West Yorkshire, the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and authorities such as Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Sunderland, Wolverhampton and so on. Their electoral arrangements are different, using election 'by thirds'. Generally they have three-member wards, with one councillor up for re-election at a time - 2010, 2011 & 2012 then starting again from 2014. The 'blank' year (2013, 2017 etc) used to be the Metropolitan County election year.

The BNP had representation on seven of these councils going into this election. In Calderdale and Rotherham they have a single councillor, but not up for re-election this year. In Kirklees, Leeds and Solihull they had single councillors, all due for re-election this year. All lost. In Sandwell they had two councillors. Both faced their electorate this time. Both lost. In Bradford they had two councillors, one of whom (Cromie) was up for re-election. He held on by 15 votes.

To summarise the BNP held nine seats in total. Three were safe, in that they were not up this year. Of the six who were up for re-election five lost.

There was also an English Democrat up for re-election in Calderdale. He lost. Across the Mets in total 824 councillors were elected. The BNP won...one.

Unitaries

These are single-tier local authorities, mostly in larger towns and cities away from the major metropolitan conurbations, ranging from Bristol through places like Hull and Plymouth to towns such as Hartlepool or Southend. There were 19 of them voting this week, and they elect by thirds.

Only two of them had BNP councillors (Stoke and Thurrock), and one (Blackburn) had a single English Democrat councillor - he lost. The sole BNPer in Thurrock was not up for re-election.

In Stoke the BNP was defending two seats - and lost both of them. The BNP group there has now gone from nine members a few weeks ago to five today - two resignations (Alby and Mrs Walker), and two rejections by the electorate. In the Abbey Green ward (won for the BNP by said Mr & Mrs Walker) the result was Labour 1,639; Conservative 1,170; BNP 835; Lib Dem 809; Walker - ex BNP 279; Ind 258.

Across the 19 unitaries 340 councillors were elected. The BNP amassed...no seats!

Shire Districts

These are the district councils in areas which have two-tier structures i.e. district councils and a county council. An example would be Lancashire which has a County Council, but also a series of District Councils (e.g. Burnley, West Lancashire, Preston). Again, they hold elections by thirds.

No fewer than 78 of these councils went to the polls. The BNP had a presence in six of these. In two (Nuneaton and Three Rivers) they have a single councillor on a different electoral cycle, and therefore not up for re-election. In Redditch the sole BNP councillor was up for re-election - and lost. In Burnley two of the four BNP seats were up for re-election - they lost in both (but still have two councillors on a different electoral cycle). In Epping Forest three of their four councillors faced the electorate. They all lost.

In Pendle they had two councillors, one of whom was up for re-election. Sadly, he held on, so 'no change' there.

I may be an election anorak, but even I draw the line at totting up the total number of seats across 78 authorities, but it's around the 1200 mark. Of which the BNP won...one.

Summary

Approximately 3250 seats were up for election last Thursday. The BNP won two of them [is it Old Sailor or Irish Tony who likes percentages? I make it 0.06%!]. They were defending 30 seats - they held two, and lost 28. That's a 7% defence rate - most parties panic if they fall below 60%! They made no gains. By any known electoral standards it was an appalling, disastrous, dreadful performance. They went into the election with representation on 16 councils. On ten of these they also have councillors on different electoral cycles, so could not be wiped out (yet!).

On the six councils where all of their councillors were up for election they were wiped out in all six - Barking & Dagenham, Kirklees, Leeds, Sandwell, Solihull and Redditch. As a poster on the Forum might put it - byebyebnp !

Looking ahead

Local elections held on the same day tend to differ from local elections held on their own. The larger parties tend to perform better as they benefit from their national coverage, and the higher turnout of their 'softer' support. With a lower turnout next year there is no guarantee that the BNP will perform as badly. There is some evidence from Stoke in particular that the BNP is still strong enough to elect councillors if turnout was significantly reduced (and if they could find candidates, which they are finding increasingly difficult). Let's enjoy Thursday's outcome, but there's still work to be done!

BNP fails to secure seats in Barking and Stoke Central

Nick Griffin concedes defeat, although final count is yet to be announced [at 6am]

It seems that BNP leader Nick Griffin has failed to win a seat in Barking, east London. Simon Darby, standing for the party in Stoke-on-Trent Central, also appears to have lost out. These are among a host of failures for the far-right party tonight (it fielded a record number of candidates), but these two seats were the setting for high-profile campaigns, which the party believed it could win.

The candidates conceded defeat before the final results were in. The leader of the far-right party, who is already a Member of the European Parliament, said at 2am: "I'm being realistic. Margaret Hodge is clearly going to hold the seat". In an interview on BBC Radio Stoke, Simon Darby was negative about his prospects, and complained that the leaders' debates disadvantaged smaller parties.

To put it lightly, this is a relief. The BNP's campaign has been one beset by violence (perhaps not at every turn, before BNP supporters rail upon this blog to refute the claims), but they can certainly claim more bust-ups and physical fights than any other political party. But to a large extent, the extremist politics of the party have dictated the perameters of the mainstream debate on immigration, and it is vital to reclaim it from this malignant influence.

Update

5.30am: The final results are through for Stoke Central.

The BNP came third (behind the three main parties), with 7.7 per cent of the vote. This is way behind the Conservatives, who came third with 21 per cent. 2,502 people voted for Darby -- 0.1 per cent more than voted for the BNP last year. It's a very slight increase, but it is not a percentage that we need to worry about.

Final results for Barking have yet to be announced.

New Statesman

Government urged to ban EDL rally

Bolton Council last night unanimously backed the authority’s appeal to Home Secretary Alan Johnson to ban a planned English Defence League rally later this month.

A motion was tabled in the name of Labour council leader Cllr Cliff Morris, Conservative group leader Cllr John Walsh and Lib-Dem leader Cllr Roger Hayes. It said the council was “very concerned” about the planned EDL rally, which is due to take place in Victoria Square on March 20. Bolton Council is currently putting together a proposal to send to Mr Johnson.

Neither the council nor Greater Manchester Police has the power to ban a static demonstration under current legislation and the council is keen to stress that it does not want to suppress free speech. However, the council is concerned about the associated threat of public disorder on the day and the impact that could have on the town.

These points will be emphasised in the submission to the Home Secretary. Cllr Morris revealed that he is seeking a face-to-face meeting with Home Office ministers to put forward Bolton’s case for banning the rally The motion at last night’s meeting stated: “Bolton has a very strong track record on community cohesion. The council is confident that this will not be harmed by the EDL and urges local people not to be provoked by the prospect of the EDL event.”

Before last night’s council meeting, members of Bolton Against Racism (BAR) and the local Green Party held a demonstration outside, urging councillors to support the motion. BAR chairman Helen McHugh said: “We are united in Bolton and we want the Government to back the calls to ban the rally.”

Today, police and Town Hall chiefs are due to meet with town centre businesses, to update them. It is understood that shops, pubs and other businesses will be given up to date information and then given the chance to make an informed choice over whether to remain open on the day of the demonstration.

The EDL, which says it protests against Islamic extremism in the UK, originally planned to hold the rally this Saturday, March 6. However, it postponed the rally because a Hindu festival was taking place on the same day.

Previous demonstrations in Stoke and Manchester have seen violent clashes between EDL supporters and opponents. In October, 44 people were arrested during a protest by the EDL in Manchester city centre, when opponents held a counter rally.

Bolton Against Racism has already announced it plans to hold a “celebration of unity” event on the same day, although the organisers have said they would be willing to stage the event away from the EDL rally. According to websites, protesters against the rally plan to arrive in numbers, as part of a UAF counter-demonstration.

Bolton News

Asian TV millionaire set to join the BNP

A tycoon who starred on TV's Secret Millionaire is joining the British National Party to RILE them - because he is Asian. Mo Chaudry, 49, will formally apply today - days after the BNP had to change its whites-only constitution because it breached equality laws.

The Pakistan-born businessman, who is worth £60million, admitted last night: "I will not be welcomed with open arms."

Despite blasting the party as racist, he vowed: "I want to stand up and be counted - and expose the BNP for what they are. I want to antagonise them and attend their meetings, find out what makes them tick."

Muslim Mo, who made his fortune from water parks, appeared on Channel 4's Secret Millionaire in December. He handed out cash to worthy causes in the Asian community of Leeds.

The dad of three, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs, said: "I live near Stoke, which is becoming a BNP stronghold - and don't want it being known as a racist city."

Sun

National Front joins fight for MP's seat

The extreme right-wing National Front is to contest a Parliamentary seat in Stoke-on-Trent

The party has set its sights on Labour MP Mark Fisher's Stoke-on-Trent Central constituency. It will be the first time in more than 30 years that the whites-only organisation has fought a General Election in the city. The last time was in 1979 when it contested the Stoke-on-Trent North seat.

But this time the National Front (NF) faces direct competition from British National Party (BNP) deputy leader Simon Darby. Former Stoke-on-Trent BNP leader Councillor Alby Walker also plans to stand in the constituency as an independent candidate. Other candidates include Conservative Norsheen Bhatti, Liberal Democrat John Redfern and Independent Paul Breeze.

Mr Walker said the NF had asked him to represent them, but that he had rejected the offer. He said: "They contacted me and offered me £1,000 towards my election expenses if I stood for them in Stoke Central. But I'm not interested in party politics any more and I'm certainly not interested in the National Front. They say they are getting a lot of people defecting from the BNP since the party voted to relax its whites-only membership rules. But I'm not worried as I don't think they have the slightest chance of winning."

NF executive member Steve Reynolds confirmed that the party was contesting Stoke Central. He said: "We have got a local man who will be standing for us, but we are not in a position to release his name just yet. Our main platform will be anti-Muslim and anti-immigration.

"We have always had a number of members in the Stoke-on-Trent area and we always get a lot of enquiries and feedback from there, so it's a natural choice for us. We are also getting a lot of disillusioned BNP members and supporters joining us, because they are not happy about the party's new membership rules."

But Mr Darby said he believed fighting a NF candidate will help his and the BNP's campaign. He added: "We're always being accused of being the National Front in disguise, but now people will be able to see that we are two totally different parties with different policies."

Former deputy elected mayor and city councillor Mr Breeze said he was shocked to learn of the NF's bid. The Hanley One Residents' Association chairman said: "It may be a good thing in that I expect it will fragment the far-right vote and prevent either the BNP or the National Front getting in. But it is also drawing attention to Stoke-on-Trent for all the wrong reasons.

This Is Staffordshire

Fascist EDL Football Hooligans To Invade Stoke on the 23rd of January

The nice and cuddly EDL - off for a piss-up at Stoke in January

The neo-Nazi EDL have announced on their website they are to hold a violent racist gathering in Stoke on Saturday the 23rd of January 2010

With a sizeable number of far right representatives on the council from the BNP, despite all claims to the contrary, by bringing their violent football hooligan bandwagon to Stoke, their idea is to forment rioting and conflict which the fascists are hoping will be blamed on minorities, increasing support for the BNP future elections, a tactic used by the national front nine years ago when they helped ignite racial tension in the Midlands and the North, paving the way for the BNP to progress in the ballot box.

Everywhere they meet, the EDL (WDL & SDL) always claim they are simply "protesting against Islamic extremism", and their army of trolls led by Trevor Kelway have conducted a major propaganda assault on online newspaper forums, posting reams of lies, contortions and misinformation centred around the rights of free speech, while playing down the obvious unpleasant facts about the organisation - the 90% plus of racist football hooligans in the EDL, it's strong but denied links to the BNP, and the many captured photos and filmreels of Hitler salutes, violence and hardcore racism.

Most damning of all, in a recent visit to Wales, EDL came out in their true colours, forty EDL Bolton Wanderers hooligans making massed Hitler salutes, capped with the theft and burning of an ANTI-nazi flag, behaving just like old-fashioned Combat18. Despite numerous photographic evidence, the neo-Nazi denied everything, just as they always do, giving hollow promises to stop their members saluting Adolf at future events.

With big-money millionaire European islamophobic backers supporting the EDL, there is plenty at stake for the racist orgnisation and its secretive aims, (whatever they may be), therefore the EDL acts like a corporation rather than a ragtag far right fighting gang in terms of PR and media spin, learning from the political subterfuge of New Labour in spinning a web of deceit and lies across the length and breadth of the internet.

However much Alan Lake and Trevor Kelway fret about the public perceiving the EDL as a neo-Nazi organisation, once their football hooligan footsoldiers are on the streets, after a dozen or so pints in fascist-friendly a JD Wetherspoons pub, the law of the jungle takes over, and their hardcore neo-nazis and dangerous soccer thugs very much please themselves, spitting at passers-by, making Hitler salutes, chanting racist slogans, throwing missiles at police and anti-racist demonstrators.

Whereas a bonafide commercial organisation can be held to account over its corporate responsibilities, like the BNP and the NF before it, the EDL time after time washes its hands of the criminal behaviour of its followers, via slick television interviews, incessant trolling, claiming time after time that the racism and extreme violence is the result of "infiltration" not just by other fascist grups but by leftwingers and anarchists, even though any anti-racist protestors of substance would much rather be run over by a ten-tonne lorry than pay homage to Adolf Hitler.

The BNP say the EDL are a state-controlled operation, and reciprocate the tokenistic "proscription" of their rival group, whilst key BNP members continue to be involved behind the scenes of the EDL. The EDL website was designed by a BNP man Chris Renton, and their website links to fake BNP charity for war veterans, Nick Griffin fundraiser "Soldiers Off The Street" and plenty of experienced BNP personnel are giving them advice behind the scenes, but in public, the cherade of not linking each other continues for PR purposes.

Before the EDL visit, the BNP councillors on Stoke Council will be vying for point-scoring by speaking out against the EDL, showing just how hypocritical the BNP are, painting themselves as the good guys, and likewise the EDL will keep on reminding you via newspaper trolls that they are nothing like the BNP, as the war of propaganda reaches epic proportions.

One of the greatest lies of the EDL is that they are multiracial and antiracist, giving the impression not only that they might not be nazi, but they are an all-inclusive discussion group working with communities to tackle Islamic extremism. Alas! When the EDL's finest racist soccer hooligans leave Wetherspoons, the footsoldiers idea of speaking out against Islamic extremism is to scream and shout vile obsenity and insult against Allah and calls for all Muslims to leave the UK. As for being multi-ethnic, a handful of uncle toms reported to be five or six non-white heritage EDL members fails to lend any crediblity to this ridiculous lie. No matter how many times Trevor Kelway posts under a flurry of non-de-plumes, the sickening truth about the actual neo-Nazi nature of the EDL is plain for all to see.

Check YouTube, press photographs, blogs and EDL facebook accounts to get the true picture. Notice the extreme racism of official EDL members and organisers, and open support for Combat18, the NF and the BNP on Facebook walls, and hate remarks so sickening and extreme against Muslims, black and Asian people. Only a fool after reading all this could continue to believe that the EDL are not a violent racist,fascist organisation.

And yet the keyboard warriors from the EDL's misinformation department continue to plague not only local newspaper comments pages, the Telegraph and the Daily Mail, but Indymedia itself. Recent articles about the EDL's assault on Nottingham have been bombarded by comment after comment distorting facts and distracting threads from being critical of the EDL, inacting lies and distortions that Goebels' would have been proud of. Indymedia administrators need to be aware of the tactics used by troll-in chief Trevor Kelway and chums, and to act accordingly, neutralising any infiltration of both straightforward EDl support and cryptic undermining of anti-fascist moral authority. Pitting anarchists against socialists is a regular ploy, pretending to be one or the other to destroy Indymedia through in-fighting.

Antifascists and antiracists, anarchists and liberals of must remain united against the EDL, and refuse to allow Stoke to become the national home of ignorance and race hate in a dignified and steadfast manner, informing people what the EDL are really about. Black, white, young, old, Easterm European, traveller, gay and lesbian, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish and Athiest, student, employed, unemployed, we are everybody and all, and despite the government's stubborn refusal to inact anti-race hatred laws to curtail this bandwagon of drunken soccer hooligans from wrecking communities under the premise of "protesting against Islamic extremism", we will send the EDL peacefully packing from our diverse and thriving city.

Communities United at Indymedia

BNP throws out 'lazy' councillor

One of the seven British National Party councillors on Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been thrown out of the political group.The far-right group got three more seats at last week's local elections, but lost sitting councillor Steve Batkin in Longton North.

Fellow Longton North councillor Mark Leat now appears to have paid the price for Mr Batkin's defeat. He has been removed from the group amid accusations he did not work hard enough. The decision leaves the BNP with six of the 60 seats on the city council.

BNP group leader Albert Walker said: "I am removing the party whip from councillor Mark Leat and he will no longer be part of the BNP group. We consider he is not a team player. He places unreasonable demands on the group and although he has done a very good job as chairman of the council's health scrutiny commission, his performance in other areas has been lacking, particularly in his ward where his work fell on to former BNP councillor Steve Batkin.

"He failed to help Steve Batkin in his election campaign, which contributed to Steve losing his seat in Longton North. We hold no malice towards Mark. We feel this will send out a clear message that only serious people who are prepared to work hard at their positions as ward councillors will be considered to be part of the BNP group."

Mr Leat, who was elected in 2004, rejected the accusations. He said: "I'm in a state of shock. I feel like I've been stabbed in the back." He added: "If you speak to people in my ward they will tell you I have done a considerable amount. I got fencing round the old people's bungalows on Kendrick Street - they were delighted. I have got people council houses and got money for the bowling club on Anchor Road and Longton Rugby Club.

"I have been doing a lot of things, and I think this is just a sour grapes. In the run-up to the elections, Steve Batkin was dragged around other wards to help out there, and Longton was neglected. I went round knocking on doors asking people to vote for him."

It is understood Mr Leat is keen to become a Conservative councillor in the authority's Conservative and Independent Alliance, but that will have to be approved by Tory central office.

The Sentinel

Hope not hate Update: Stop the race hate

The Sugababes on the bus of hope

The Sugababes broke away from their sell-out tour at the weekend to back the Daily Mirror Hope not Hate anti-racism bus campaign. The night before performing at Coleen McLoughlin's 21st birthday party in Cheshire the girls boarded the bus backstage at Birmingham's NEC.

Amelle Berrabah, the newest member of the group, said: "We were all always brought up by our parents not to judge people by their religion or the colour of their skin."

As a mixed-race band the girls are a great example of a modern multi-cultural Britain. Keisha Buchanan added: "To discriminate against someone because of the colour of their skin is completely unacceptable. There's enough hate in this world."

The bus was in the Midlands and the Potteries all weekend, visiting the NEC, Birmingham City Centre, Dudley and Stoke-on-Trent on its journey from London to Glasgow. Yesterday a special Hope not Hate action day was held at West Bromwich African-Caribbean Centre with food stalls, steel bands and a guest appearance by singer-song-writer Billy Bragg.

Local boys UB40 also lent their support to the campaign. The band, formed in Moseley, in 1978, still have the original eight-man line-up. They were one of Britain's first multi-cultural bands and represent a wide ethnic mix - Yemeni, Welsh, Scottish, West Indian and Irish. UB40 vocalist Astro said: "I've experienced racism - more so when I was a teenager. You kind of expected it."

But he warned: "In some respects it's better these days but years ago everyone used to mix in together, which was good. Nowadays everyone has become insular. Jamaicans won't go out of Jamaican areas, Asians are sticking with the Asians. There are no-go areas now. From that respect it's got worse and it worries me."

Mirror

...and from Ros Wynne-Jones' blog

On to Stoke...

Saturday morning - it turns out there's no more racism in Britain and we can all go home!!!Oh, April Fool...

The bus went to Stoke today for a children's fun day. I spent most of the day hiding from oversize vehicles, planning for next week, answering emails and getting some washing done.

Two things:

1) who should I see in the lift at the hotel but two freshly scrubbed Sugababes in fluffy dressing gowns, showercaps and no makeup, on the way up from the spa downstairs.... (We stayed posh on Saturday to cheer ourselves up). "How embarrassing," mutters Keisha, hiding behind her hands. In flat spa slippers, the Babes are miniscule. They were still nice enough to wish us well with the bus though... And they were getting ready for Colleen McLoughlin's 21st birthday bash. Now that's going to be a party - like three series of Footballers' Wives rolled into one episode of Shameless as photographed by Hello...

2) On Friday night we had a bus night out in West Bromwich. Nick Lowles, the man without whom this trip would never have happened, had told us about a fantastic Sikh pub on the high street. None of us had ever been to a Sikh pub, and in the interests of exploring Britain's cultural diversity (and scoring a couple of pints of Guinness) it was an irresistable proposition...

We got there late (we get everywhere late) and the pub looked a bit dodgy from the outside, but inside it was rocking with Guinness-soaked Sikhs on a Friday night out. Better still, there was a hatch at the back where you could order every type of curry, kind of like Christmas and birthday rolled into one....

Hero of the day: Chefs at the back of the Sportsman pub in West Bromwich

Observation of the day: You think people are different and then you go into a Sikh pub and you find everyone's the same.

Quote of the day: "The biggest arsehole in two shoes..." (Another Forest of Deanism from Tony the driver)

Smell of the day: Freshly scrubbed Sugababe..

Tune of the day: Anything by Robbie Williams (not current album), as the bus visited his home pub, the Red Lion, in Stoke...

Mirror