April Fools

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.

March was a worrying month for anti-fascists. The BNP was gaining an unfortunate amount of publicity, and a worrying degree of support. They still weren't terribly good at actually fielding candidates - contesting just eight out of twenty one contests. But where they did stand they polled disturbing percentages. In seven seats contested for the first time they averaged 15.97%, with three around the 20% figure and only one (just) below 10%. More encouraging was the result in the only ward that they'd previously contested (in St Helens) where they fell from a poor 8.9% to a dismal 6.3%.

As the song almost said :

To know, know, know them
Is to hate, hate, hate them

April has been less positive for the BNP. They managed to contest four of the seven by-elections on the 2nd, and came worryingly close to snatching the Temple Newsam ward in Leeds (which the Tories gained from Labour, and in which the Lib Dems achieved the biggest swing!). However, even here their vote share only increased marginally, from 22.2% to 23.6%. The moral seems to be that where several of the major parties compete energetically the BNP's chances to advance are limited.

In the Dormanstown ward of Redcar Labour again lost the seat, this time to the Lib Dems, and the BNP (standing for the first time) polled 16.6%. They also polled 13.6% in an Arun Council by-election in rural West Sussex - geographically and demographically a long, long way from Dormanstown!! But in the Skircoat ward of Calderdale, in an area of West Yorkshire once considered a BNP stronghold, they polled just 6.5%. Their failure to field a candidate in Camden on that date might be a reflection of how badly they have done in some recent Inner London contests, but is also part of a pattern of failing to contest byelections in areas one might regard as quite important to their wider strategy (on the last Thursday in February they failed to nominate in seats in Newham, Redditch (2), Oxford and Wolverhampton).

Mid-April was quiet, with no byelections on the 9th and just one on the 16th (in Somerset - no BNP candidate).

On the 23rd though there were six contests, and three BNP nominees (giving a total so far for the month of 7/14 = 50%). In Wanstead (Redbridge London Borough), in their supposedly fertile East London/Essex belt, they managed a thoroughly miserable 4.9%. In Erewash, in their showpiece East Midlands region, they took a poor 11.5% as Labour took the seat off the Conservatives. And then they showed that they are truly the British Nationalist Party (and not just a bunch of English racists) by contesting the Aboyne ward of Aberdeenshire Council. And they got 44 votes - that's a magical 1.2%! It was a result that provoked a lively 'exchange of views' among the keyboard warriors of Stormfront. 'Jacob Cobain' had a ready explanation of the poor result - the ballot boxes had clearly been tampered with!! And every anti-fascist will laugh along as a claim that this was a "worst ever" BNP result was rebutted by a list of results where the deluded fools had managed to plumb the depths of less than 1%. Where but in the BNP would supporters defend a terrible result by listing even worse examples?

"Yeah, we didn't do very well - but it's better than 0.7%. Innit!"

June's Euro-elections are still a worry, with the distinct possibility of one or more of our regions suffering the shame of being represented in the European Parliament by racists, but for the moment just enjoy the thought of taunting your local fascist with their April Fool question:

Which was your worse result BNPer - 4.9% in East London, or 1.2% in Scotland?

BNP member jailed for drug-fuelled orgy of destruction

A BNP member from Calderdale has been locked up for a cocaine-fuelled orgy of destruction at a young woman's Bradford home.

Dominic Jardine, a £50,000 a year company director, was jailed in February of breaking into the property in Low Moor, Bradford, and causing more than £4,000 damage. Jardine received a nine months prison sentence and ordered him to pay £3,300 compensation to the victim. Jardine, of Southowram, Halifax, was also ordered to pay £750 legal costs.

The jury at Bradford Crown Court heard that Jardine ransacked all the rooms at the flat. Windows were smashed, bathroom fittings broken, the microwave oven damaged and kitchen cupboards attacked. Jardine's barrister, said he was taking cocaine at weekends at the time of the burglary on June 17 and 18 2006.

Judge Robert Bartfield told Jardine he did terrible damage to the home of a young woman who lived alone.

"She had recently moved in, decorated and made the premises her own," Judge Bartfield said.

While she was away for the weekend, Jardine smashed the door in. The judge said Jardine's motive would never been known.

Reader article: The Strange Case of Councillor Wallace

This article was submitted by one of our readers, Iliacus. We welcome any contributions (as long as those contributions conform to the law and are in reasonably good taste) from our supporters. Please send your articles to us at lancaster.uaf@zen.co.uk

There are many reasons why BNP councillors cease to be BNP councillors. Some resign, some are disqualified, many - and this is the happiest of all circumstances - are roundly rejected by their electorate. Cllr Geoffrey Wallace of Calderdale Council is a rather different case - he has had the BNP whip removed. He has been "sacked", to use the technical term employed on the BNP website.

Actually, "sack" is the wrong word - but when did respect for the English language ever bother the far right - as he remains a councillor, exercising the powers of office and drawing whatever allowances that role offers. He may now be sitting as an independent group of one - but that's one member larger than the remaining BNP group! For Cllr Wallace was the BNP's only remaining member on Calderdale.

Now, I have no interest in defending Cllr Wallace. I don't know the man, but as an ex-Conservative who defected to the BNP, I doubt he's the sort of fellow I'd get along with very well (to put it mildly). But there are features of his "sacking" which raise interesting questions about the BNP's competence and its understanding of local government procedures and ethics.

Firstly, to say that "he has had the whip removed" is a grotesque nonsense. Since he was the sum total of the BNP group on his council there was scarcely a whip to be applied in the first place! In reality he has had his party membership revoked by the national leadership, but perhaps that doesn't sound as impressive.

Secondly, the public reason given for this action was that he (Wallace) had contravened party policy by supporting "two planning applications" (my emphasis) within the green belt.

Now, there's an important distinction to be made here between two elements which make up a local authority's planning responsibilities:

1. Planning policy - the general framework for development in an area, largely shaped by national laws and policies.
2. Development control - the determination of individual planning applications, within the framework of national and local policies.

If you are still with me, the crucial point is that political parties are allowed to exercise party control over the former, but not the latter. A party can say "we are for - or against - a particular planning policy"; what they cannot say to their councillors is that "you must - or must not - support a specific planning application". Nor are they (the parties) permitted, in any way, to seek to influence their councillors' voting behaviour on individual applications.

There is case law on this in the form of Ombudsman rulings.

Thirdly, the BNP is fond of portraying councillors from other parties as "yes men", in thrall to their whips and party bosses. What greater example could you find of that than a party leader disciplining a single councillor over two local planning applications?

Fourthly, the BNP leadership argues that Cllr Wallace's position flew in the face of the views of his party and "the local community". Now, I have always found it very difficult to find an evidential basis for claims of "the local community's view". In any event, if Cllr Wallace has so badly misjudged his electors' views they will surely highlight that misjudgement by evicting him from office at the next election? And since Cllr Wallace can until then continue in office in any case, in what way does the BNP's action help the residents of Calderdale?

Finally, does all this typical BNP bluster hide something else? Certainly there are odd hints on Stormfront suggesting friction between Wallace who had, after all, won twice as a BNP candidate and previously as a Conservative, and Griffin, who has won...er...well actually, has never won an election!

We have sacked Wallace, say BNP

The British National Party no longer has a Calderdale councillor after its last member was sacked for refusing to toe the line, the party has said.

Geoffrey Wallace, who represents Illingworth and Mixenden, had the party whip removed for backing two planning applications to develop properties on green belt – a direct contravention of party policy, it said. It means, just nine months after the death of Labour councillor Tom McElroy opened up the possibility the ward could become the first in the country to be entirely represented by BNP councillors, the party is now unrepresented. Barry Collins, Labour member for the area, said: "It's splendid news. There should be no place for this party in Illingworth or Mixenden."

HalifaxMP Linda Riordan added: "It is good to see the BNP now have no councillors on Calderdale Council, which is exactly how it should be for a party that preaches hatred and division."

Councillor Wallace, the party's prospective Parliamentary candidate during the 2005 General Election, is said to have backed proposals to build on green land, including developing an agricultural property at Mason Green. The application was later turned down.

A BNP spokesman said: "We are a party of strong principles and if it means losing councillors who renege on party policies, that is what we will do."

After the death of Tom McElroy, the party came within a few hundred votes of winning the by-election and becoming the only party in Illingworth and Mixenden. In May's elections, group leader Richard Mulhall was ousted. It is now likely Coun Wallace will serve as an independent. He declined to comment.

Halifax Evening Courier

Convicted BNP liar and cheat to defend council seat in May

Far-right councillor Richard Mulhall – described by a judge as a liar and a cheat – will defend his seat on Calderdale Council at the elections on May 3. He has represented Mixenden and Illingworth since 2003 and is one of 77 candidates who have put their names into the ring, including 13 for the British National Party.

Councillor Mulhall was convicted in October on four counts of cheating taxpayers by claiming £3,000 in housing benefit, council tax benefit and jobseeker's allowance he was not entitled to. At Teeside Crown Court he was ordered to serve 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.

When nominations closed yesterday, there were four candidates standing as independents, six representing the English Democrats Party, three for the Green Party and one for George Galloway's Respect Party. Labour and the Liberal Democrats will be contesting all 17 seats and the Conservatives 15. The Tories have been unable to find candidates for either Park ward or Calder ward.

There will be seven candidates trying to win the seat in Warley ward, which Liberal Democrat councillor Jennifer Pearson is defending. They include Faizan Saghir, the son of former Tory councillor Mohammed Saghir (Park). Another of his sons, Shakir Saghir, who has represented Park ward, is this year standing there for the English Democrats.

An ex-Conservative Mayor of Calderdale, Chris O'Connor, will be standing as an independent in Hipper-holme and Lightcliffe and Craig Whittaker, who recently became the Conservative prospective Parliamentary candidate for the Calder Valley is standing in Rastrick ward.

The deputy Conservative leader of the council, John Ford, will be defending his seat in Skircoat, while the deputy leader of the Labour group, Tim Swift, is standing again in Town ward.

The present make-up of Calderdale Council is Conservatives 19 seats, Liberal Democrats 16, Labour 10, Independents three seats, BNP two and English Democrats one.

Halifax Evening Courier

MP Linda lobbies for change in law

Halifax MP Linda Riordan will lobby the Government for a change in the law after a BNP activist who sent racist hate-mail escaped punishment.

The Labour MP will write to Gerry Sutcliffe, Under-Secretary for Justice, to ask him to amend the time limit within which someone must be charged for sending malicious communication. Mrs Riordan decided on the action after she met the West Yorkshire Crown Prosecution Service to discuss the blunder that allowed Brian Wainwright's case to be dismissed.

In January Mr Wainwright, 38, of Lee Mount Road, Halifax, admitted sending threatening and offensive posters to Calderdale's first Asian councillor Mohammed Najib, anti-fascist campaigner Paul Sutcliffe and a Halifax mosque. But last month he walked free from Calderdale Magistrates' Court because he was not charged within the six-month time limit for summary offences.

Fingerprints and DNA did not link Mr Wainwright to the crime until seven months after he sent the last letter.

CPS head Neil Franklin admitted the mistake, which was not spotted until the eleventh hour when magistrates were considering sentence, but blamed "a gap in the law", which he said the Government should move to plug. Mrs Riordan will ask for the clock to start running after evidence linking a suspect to the crime comes to light, instead of from when the offence is reported. This is the case with some summary offences such as taking a vehicle without consent.

She said: "Justice has not been done. Mr Wainwright admitted sending the letters. It is scandalous he was not prosecuted," Mrs Riordan said.

Mr Wainwright, who stood for election for Calderdale Council and Parliament, sent the posters between February and April 2005. They featured skulls, crossbones, swastikas and threats to spill Muslim blood and incite a race war.

Halifax Evening Courier