BNP supporter in court today over election assault charge

A supporter of the British National Party is due to appear in court today after allegedly attacking a gay Conservative candidate at the UK's local elections, earlier this month

A supporter of the British National Party is due to appear in court today after allegedly attacking a gay Conservative candidate at the UK's local elections, earlier this month. Desmond OFlynn, 45, is said to have attacked the openly-homosexual Tory candidate on the evening of 6 May.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Service told PinkPaper.com: "We can confirm that a 45-year-old man f.rom Mitcham Park, Mitcham has been charged with a section 4A public order offence. He will appear on bail at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court today, 18 May. This follows an incident at Canons Leisure Centre in Mitcham on 6 May."

Pink Paper

Best Use Of The BNP In Advertising

I haven’t really had a funny story about the British National Party (BNP) unless of course you count the 2010 General Election Manifesto, policies or every time a BNP candidate appears on TV or radio. But as funny as they are this came through Twitter this evening and I just couldn’t help but laugh at it.

The picture below is from an email sent out by a London restaurant to it’s customers (I don’t know which restaurant sent it out), it was posted on Twitter by @TanyaVital and I couldn’t resist but to post it just for the lolz.

At least the restaurant owners can be 100% sure they will still have the business after May 6th because the BNP obviously have no chance of winning. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this rather funny little ditty as much as I did.

Vote No To The BNP

BNP loses another councillor

A shock by-election has been called as a councillor has sensationally stepped down from his post as Camp Hill ward representative.

Darren Haywood has cited `job commitments’ as the reason why he has quit the role a little over a year after he was elected. This means that a by-election will now be held on Thursday, December 10 where people who live in the Nuneaton estate will go to the polls to decide who will represent them at the Town Hall. The 30-year-old’s decision to stand down means that the British National Party (BNP) now only has Barpool councillor Martyn Findley, in the council chamber.

The Nuneaton News has been told that candidates are expected to be put forward by the BNP, the controlling Conservatives and the opposing Labour group.

Mr Haywood’s sudden departure has come as `no surprise’ to the leading faces at the two main political parties, who have claimed that he did not carry out his duties properly to the people he was supposed to serve.

Andrew Burtenshaw, chair of Nuneaton Conservatives said: “The people of Camp Hill have been let down by a faceless BNP councillor. Up and down the country, BNP councillors have a shocking record of failing to deliver for the residents that they serve. In contrast, Conservative councillors in Nuneaton and Bedworth have been focussing on keeping our streets clear of crime and grime and delivering good value for money for our residents.

"People in Camp Hill will now have a choice between a Conservative council that has been spending residents’ money wisely, and a Labour party that spent 34 years allowing money to be frittered away on fountains and supaloos instead of getting the basics right.”

Councillor Dennis Harvey, leader of the Labour group, said that he knows only too well the lack of service given by Mr Haywood as he also represents the Camp Hill ward.

“This does not come as much of a surprise,” he said. “As far as I know, Mr Haywood has attended no meetings of the council since June and the BNP have shown an abysmal interest in representing Camp Hill since their candidate was elected in 2008. The Labour Party has always been at the forefront of representing the interests of Camp Hill and will continue to do so.”

Alwyn Deacon, West Midlands organiser for the BNP, defended Mr Haywood, saying: “I cannot believe that Labour and the Conservatives suggested that we are faceless, I could name some of their councillors who are just there to make up the numbers. He has resigned for his work commitments, he could have stayed on but he felt that it was only fair to give the electorate the choice to decide who they want to represent them because, as a result of his work, he was not able to do that. He has to work, he has a mortgage to pay and he didn’t think it was fair on the people of Camp Hill to suffer because of this.

“We expected to be criticised, we always are, but let me say this, when it came to fighting to try and stop the closure of the green grocers in Camp Hill, the BNP councillors stood shoulderto- shoulder with the people who were protesting. They also voted against an increase in councillor’s allowances and were the only councillors to give their increase to charity, namely the riding centre in Galley Common, so to say we have done nothing is a fabrication.”

Philip Richardson, assistant director for legal and democratic services at the borough council explained the by-election process.

“We are aiming to hold the byelection on Thursday, December 10 this year, to comply with government regulations,” he said. “Residents in the Camp Hill ward who have requested a postal vote will be receiving their forms shortly. They should complete these and return them to the council as quickly as possible.

Anyone who wishes to vote and who isn’t currently on the electoral roll must register by Wednesday, November 25.”

Nuneaton News

Labour routs BNP by-election challenge

Labour has repulsed a council by-election challenge by the BNP - ahead of its party conference next week

In a landslide victory, candidate Stephen King lifted the majority at Hayling, Three Rivers District, Hertfordshire from just 14 votes to 317 with the far right party being forced into third place. The result is a boost for Labour in advance of the Brighton gathering despite analysis of 18 comparable contests in September suggesting an 11.7% projected Tory nationwide lead.

A calculation based on results from 12 wards fought both times by all three major parties gives a line-up of: C 38.3%, Lab 27.4%, Lib Dem 24.2%.

Tories narrowly missed a gain this week at Elwick, Hartlepool Borough in a contest caused by the death of a veteran independent.

Peter Burnett, fighting on a platform of “public services not private profit”, came third ahead of Liberal Democrats at Preston, North Tyneside Borough. This poll was caused by the resignation as a councillor of Tory Linda Arkley after her election as mayor in June.

In another disappointing result in their conference week, Lib Dems polled just 17 in the Hartlepool result although they doubled their vote at Burrsville, Tendring District, Essex.

Local Government Chronicle

Labour, Lib-Dems and Conservatives back Hope Not Hate campaign against the BNP ahead of Euro elections

All three political parties in Trafford have taken a stand against the British National Party.

The motion, called the ‘Hope not Hate’ campaign, will be debated at Trafford Town Hall tomorrow night ahead of the European elections on June 4.

Labour councillor Barry Brotherton said: “The council is taking a stand by opposing those who stand to undermine Trafford. We have called upon the council to formulate a plan that engages all sections of the community to promote cohesion.”

Cllr Karina Carter added: “The BNP is going all out to win seats in the European election, hoping to exploit low voter turnout and achieve its biggest political breakthrough to date. As elected representatives of Trafford we publicly oppose the BNP and the message of hate they preach. I’m delighted that the Tories and Liberals are supporting this motion, and we will be urging as many people as possible to become active in the Hope not Hate campaign.”

Ray Bowker, leader of Trafford’s Liberal Democrats, said: “It’s most important that community cohesion is maintained throughout Trafford. It’s therefore essential that our leaders and all politicians together with people in Trafford dedicate their aims to Trafford’s motto of ‘hold fast that which is good’.”

The council stance stated: “Trafford is a very special place, vibrant, tolerant and friendly, celebrating our common heritage as well as gaining strength and prosperity from our diversity. People of different races, cultures, religions and backgrounds have made Trafford their home and contribute to the borough through education, work, enterprise, culture, entertainment and sport.

“This council is very proud of our borough and people. We oppose those who stand to undermine ‘our’ Trafford and who aim to divide our communities and create intolerance and violence against our neighbours. We resolve within the powers and duties of the council to instruct the deputy chief executive to bring forward an action plan which engages all sections of the community and promotes community cohesion.”

Messenger

Parties unite against BNP ahead of Euro vote

Scotland's four main political parties have agreed a united stance against the far-right British National Party at this year's European Parliament elections. Labour, SNP, Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates will refuse to appear alongside the BNP during the campaign for the June 4 poll.

Scottish Conservative MEP Struan Stevenson said: "We learned the BNP will be running a full slate of six candidates in Scotland and we have all agreed we will not share a hustings with them. We will not share a platform with fascists and racists. If there is anyone who thinks they should invite a BNP candidate to a hustings or TV debate, they won't get the rest of us."

Lothians-based Labour MEP David Martin said: "Politics is about disagreement and competing visions and I'm happy to share a platform with people whom I don't agree 100 per cent with. But the BNP is different because they would deny other people such a platform. They are an anti-democratic party and a pure racist party."

Scotsman

Comment is free: Blears' fears

If anything has fostered the anti-immigrant backlash Hazel Blears warns of, it is Labour's neglect of its core working-class support

Hazel Blears' sudden concern for what she refers to as "the ignored poor" is a little hard to stomach, given that New Labour has continually taken its traditional voters for granted, believing they had nowhere else to go. Now, with a resurgent Conservative party and an election less than 18 months away, they are suddenly in need of core support. The Labour party was founded 100 years ago to represent low-paid workers, and continued to serve that constituency until the 1980s. During its recent period in power, however, New Labour has courted big business in a manner that would disgust the party's founders. As a result, average earners have seen their standard of living remain static, at best, while the incomes of the top 1% have rocketed to unprecedented levels.

Of the 13 million UK citizens who are living below the low-income threshold, just over three million were either unemployed or unavailable for work in 2007. That means there are almost 10 million people out there who are working hard, yet are unable to make ends meet. They are the working poor and Labour, the party that was once their champion, has ignored their plight, leaving them vulnerable to the poisonous racism peddled by the far right. Over the past few years, the British National party has been picking up votes in those places where house prices are lower than average, where local residents have to face a constant influx of people seeking cheap accommodation and casual employment.

While Middle England has felt the benefit of this growing pool of cheap labour, the working poor have faced ever greater competition for scarce resources such as housing and those other vital social services that make it possible, just, to survive on a low income. Is it any surprise that they see immigration as a threat? However, if the vast majority of the working poor are racist, why didn't they vote in greater numbers for the anti-immigrant platform shamefully offered up by the Conservative party in the last two elections?

Could it be they recognise that the real problem is not immigration, but a global market that has no respect for local communities or national borders? That the unimpeded movement of capital is the root cause of their predicament rather than the mass movement of people? That immigrants are merely a convenient scapegoat for the failure of trickle-down economics?

Yes, they do vote for the BNP in worrying numbers, but more out of frustration than in any hope of getting a solution to their problems. Anyone who has seen BNP councillors in action knows that they are an electoral dead end. Yet, at a time when people are fearful of what the future holds, when the ranks of the working poor are about to be swollen as a result of a bafflingly complex breakdown of the free-market system, then the simplicities of bigotry offer an easy explanation for their dire predicament.

If the Labour party wants to combat the BNP, it needs to lay off the anti-immigrant rhetoric and address the real problem that keeps the incomes of working poor below the poverty line – the inequalities that have been created by globalisation.

Billy Bragg
Comment is free

BNP lose out in 'knife-edge' council by-elections

The last 2008 council by-elections produced a night of high drama with mainstream parties holding off the BNP by knife-edge majorities in two contests and the outcome in a third being decided by drawing lots. The only change was a gain by Liberal Democrats at Newchurch, Isle of Wight where the previous councillor, elected as a Tory, had become independent.

The BNP, which called the poll at Kells and Sandwith, Cumbria County, finished just 16 votes behind Labour. The margin was 15 at Ibstock and Heather, North West Leicestershire District where Tories squeaked home.

This was a disappointing result for Labour which had defended another seat in the ward in a by-election last January in which Conservatives had trailed the BNP. The ward is in the marginal Leicestershire North West constituency.

At Clarence and Uphill, North Somerset Council, Tory Ami Patel and independent John Ley-Morgan both finished on 477 votes with Mr Patel winning on a drawing of lots.

Analysis of 11 comparable results this month suggests a projected 8.6% Tory nationwide lead over Labour. A calculation based on wards fought both times by all three major parties gives a line-up of: C 38.5%, Lab 33.0%, Lib Dem 21.6%. Tories were hard hit by independent interventions at North Somerset but clearly benefited from the disappearance of an independent challenge at Braintree, Essex earlier this month.

RESULTS:

Cumbria County - Kells and Sandwith: Lab 434, BNP 418, C 190. (May 2007 - Lab 1367, Ind 357, C 355). Lab hold. Swing 12.5% Lab to C.

East Northamptonshire District - Thrapston Lakes: C 475, Lab 168, Ukip 111. (May 2007 - Two seats C 558, 458, Ukip 380). C hold. Swing 16.9% Ukip to C.

Isle of Wight Council - Newchurch: Lib Dem 389, C 377, Ind 213. (May 2005 - C 701, Ind 620, Ind 187). Lib Dem gain from Ind.

North Somerset Council - Clarence and Uphill: C 478, Ind 477, Lib Dem 421, Ind 228, Lab 132. (May 2007 - Three seats C 1800, 1777, 1708, Lib Dem 836, 672, 670, Lab 310, 295, 280). C hold. Swing 17% C to Lib Dem.

North West Leicestershire District - Ibstock and Heather: C 660, BNP 645, Lab 614, Lib Dem 174. (May 2007 - Three seats C 737, 731, Lab 707, 620, C 599, Lab 559, Ukip 411, Lib Dem 225, 222; January 10 2008 by-election: Lab 699, BNP 637, C 515, Lib Dem 411). C hold. Swing 0.4% C to Lab.

Rhondda, Cynon, Taff County Borough - Glyncoch: Lab 217, Ind 143, Plaid Cymru 47, Communist 12, C 11. (May 2008 - Lab 413, Plaid Cymru 192). Lab hold. Swing 1.5% Plaid Cymru to Lab.

24dash

Give amnesty to illegal migrants, says senior Conservative

Illegal immigrants who have been living in the UK for seven years should be offered an amnesty which allows them to register as residents, pay taxes and earn citizenship, according to one of the Conservative Party's senior strategists.

Anthony Browne, who will take up his role as policy director with the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, next month, says the only humane and practical way to deal with Britain's illegally settled community is to offer immunity from deportation.

His intervention, which will be followed by a Policy Exchange think-tank pamphlet later this year, will reignite a Westminster debate and could stoke policy tensions between Mr Johnson and the Tory leader, David Cameron.

Writing in The Independent today, Mr Browne argues that granting an amnesty would be "far fairer, humane, better for society and more economically efficient" than the status quo. There are up to a million illegal immigrants in the UK and both Labour and the Tories have in the past ruled out an amnesty.

Independent

Tories hit back at BNP village campaign

Conservative politicians in Orsett have responded to the election efforts of BNP to associate itself with village traditions.

BNP candidate Derek Beackon caused a furore last week when he posted a newsletter through village letterboxes which featured a picture of himself outside the Whitmore Arms pub and restaurant, an award-winning village landmark.

Landlady Margaret Orman was outraged and slammed the BNP, with Mr Beackon then issuing a veiled apology. He said: "said: "It's just a local landmark that everyone knows. You can have your photo taken anywhere. However, looking back on it I'm not surprised she is upset. Its her livelihood and I can understand that she doesn't want to be associated with us. We were not trying to say she or the pub is associated with the BNP."

However, local Conservatives, including election rival and sitting councillor Diane Revell said the BNP have no place in the village.

Councillor Revell said: "Members of my family fought in two world wars to prevent the spread of this type of party. Some of them died. Fascist parties have no part to play in local elections here in Orsett. There are national concerns on immigration but locally the clearest problems we have are with anti-social behaviour and above all the threats posed by the infra-structural changes about to be imposed on us by the government's Thames Gateway Development Corporation. Clearly their candidate has no idea of what village life is about and has nothing to offer. Leave us to sort out our own problems within the community."

Her husband and fellow councillor Mike Revell said: "Thurrock is twinned thorough its children to a Polish town of Plocke. It is the size of Thurrock. In a period of just two years in the 1940s, 1.5 million people were sent from the ghetto in this town to the gas chambers. Within the centre of the town is left the empty area that once was the walled ghetto. It is still a chillingly cold place in which to stand. It happened because, earlier in the 1930s, nice respectable Germans made their protest votes for a xenophobic, ultra nationalist party, the Nazis."

Those comments were echoed by Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate Stephen Metcalfe who said: "Clearly people are concerned by excessive immigration. The Conservatives have proposed answers to this based on the Australian point system. But this is a national issue that will have to be addressed at government level. My experience of the few BNP councillors elected in Epping Forest tell us that they have nothing to offer and nothing to say on local issues within their local councils."

The Conservatives also took issue with content in the BNP promotional newsletter.

Councillor Mike Revell said: "Orsett Conservatives are united in the condemnation of the deliberate lie that is being spread by the BNP that "the conservatives are responsible for plans to site a travellers encampment in the village". This is completely untrue. The Council have been asked if they would increase the number of pitches in Thurrock. This has been rejected utterly by the Conservative administration. It is also clear that the BNP are unaware of the cooperation between the police and the local village forums when they speak of crime. Although there are still some problems to address there has been a noticeable improvement in most areas.

"When challenged the BNP spokesman said that all parties lie, but when asked to name one case of lying by the Thurrock Conservative Administration, he was unable to name one instance."

Thurrock Gazette

Tamworth BC Castle ward by-election

Solidly Conservative Tamworth is a highly desirable place to live. An area with which we are familiar, this south Staffordshire town sits hard on the Warwickshire border (which once bisected it), and much of its wealth and growth was generated by coal mining.

The mines of south Staffs and north Warwickshire now gone, the character of the place has changed fundamentally in the last decade or so, a change reflected in the political make-up of the town.

Once a solidly working-class Labour-voting town, the disappearance of the pits and the contraction of industry made Tamworth attractive to people living in the nearby West Midlands conurbation, who have decamped there in large numbers, making Tamworth something of a dormitary for Birmingham and its industrial suburbs. There is almost certainly an element of "white flight" to add in to the equation.

In 1998 Tamworth Borough Council was controlled by 28 Labour councillors, with just two others (one Conservative and one Independent) forming the opposition. By 2000 there had been a dramatic change - Labour still controlled the council with only two votes, but were reduced to 16 seats, with the Conservatives on 13 and the Independents retaining one. In 2002 boundary changes saw a revival for Labour, which retained council control with 22 seats against the Conservatives' 8 - but the relentless effects of demographic changes delayed by the boundary re-drawings were making themselves felt. In 2004 the Tories took control of the council (Con 16, Lab 13, Ind 1). In 2006 the Labour Party's decline continued apace - Con 22, Lab 8, Ind 1, and in 2007 they lost another two seats (Con 23, Lab 5, Ind 2).

Of course, Labour's catastrophic fall from grace in Tamworth cannot be wholly attributed to population movement. There are, as always, local factors, and we should take account of the failure of many Labour voters to identify with the "New Labour" project in what is an "Old Labour" area. We might also note the desultory efforts of the Liberal Democrats, who in May contested only four out of Tamworth's ten wards, coming last in each, their participation having little effect on the outcome of the Conservative/Labour battles fought across the town.

Tamworth being home to an insignificant number of ethnic minorities, the town has no history of racial tension, and was long barren ground for right-wing extremist parties. Even in the heady days of the 1970's the National Front never managed to raise more than a tiny, short-lived and completely ineffective group. The BNP presence is also tiny, but demographic and political changes there have been, and these produced a surprise result in the May local elections when the BNP's sole runner achieved a 25.14% vote share in Stoneydelph ward.

What makes that result interesting is the source of the BNP vote. In May 2006 the Stoneydelph result was (percentage vote share in brackets):

Con 827 (56.68)
Lab 632 (43.32)

Total 1459

In May 2007, with the intervention of a BNP candidate, the result came out as:

Con 606 (38.57)
Lab 570 (36.28)
BNP 395 (25.14)

Total 1571

We can see immediately that the big losers to the BNP were the sitting Conservatives, 18% of their vote apparently switching to the BNP - which, we believe, did not fight a full campaign. The implications are readily obvious - had the Liberal Democrats intervened they could hardly but help to further diminish the Tory and Labour vote share to the benefit of the BNP, and had the BNP engaged in a full canvass they may well have put themselves within spitting distance of a win.

Heartened by this missed opportunity in Tamworth Stoneydelph the party has jumped at the chance to contest a by-election in Conservative Castle ward, where its candidate is Lynne Smith (pictured), who contested Stoneydelph in May.

A businesswoman, 52 year-old Smith is - on the surface - a paragon of respectability, more Tory party material than BNP. Her campaign is typical of that the BNP has fought in so many by-elections of late, being a direct appeal to the sensibilites of Middle England, with (as far as we have seen) little or no advertising of the BNP's core policies on race and immigration - a large and telling ommission, not exactly reeking of forthright honesty..

This time the BNP has campaigned full bore, deputy-leader Simon Darby and Nuneaton serial candidate Alwyn Deacon getting involved, which is a good indication that the party has expectations in Castle ward - though, perhaps wisely, nobody is saying what they are.

However, we believe that such is the effort expended by the BNP that their minimum expectation cannot, in all seriousness, be for less than a 20% vote share and the consignment of the Liberal Democrat to fourth place.

The May 2007 result in Castle ward was:

Con 917 (47.61)
Lab 736 (38.21)
Lib 273 (14.17)

Total 1926

November 8th by-election result:

Lab 619 (40.32)
Con 613 (39.93)
BNP 208 (13.55)
Lib 95 (6.18)

Total 1535

Analysis: A greatly-reduced turnout saw a disappointing (for them) result for the BNP, while Labour somewhat surprisingly held on to its vote and grabbed the seat more or less by default, winning by a mere six votes after a recount. Once again it appeared to be the Tory vote that was directly affected by the BNP standing, with the residue of their lost votes and the Lib Dems disastrous showing possibly accountable by the massive drop in the number of voters who were willing to turn up at the polling station. How much of this was thanks to the appalling weather and how much to voter apathy/disillusion/disinterest is debatable.

According to the ever-sycophantic Green Arrow, the BNP 'pulled out all the stoppers and knocked their knuckles raw', which ties in with Denise's statement above that they had campaigned hard and clearly expected to do well. The fact that they managed to take over 25% in Stoneydelph would have encouraged them to think that 20-25% was a realistic possibility in this by-election but again we see the BNP vote staying relatively low even when the political climate in the country is perceivably favourable to the party, and we are treated to yet another by-election (how many is that now?) where the BNP have worked hard and achieved little.

The BNP's results over the whole country last May and in every by-election since have, despite all the hard work on the ground, produced nothing new for the party, and it's fair to ask ourselves if it has hit its peak or if it still has a way to go. One thing is for sure - the drama of the Barking and Dagenham result is starting to look very old and the small success of a by-election gain keeps eluding the party. Long may it continue.

Posted by Denise G and Antifascist

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