Departures leave BNP future in doubt

The British National Party’s communications officer has left the party, following the abrupt departure of its fundraising and management guru Jim Dowson.

Paul Golding was the BNP’s sole district councillor in southeast England. His exit leaves the racist party with only 23 councillors compared with the 28 it had after the May elections.

The two walked out following a major fallout between them and senior party staff, in particular its moronic national organiser Clive Jefferson and Patrick Harrington, leader of the rival Third Way party, who has wormed himself into a position of growing influence in the party, upsetting several employees and members in the process.

Golding’s BNP membership had briefly been suspended in summer for writing a nasty blog attacking Eddy Butler, who unsuccessfully challenged Nick Griffin for the party leadership. The move was widely seen as an attempt by Griffin to appear “fair” between his own supporters and those of Butler. But later, when many of Butler’s suspended supporters were expelled, Golding was reinstated.

The departure of Dowson and Golding leaves the BNP with no one capable of writing the begging letters that have brought in large sums in donations during Dowson’s three years at Griffin’s side. The party will also be unable to exploit its “Bring Our Boys Home” recruitment campaign by turning the 25,000 names on petition forms into voters and members. People signed anti-war petitions at the BNP’s stalls in shopping centres around the country, not realising that they were sponsored by the BNP, but despite the party’s claims to use cutting-edge technology, Jefferson is incapable of transferring the information into a usable electronic format.

Butler reports that Dowson rang to tell him that his departure was complete and immediate. Dowson is known to have texted and phoned numerous other people.

Quite where this leaves the BNP’s Belfast call centre and administration centre is unclear. The office is run by Dowson and Griffin’s daughter Jennifer Matthys, who is also a director of Dowson’s main front company, Adlorries.com. Dowson is believed to have alternative Belfast premises for any new venture he undertakes.

Dowson was in charge of obtaining the secret four-star venue for the party’s annual conference to be held somewhere in Derbyshire over the weekend of 10-12 December. Stories are circulating that as he was about to dump the party Griffin offered him £10,000 to complete the arrangements, which he rejected. There must now be doubt over whether it will go ahead. If it is cancelled, members who have already paid the up to £299 cost of attending are likely to lose their money.

Dowson believes the party will not last beyond the end of the year, leaving those who have forked out £395 for life membership in its current special offer receiving very poor value for their money.

Searchlight / HOPE not Hate by Sonia Gable

Before you sign, read the terms and conditions

Reports reach the Barnet Eye that a couple of BNP activists were out collecting signatures for a "Bring our boys home" petition at the weekend.

We live in a free country (thank God) and as such, people are free to collect signatures for such a petition and to sign it. What seems to have caused some consternation though, is that several people I spoke to put their names to the petition, without realising that the BNP were the sponsors of the petition. You may say "Well, if I agree with the petition, why should it matter?". Well there are several reasons that it matters quite a lot.

The BNP will say "We got X numbers of signatures for a petition we started". This implies to the wider public a level of support that simply isn't there for their policies. The BNP have not been telling the truth about the whole situation. They told people on the streets "We are the only organisation fighting to bring our boys home". This simply isn't true. There is a massively well supported campaign run by the Stop The War coalition - http://www.stopwar.org.uk/ - They are organising a massive demonstration against the war on November 20th. This is a cross party national campaign. Did the BNP tell the people signing the petition about it? Of course they didn't. Did they hand out leaflets to promote the rally? Of course they didn't. The reason is because they are using the war in Afghanistan to promote their party. Their opposition to it is a cynical ploy.

When they say "Bring our boys home" what do they mean? Who is the bravest man in Great Britain today. I would say it is Johnson Beharry VC is my choice. He won the VC in Iraq for actions of extreme bravery, way beyond the call of duty. Because he's black and because he was born in Grenada, the BNP do not consider this giant of a man to be British. BNP Leader Nick Griffin specifically said when asked about Beharry said "No, he's not British". In fact Nick Griffin said that Beharry, who saved 30 mens lives, only got the medal because he was black.

Now this comment is not just an insult to Beharry. It is an insult to the whole army. This is recognised and a whole array of top generals signed a letter refuting Nick Griffins disgusting comments. Falklands veteran Simon Weston and Ex SAS man Andy McNab also slated the BNP for their comments.

The BNP also opposes the rights of Gurkha veterans to settle in the UK.

The BNP also refuses to acknowledge the sacrifices of the 8 million Commonwealth citizens who served in the armed forces in the second world war and who contributed massively to the defeat of fascism and Nazism.

One of the distinguishing features of the British Forces is the way it accepts people from all around the world and molds them into the worlds most professional army. As well as Gurkhas, many fine soldiers are from places such as Fiji, Africa and the West Indies. When the BNP says "Bring the boys home" they mean "unless you are black, in which case you can piss off".

When you sign their petition, that is what you are signing. If you really care about ending the war, go to the stop the war march.

Many thanks to The Barnet Eye