Logan quits BNP in 'racist' row

A councillor has vowed to stand independently at the next election after walking away from the British National Party for being "a bunch of racists"

Cllr Mark Logan, who has represented Gooshays ward since winning a by-election in March 2008, said he would be "severing all links with the party and the political group of misfits" because he didn't agree with "the calibre of some people" being put forward as candidates for the forthcoming election.

He said: "There's been some really nasty rhetoric directed at coloured people. When I first of all moved in with the party I didn't see a racist element to start off with. But people change. I thought they were a group of patriots not racists."

Jason Douglas, BNP Havering organiser, rejected the racist claims and said: "There are certain people in the branch who didn't see eye-to-eye. Mark comes from a Conservative background and a lot of his influences run contrary to what the party believes in."

He said Cllr Logan had done "some sterling work for Gooshays" but his "presence is causing friction among other members in the branch".

In May, Cllr Logan had been due to stand in the local election for Gooshays again and as a Parliamentary candidate for Upminster in the general election. He announced he was cutting all ties with the BNP last Thursday following a series of disagreements. The BNP argued they had pushed Cllr Logan out by deselecting him as a candidate at both levels prior to his exit from the party due to "continuous squabbles" and concern for his health, but were unable to substantiate their argument.

The last straw for Cllr Logan was with Heaton ward candidate Mick Braun who Cllr Logan branded "an out-and-out complete and utter racist" and a "loose cannon". Cllr Logan, who has been receiving dialysis daily while waiting for a kidney transplant, highlighted a particular incident when he claimed Mr Braun made a foul personal verbal attack on him after a party meeting.

Cllr Logan said: "I am not willing to stay in a party whereupon I'm being threatened and his last tirade of verbal abuse was appalling."

When questioned about it Mr Braun said: "I can't remember what I said. I might remember saying Joe Hunt. It's another term; a bit of rhyming slang."

He called Cllr Logan "arrogant" and "hard to work with" and said: "My son goes out with a Turkish girl. I rent my home from a lovely woman who is a Hindu. I'm not racist at all."

Cllr Logan was also angry at the secret political handshake Mr Douglas made with Graham Williamson of the National Liberal Party to agree to remove BNP candidates from South Hornchurch to give the The National Liberal Party a better chance of election. Cllr Logan has promised to support his constituents till the end of term before continuing his political career as an independent.

A BNP spokesman added: "Mark Logan has issued a number of highly libellous lies about the party. If any of Mr Logan's new allegations were true he would not have tried to rejoin the party so recently. It's sad Mark Logan sees fit to reveal his personal problems in such a manner but the BNP is greater than any one individual and better off without such a disruptive and unstable hanger on."

Fellow BNP member Micky Joyce announced this week he would also no longer stand for election, as he had planned to in the Heaton ward, because he didn't want to get involved with all the rows.

Romford Recorder

Murder accusation shocks meeting

Accusations of murder slung at Havering Council by a BNP councillor caused outrage at a Harold Hill Area Committee meeting. Committee member Cllr Mark Logan (BNP, Gooshays) shocked both fellow councillors and attending residents when he blamed the Conservative administration for the death of an elderly constituent.

Cllr Logan said: "I do not mince my words. A week ago they found her dead; I accuse the administration of murdering one of my constituents."

In the shocking outburst Cllr Logan claimed the stress of a council-enforced eviction - her second in four years - caused 92-year-old Anne O'Kane to die.

According to Cllr Logan, Ms O'Kane was "crying and begging" not to be moved from her Chippenham Gardens bungalow - part of a group of homes being demolished for future development in the council's multi-million pound Harold Hill Ambitions Project.

The council argued the bungalows were not fit for habitation, but Cllr Logan deemed them "structurally sound" and slammed the Ambitions project as a cynical means of "wheeling and dealing in public goods".

During the minute-long tirade, Cllr Logan eyeballed the council's deputy leader, Steven Kelly, who is not on the committee but was sitting among residents.

Cllr Logan said: "Four years ago the council told her to vacate her house. She thought she would see the rest of her days out in this bungalow, but on the fifth [of September] she was told to vacate again by the council. You went to take this bungalow off this lady."

He added: "I think it's disgusting. I have no faith in you."

Cllr Kelly remained tightlipped, but Cllr Keith Darvill (Lab, Heaton) said: "I object to the language Cllr Logan has used. It is disgraceful. To accuse anyone of murder is a very serious offence."

Cllr Darvill has pledged to make a formal complaint to the standards committee believing Cllr Logan to have breached the councillors' code of conduct.

Romford Recorder

BNP holds Gooshays

We've all had a lot of fun over the past few months reporting the fortunes of the BNP in local council by-elections.

More often than not we've been able to highlight the BNP's failure to achieve its electoral targets, and we have pointed out a more or less consistent down-swing in the BNP vote, where it can be measured by previous performances. The overall picture of BNP electoral stagnation has on occasion been challenged, most notably in results from the East Midlands and adjacent areas.

On only two occasions since last May (when just one out of nine sitting BNP councillors was re-elected) have we had an opportunity to assess a BNP by-election performance in a ward where it is the defending party.

September saw the BNP hold on to Loughton Alderton ward by the skin of the skin of its teeth. A 5% vote loss proved near fatal, but the racist party could at least crow that it had retained the seat, which it did, while displaying an astonishing complacency towards what was in the circumstances a significant percentage fall.

In December a self-inflicted by-election in Sandwell Prince's End ward saw the BNP comprehensively defeated, its vote falling by almost 16%.

Given the BNP's record of defending its own seats, the omens for last night's Havering Gooshays ward by-election did not look good - indeed, BNP pundit Martin Wingfield would only go so far as to predict a "close" contest. His reluctance to comment on the BNP's prospects seemed to imply that he would not have been surprised had the BNP lost Gooshays, despite the party ploughing everything it had into the campaign.

We have to admit that this was our feeling.

Voters generally punish parties which cause uneccessary by-elections, and anti-fascists mounted an excellent campaign in Gooshays, so it was to be expected that the BNP would struggle to retain its vote.

In the event, what happened was both shocking and surprising: the BNP not only held the ward, it increased its share of the vote.

Havering LBC Gooshays ward by-election result (percentages in brackets):

BNP 865 (37.96)
Lab 741 (32.51)
Con 489 (21.46)
UKIP 70 (3.07)
NLP 62 (2.72)
L-D 52 (2.28)

Total 2279 (turnout 22.6% - 31% in May 2006).

The BNP vote share rose by 9.7%, Labour by 6.6%. The Conservatives, who should have made this a photo-finish, were the clear losers, suffering a 5.5% loss - but their candidate unwisely took a holiday during the campaign, which effectively stymied their chances. Electors don't like to be taken for granted, and it is extremely probable that a good number of Conservative voters switched to the BNP to punish their candidate.

The UKIP's failure to convince that it is anything more than a single-issue party with any future at local level must also be factored in. Back in 2006 it still enjoyed a measure of support and could mount effective campaigns, but things have changed since then. A vote for the UKIP in local council elections seems increasingly pointless and its vote is in decline. Though it does not follow that all UKIP voters will automatically support the BNP when the UKIP candidate has no chance, there is a certain amount of crossover. Last night the UKIP vote fell by 7.6%, much of which will have gone to the BNP.

We can't and won't attempt to disguise the fact that Gooshays was an unqualified success for the BNP, and that the result holds serious implications for the forthcoming GLA elections. It is a stark warning that in future greater and more intelligent effort must be put into mobilising the anti-BNP vote - it isn't enough, in the current climate, merely to dissuade voters from supporting the BNP. Under normal circumstances that might work, but at a time when none of the major parties is entirely trusted what too often happens is that their voters fail to turn out in sufficient numbers, resulting in low-turnout elections which exaggerate the true scale of BNP support.

The BNP fought a second by-election last night, in coastal West Sussex - deep-blue Conservative country where it has little chance of causing upset.

In a three-cornered Con/LibDem/BNP contest for Arun District Council's Yapton ward seat, the BNP took 19.77% of the vote, coming last. Though the racist party has never previously fought this seat, in May last year they did contest other Arun DC wards, Orchard and Pevensey, achieving similar results.

Arun DC Yapton ward result:

Con 620 (59.79)
L-D 212 (20.44)
BNP 205 (19.77)

Total 1037

We would like to encourage deeper debate on the BNP's Gooshays performance over the next few days. If you were involved in the anti-fascist campaign or with one of the major parties, please use the comment facility to make your contribution. We'll make every effort to moderate them as quickly as possible.

BNP councillor Alan Bailey resigns

Word has reached us that Alan Bailey, the BNP's councillor in Gooshays ward, Harold Hill, in the London Borough of Havering, has resigned, it is claimed, due to 'pressures of work'.

Although the elections office at his local authority had no idea why he was really leaving, they were able to confirm this morning that he had announced his departure.

We'll print more information as it comes in but for the moment we'll leave you with the assurance that Bailey is well and truly in the BNP mould. During his election campaign he was presented as a wholesome family man but as we find so often with BNP councillors, the truth is a little different. Arrested for an assault, he chose to plead guilty at Havering Magistrates Court not from remorse but because he wanted to get the case out of the way before the election. Bailey was fined £350 plus £50 compensation and £51 costs.

Good riddance to yet another BNP thug.