Deputy leader hits out at BNP

The BNP’s “poison” has no place in British communities, Labour Deputy Leader Harriet Harman said yesterday. Home affairs select committee chairman Keith Vaz also attacked the far-right party from the conference platform, saying it would “destroy” British society.

Ms Harman said: “The BNP pretend they’ve changed, pretend they’re respectable. They are no such thing. They’re still the same party that wanted the Nazis to win the war. They’re still the same party whose constitution excludes from membership anyone who is not ‘indigenous Caucasian’. It’s right that the new Equality Bill will ban that clause. There can be no place in our democracy for an apartheid party.”

Mr Vaz told delegates: “Those who seek to destroy the world’s most sophisticated and diverse society – Britain, mirror of the world – are on the attack once again. And they are even getting elected, politically laundering their racism into legitimacy.”

Councillor Mahroof Hussain, of Rotherham, said: “I stand before you as a proud British citizen, a proud Yorkshireman and a proud Labour activist. Let me tell the BNP: my father worked in the steelworks for 30 years, he helped to build our great country.”

Labour’s treasurer Jack Dromey said the party still needed to raise large sums of money for the election “to beat the BNP – the bullies and the boot boys in suits who disgrace Britain”.

The Press and Journal

Equality bill 'will make BNP illegal'

The upcoming equality bill will make the British National party's (BNP) membership criteria illegal, Harriet Harman has confirmed.

Speaking during business questions opposite Alan Duncan, Ms Harman responded to concerns about the election of two BNP MEPs last week in the European elections. Ms Harman said she was "shocked and horrified" by their success but went on to say its constitution - which bars non-whites from membership – would become illegal once the equality bill was passed.

"There is no place for a political party in this country to have an apartheid constitution and the equality bill will prevent this from being the case," she said.

Andrew Brons and party leader Nick Griffin were elected as MEPs for the Yorkshire and the Humber and north-west regions with 9.8 per cent and eight per cent respectively in European elections held last week.

Later in the session a Conservative MP suggested to Ms Harman the reason voters in these two "great regions" had turned to the BNP was because of widespread frustration with mainstream parties' ability to deal with the issues of the day.

Ms Harman said that "throughout history" when there had been fear for people's jobs and standards of living "that always provides opportunities for stirring up of apprehension and fear by far-right parties". She added: "There is no place in British national life and democracy for a party that excludes people on the basis of the colour of their skin".

Ms Harman has a strong record on equality issues and is currently minister for women, beyond her roles as deputy Labour leader and leader of the House.

The equality bill consolidates all the UK's disparate equality laws into one piece of legislation, including laws related to the provision of goods and services, although it is unclear if it will be these sections which affect the party.

politics.co.uk

Main parties unite to tackle BNP threat in European elections

The three main political parties will meet tomorrow tomorrow at Westminster to try to agree common ground rules on how to fight the British National party in the European election on 4 June.

The meeting will look at a loose code of conduct, including an early warning system if any party finds a rival candidate is resorting to semi-racist remarks or literature. The idea of imposing a blanket policy of refusing to share a platform with the BNP, something the Tories oppose, will also be discussed.

The meeting will be held between the Tory chairman, Eric Pickles, the Labour deputy leader, Harriet Harman, and Lady Scott, the Liberal Democrat president.

The BNP launched its European election manifesto today, hoping that it will be able to exploit public anger over MPs' expenses. Its leader, Nick Griffin, said the party would threaten "tired, corrupt old politicians".

Behind the scenes, the Tories are angry that it has taken so long to set up the meeting and claim it has been cancelled twice at short notice by Harman's office. One source claimed it even looked as if Harman would not mind if the BNP did well because it would provide Labour with an alibi if it came third in the elections.

Privately, MPs from all sides recognise that they are likely to be victims of an anti-politics vote in the European and county council elections. They can only hope other minor parties such as the Green party, Ukip or Libertas benefit, rather than the BNP. A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times at the weekend, put Ukip on 7% and the BNP on 4%.

Guardian

Parties join forces to fight BNP

Senior politicians are drawing up cross-party plans to fight the British National party in next month’s local and European elections, amid fears the far-right party could stage advances by exploiting an “anti-politics” tide sweeping the country.

Harriet Harman, deputy Labour leader, and Eric Pickles, Tory chairman, will hold talks next week to draw up a strategy designed to isolate the BNP and to co-ordinate a united response in areas where the party is campaigning.

Ms Harman will propose that mainstream parties should not share a platform with BNP candidates and that they should avoid campaigning on issues that stoke sentiment against foreigners. There has also been talk of setting up a “hotline” where Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats would share intelligence on BNP activity. The mainstream parties, and possibly church and other voluntary groups, would then knock on doors to try to raise voter turnout in an attempt to dilute the BNP vote.

Ms Harman has angered her opposite numbers by twice cancelling meetings to discuss the strategy. Lord Rennard, the veteran Lib Dem campaigner, will argue against making joint statements about the BNP on the grounds that they would give the party free publicity.

The rightwing party has long traded on its hostility to immigration and foreigners generally, but is now mining a seam of anger towards politicians, fuelled by stories about expenses claims.

Simon Darby, deputy BNP leader, said on Thursday his party aimed to exploit anger towards “professional politicians”. He said the party would field more than 400 candidates for county council elections on June 4 – nominations closed on Thursday – and that it would field a full slate for the European elections on the same day.

The proportional voting system in the European polls has raised the prospect of the BNP winning its first seats in Strasbourg, with Mr Darby claiming a target of five or six seats was “attainable”.

Hazel Blears, communities secretary, has admitted: “The BNP have got into ‘anti-politics’, which taps into a very resonant public mood.”

Labour’s discontent with the leadership of Gordon Brown is likely to be put on hold until after the polls, but could flare up if the party loses its last four county councils and fares badly in the European elections.

Financial Times

Beat a bigot in a ballot

This chilling picture shows BNP deputy leader Simon Darby being given a NAZI SALUTE at a fascist rally.

Three extremists flashed the banned Hitler-style sign to the British far-right boss outside the event in Italy. Our exclusive snap fuels fears of danger ahead as the British National Party gains popularity in the recession.

Last night Labour MP Jon Cruddas said: "This shows the BNP are a gang of thugs parading as politicians."

NotW

Anyone doubting the danger of the BNP should look no further than the straight-arm salutes greeting deputy leader Simon Darby at a meeting in Mussolini's old stamping ground.

Darby is leading his party's drive for votes in June's Euro elections - and they may win up to three seats. Giving them the right to stick their snouts in a money-trough that could fund yet more of their bile.

Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman is right to warn that the BNP "are a bigger threat than ever." And on polling day, they will rely on the apathy of mainstream voters. So on June 4 remember these salutes. Use your vote wisely. And keep the BNP out of Brussels.

NotW

'The BNP are now a bigger threat than ever'

Labour is facing its biggest threat from the BNP, Harriet Harman admits today, as the party gears up to prevent the far right group from winning its first seats in nationwide elections this June for the European Parliament.

In an interview with The Independent Ms Harman, the Leader of the Commons, who is heading Labour's election effort in in her role as the party's chairman and deputy leader, said Labour was launching its biggest-ever campaign targeting the BNP. "It is a worry," she said. "Certainly they [the BNP] are a bigger threat than they have been before."

Labour fears the BNP could land two or three seats in the European elections, which are fought under a proportional representation (PR) system based on huge regional constituencies. Labour believes the BNP threat is greatest in the North West, where its leader, Nick Griffin, is a candidate; Yorkshire and the Humber and the East and West Midlands.

Labour is mobilising at local level wherever there is a sign of heavy BNP activity. National funding has been provided for "Stop the BNP" leaflets, and Labour uses a different slogan – "fairness not fear" – rather than its national theme of "winning the fight for Britain's future". It is also linking up with anti-fascist groups such as Searchlight and sending anti-BNP battlebuses into areas targeted by the group.

However, Labour leaders have rejected calls from many of their own MPs to launch a full-frontal national attack on the BNP, fearing that would merely play into the party's hands by giving it "the oxygen of publicity".

Labour insists it is matching the BNP at its own game – by fighting it at local level. "Most people are not aware the BNP is standing," Ms Harman said yesterday after a campaign visit to the North West. "It is below the radar. There is very low public awareness of these elections. For us, it is a question of pointing out the dangers of the BNP, which now wears suits but whose ideology is as pernicious as ever."

She said Labour's challenge was to persuade its supporters to vote even when they thought their area was "safe Labour ". They will be told that would help the BNP, which could land seats under the complex PR formula used by winning between nine and 12 per cent of the votes. "The electoral system makes it more of a challenge for us," she said. "We are telling people every vote counts, to come out and vote or else they will let the BNP in."

Some Labour MPs fear the party will pay a price for neglecting white working-class voters. Ms Harman is more diplomatic. "It is very important for the party to be active, to say to people we are on your doorstep, on the phone, on your side," she said. "The party is focused on the BNP in this election in a way it hasn't been previously. But the solution is not just mobilising young people or mobilising in a particular region."

She argued that the BNP had won council seats after an impressive campaign but then been unseated at next election. "There is a pattern of them getting elected, [and] not delivering what they said they would," she said.

Elections also take place in county councils in England on 4 June. The last three times these seats were up for grabs, the poll coincided with a general election – helping Labour, which traditionally benefits from a higher turnout. Similarly, Labour's performance in the last European elections in 2004 was helped by experiments with postal votes, which also raised turnout.

All parties play down expectations ahead of such elections, in the hope they can claim on the night. they have performed better than expected. Labour officials insist they have reason to fear a "double whammy" this year: an anti-government protest vote due to the recession and a turnout which could easily drop to around 30 per cent.

"There is always a danger of low turnouts in European elections," Ms Harman admitted. "People know what their council and their government does for them. They are not quite clear yet what the European Parliament means to them. A low turnout does not help us."

Despite such fears, Ms Harman insisted that the elections provide "a real opportunity" for Labour to spell out the dividing lines with the Conservative Party. "We are not on the defensive; we are on the front foot," she said.

She believes the Tories' recent talk of a public spending squeeze to balance the nation's books if they win power allows Labour to run campaigns about which local services would be at risk. "It is a good opportunity to be highlighting what the recent Tory pronouncements would mean," she said.

Because of the recession, Ms Harman conceded that the June polls would be "challenging" for the Government, and acknowledged that it needed to explain how Gordon Brown's strong leadership at last week's G20 summit would help them in their daily lives.

Admitting people were "apprehensive" about the economy, she said: "People understand the argument Gordon is making about the need to take action. They have worries about how it will affect the future of public services. They have seen the investment going in, and know the Tories would cut it."

Ms Harman told Labour MPs at a private meeting that the June elections would be a "dry run" for the general election. In public, she played that down, knowing commentators will be eager to say heavy Labour losses in June mean the party cannot win a general election. She pointed out that Labour has done poorly in local and European contests before, only to win the following general election. "It is an opportunity to get our message across," she said."But it is a very different kettle of fish because of the turnout issue." She admitted Labour's budget would be tight – even though the party's treasurer, Jack Dromey, is her husband. "We are mobilising human resources," she said.

The BNP said yesterday it had raised £170,000 towards its £220,000 target for its campaign fund for the European elections. "This will be the day the people of this country say, 'that's it ... enough is enough!' and will vote for the British National Party in their millions," it said.

Election facts

*Elections take place on 4 June for the European Parliament and county councils.

*In the last European elections in 2004, the Tories won 27 seats and 27 per cent of the vote; Labour 19 seats (23 per cent); the UK Independence Party (Ukip) 12 seats (16 per cent) and the Liberal Democrats 12 seats (15 per cent).

*Ukip's fortunes have declined since. Labour and the Tories suspect most voters who switch from Ukip will go to the Tories, although Labour fears some could back the BNP.

*Some 2,300 council seats in 34 English local authorities will be contested – on 27 county councils and seven in all-purpose "unitary" authorities.

*There are no local elections in Scotland or Wales this year.

*The Tories, traditionally strong in the counties, are defending about 1,200 seats. Labour, which is defending about 490 seats, fears it will lose about half and lose control of all its four counties – Staffordshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. The Liberal Democrats are defending about 500 seats.

*Experts say the Tories need to win more than 40 per cent of the national vote to show David Cameron is on track to win the general election.

The Independent

Harman warns of BNP Euro victory

The far-right British National Party could win its first seat in the European Parliament by claiming just 8% of the vote, Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman will warn.

Ms Harman is expected to say it would be "shameful" for the UK to elect a BNP MEP in the June 4 polls, just months after the US elected Barack Obama as its first black president. She will warn that Labour's analysis of recent council elections shows the BNP winning and coming second in seats traditionally held by all three main parties from the North West and North East to the Midlands, London, Yorkshire and Essex.

Speaking to the Progressive London conference, Ms Harman is expected to promise that Labour will use the 2009 European Parliament elections to "draw a line in the sand" against the advance of the BNP, which she denounced as "a party of racial hatred".

The proportional representation voting system used for Euro-elections increases the BNP's chances of winning a seat, she will warn.

"In the North West, where Nick Griffin, the BNP chairman, is standing, Searchlight estimates they only need about 8% of the vote to break through into the European Parliament," Ms Harman is expected to say. "That would be shameful for Britain just as the US shows the way forward by electing an inclusive, progressive president."

And she will add: "The BNP threat cannot be ignored. A new Labour analysis of council elections shows that even where they are not winning they are coming second in areas which are Labour, Liberal Democrat and Tory-held. Their poison is spreading. They are winning and coming second in the North West, the North East, the Midlands and London - from Yorkshire to Essex.

"Labour will, with a vigorous door-to-door campaign, not allow the BNP to peddle their pernicious lies that people have been 'abandoned by Labour'. It is Labour on the doorstep which will show this to be false and the run-up to elections on June 4 will be seized as an important opportunity to do this."

Ananova

BNP man condemned in Commons over 'rape is a myth' remarks

Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman today joined condemnation of a BNP politician who suggested rape was not "a serious crime". She was speaking at Commons question time as it was confirmed that Nicholas Eriksen had been withdrawn from the list of his party's London Assembly candidates.

Tory Charles Walker (Broxbourne) told MPs Mr Eriksen, who had suggested that it was a "myth" to think rape was a serious crime, was "not fit to run for public office".

Ms Harman said all mainstream political parties had to ensure Londoners voted to prevent BNP members being elected to the assembly. Mr Eriksen had sparked fury when he wrote on a far-right blog: "Rape is simply sex. Women enjoy sex, so rape cannot be such a terrible ordeal.

"To suggest that rape, when conducted without violence, is a serious crime is like suggesting that force-feeding a woman chocolate cake is a heinous offence. A woman would be more inconvenienced by having her handbag snatched."

Mr Walker called on Ms Harman to condemn Mr Eriksen and added: "Will you not agree with me that this man, this creature is not fit to run for public office?"

Ms Harman said: "I strongly support your comments and I thank you for bringing this matter to the House. It is for all of us, all parties in London to say that we have got to make sure that everybody votes in the London election. The best way to avoid a BNP member being elected to the London Assembly is to make sure that as many people as possible vote for all the other parties."

There has been concern among mainstream parties that the BNP, which scored 4.8% in the 2004 London elections, might this time pass the 5% level which would have given it a chance of an assembly seat under the proportional representation system. Mr Eriksen had been second on the BNP list and might have won a seat if the party's vote share had risen to about 8%.

Earlier a spokeswoman for London Elects, which is overseeing the May 1 election, disclosed: "Nicholas Eriksen has been withdrawn from the BNP's London-wide assembly list."

24dash

There was a further exchange of interest reported in Hansard yesterday:

Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab): When council candidates declare next week, will my right hon. Friend join me in calling on all of them to make it clear that they will stand on a non-racist ticket? It is very important that these elections do not at any stage descend into the gutter, and that we make it clear that we need cohesive communities that can be built together.

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Hazel Blears): Absolutely: my hon. Friend is so right! When people come to exercise their democratic vote and choose the kind of administration they want, it should be on the basis of good policy, value for money and the provision of cleaner, greener and safer environments. It should not be on any kind of platform seeking to divide people; rather, it should be on a platform that brings people together.

Hansard (April 1st 2008)

Some politicians look like they're waking up.