Nottingham City Council leader Jon Collins today urged people not to counter-demonstrate against a "small bunch of fascists".
The English Defence League (EDL), who claim to be campaigning against a rise in UK based Islamic extremism, are holding a rally this Saturday afternoon in Nottingham city centre. The event is being held on the same day as rallies by Unite Against Fascism and Stop the BNP in Nottinghamshire, a march by more than 400 Mercian soldiers returning from Afghanistan, and the football league match between Nottingham Forest and Leicester City at the City Ground.
But Chief Superintendent Shaun Beebe said the police had been working with other forces in the build up to Saturday to try and ensure the protests were peaceful. He said: "We are preparing a significant, but proportionate policing operation, which will use a range of tactics and see highly visible officers, deployed across the city centre. We will endeavour to facilitate peaceful protest, while ensuring visitors to Nottingham, and are allowed to go about their normal business in a safe manner. In the build-up to Saturday we have worked with other forces, which have recently experienced this kind of assembly, and have been speaking with the demonstration groups to establish their intentions."
Some road closures and bus diversions may have to be made during the day and Nottingham Castle will be closed.
Coun Collins said: "This is a small bunch of fascists who have been touring the country causing as much trouble as possible in different cities. Their aim is to promote trouble. I would urge people not to counter demonstrate. I would understand why people would want to protest against these people, but the only reason they are coming to Nottingham is to cause trouble.
"It's very obvious because they were planning to come earlier this year, but changed the date to coincide it with the Mercians and the Forest and Leicester match. They want to cause the greatest trouble to local people and cause the greatest cost. The kind of views they hold, most reasonable people in the country will find abhorrent."
The EDL has agreed with Notts Police that they will gather in Castle Road from about 2pm, away from the main shopping area and Christmas attractions.
Mr Collins added: "I urge people to be in town to support the Mercians march past. Whatever people think of the war in Afghanistan, we should recognise the sacrifices made by East Midlands soldiers."
Coun Collins said he had been told by Nottinghamshire Police that the cost of policing the various events on Saturday would be around £170,000. He added: "It's a shame that local taxpayers are going to have to find £170,000 that should be being spent on community policing. I would also urge people to use the city centre as they would normally in the run up to Christmas."
Nottingham Castle and The Museum of Nottingham Life (Brewhouse Yard) will be closed this Saturday to assist with the policing of the events.
Nottingham Evening Post
Showing posts with label Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP. Show all posts
December 03, 2009
July 17, 2008
Notts campaign against the racist BNP grows
Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP campaign was set up about a year ago, after the election of a BNP councillor (subsequently expelled from the BNP) onto Broxtowe Borough Council in May 2007.
Activists from the campaign and supporters in the Derbyshire area have built a strong united local campaign against the racist British National Party's activities in their area. Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP (NStBNP) has already had some successes, including a 150-strong protest in Kimberley, Nottinghamshire last October which effectively stopped a BNP public meeting with their chairman, Nick Griffin, from going ahead.
When the BNP launched plans to host their 'Red, White and Blue' summer music festival in a rural part of Derbyshire, NStBNP pledged to mobilise against it. The campaign organised a successful conference with regional trade union backing and participation, and over 100 in attendance last January. This conference initiated a campaign against the festival and has already had national media coverage.
This campaign has operated on a democratic, broad basis, with members of the Socialist Party, other socialists, anarchists, trade unionists from a range of political opinion and others from the area involved. It has roots in the local area, and is open to anyone who agrees with the campaign's aims. Actions initiated by this campaign have already led to set-backs for the BNP's festival.
The BNP's application to sell alcohol and play live music was withdrawn after the police altered their position at the licensing panel and made it clear they would oppose the application unless the BNP agreed to extremely strict security measures, which the BNP could not keep to. The police said that it was intelligence of the opposition that made them change their minds.
Despite this change of mind, the police corralled protesters outside the licensing panel and took photographs of the campaigners and allowed the BNP to also do so. As the camp is on private land, the lack of a licence cannot stop it going ahead. However, it is a blow to the BNP leadership's attempts to give credibility to this festival of hate which they advertise as a family event in an attempt to hide their far-right, violent origins.
NStBNP has called a mass protest against the festival at 9am on Saturday 16 August, and a rally at 12.30pm in Codnor, a nearby village. These details were publicised by NStBNP on the recent Love Music Hate Racism demonstration against the BNP in London, and more widely especially in the East Midlands area.
United action needed
Unfortunately, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and the main political force behind it, the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), have been largely absent from this campaign. This is despite numerous requests for meetings from the local campaign and the campaign leafleting the UAF national conference last March so they were aware of what was happening.
Some weeks after the details of the protest were announced, UAF members have begun distributing leaflets advertising a rally at 11am without any discussion with the local campaign. UAF have even added NStBNP as one of the organisations calling the rally without consultation! UAF's unilateral call for a rally at a different time has, understandably, raised fears that they are attempting to split the anti-BNP movement.
Any attempts to organise a rally separate from the NStBNP rally will weaken the strength of opposition to the BNP's festival. It would also show a complete disregard to the democratic lines along which the local campaign has been built, within which UAF have so far declined to participate. That would be counter to the idea of building a united mass campaign against the BNP, of involving new activists in campaigning and discussing tactics and slogans, of involving as many as possible to develop the best slogans and ideas capable of defeating the BNP.
Despite the obstructions created by the UAF's approach, the campaign is determined to make the protest a massive success and many people are involved in a range of work to build the protest. Last weekend, the campaign took leaflets to the Durham Miners' Gala as it wants an attendance from all over Britain.
There is a website to keep in touch with details http://nobnpfestival.wordpress.com/ or email us at nobnpfestival@riseup.net
Socialist Party
Activists from the campaign and supporters in the Derbyshire area have built a strong united local campaign against the racist British National Party's activities in their area. Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP (NStBNP) has already had some successes, including a 150-strong protest in Kimberley, Nottinghamshire last October which effectively stopped a BNP public meeting with their chairman, Nick Griffin, from going ahead.
When the BNP launched plans to host their 'Red, White and Blue' summer music festival in a rural part of Derbyshire, NStBNP pledged to mobilise against it. The campaign organised a successful conference with regional trade union backing and participation, and over 100 in attendance last January. This conference initiated a campaign against the festival and has already had national media coverage.
This campaign has operated on a democratic, broad basis, with members of the Socialist Party, other socialists, anarchists, trade unionists from a range of political opinion and others from the area involved. It has roots in the local area, and is open to anyone who agrees with the campaign's aims. Actions initiated by this campaign have already led to set-backs for the BNP's festival.
The BNP's application to sell alcohol and play live music was withdrawn after the police altered their position at the licensing panel and made it clear they would oppose the application unless the BNP agreed to extremely strict security measures, which the BNP could not keep to. The police said that it was intelligence of the opposition that made them change their minds.
Despite this change of mind, the police corralled protesters outside the licensing panel and took photographs of the campaigners and allowed the BNP to also do so. As the camp is on private land, the lack of a licence cannot stop it going ahead. However, it is a blow to the BNP leadership's attempts to give credibility to this festival of hate which they advertise as a family event in an attempt to hide their far-right, violent origins.
NStBNP has called a mass protest against the festival at 9am on Saturday 16 August, and a rally at 12.30pm in Codnor, a nearby village. These details were publicised by NStBNP on the recent Love Music Hate Racism demonstration against the BNP in London, and more widely especially in the East Midlands area.
United action needed
Unfortunately, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and the main political force behind it, the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), have been largely absent from this campaign. This is despite numerous requests for meetings from the local campaign and the campaign leafleting the UAF national conference last March so they were aware of what was happening.
Some weeks after the details of the protest were announced, UAF members have begun distributing leaflets advertising a rally at 11am without any discussion with the local campaign. UAF have even added NStBNP as one of the organisations calling the rally without consultation! UAF's unilateral call for a rally at a different time has, understandably, raised fears that they are attempting to split the anti-BNP movement.
Any attempts to organise a rally separate from the NStBNP rally will weaken the strength of opposition to the BNP's festival. It would also show a complete disregard to the democratic lines along which the local campaign has been built, within which UAF have so far declined to participate. That would be counter to the idea of building a united mass campaign against the BNP, of involving new activists in campaigning and discussing tactics and slogans, of involving as many as possible to develop the best slogans and ideas capable of defeating the BNP.
Despite the obstructions created by the UAF's approach, the campaign is determined to make the protest a massive success and many people are involved in a range of work to build the protest. Last weekend, the campaign took leaflets to the Durham Miners' Gala as it wants an attendance from all over Britain.
There is a website to keep in touch with details http://nobnpfestival.wordpress.com/ or email us at nobnpfestival@riseup.net
Socialist Party
Labels:
BNP,
Codnor,
Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP,
NStBNP,
Red White and Blue,
UAF
June 13, 2008
Notts Stop the BNP: Public Meeting
Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP are holding a public meeting on Tuesday June 17, at the International Community Centre, 61b Mansfield Road (map) at 7.30pm.
On Tuesday June 10, Amber Valley Borough Council met to consider the licence application for the BNP's Red White and Blue "festival", planned to be held in Denby, Derbyshire August 15-17.
Concerned about the mobilisation against this event and fearing confrontation between the two sides, Derbyshire Police reversed their original position and decided to oppose the licence unless a number of stringent conditions (including the erection of a seven foot-high fence around the site and the installation of security lighting) were imposed.
In the face of this, the BNP withdrew their licence application and stormed out of the meeting, at which point the licensing panel adjourned. This is not the end of the matter, however. The BNP are still telling everyone and anyone who’ll listen that they’re going ahead with the event. They might try reapplying for a licence or just carry on regardless. Either way there’s a clear need to continue building the campaign against the festival.
To this end, Notts Stop the BNP are holding a public meeting to discuss what can be done to stop the festival and the BNP. Speakers will include an anti-BNP activist from Huddersfield attacked and seriously injured by racist thugs as well as an activist from the campaign against the Red White and Blue festival.
All anti-fascists welcome.
Notts Stop the BNP
On Tuesday June 10, Amber Valley Borough Council met to consider the licence application for the BNP's Red White and Blue "festival", planned to be held in Denby, Derbyshire August 15-17.
Concerned about the mobilisation against this event and fearing confrontation between the two sides, Derbyshire Police reversed their original position and decided to oppose the licence unless a number of stringent conditions (including the erection of a seven foot-high fence around the site and the installation of security lighting) were imposed.
In the face of this, the BNP withdrew their licence application and stormed out of the meeting, at which point the licensing panel adjourned. This is not the end of the matter, however. The BNP are still telling everyone and anyone who’ll listen that they’re going ahead with the event. They might try reapplying for a licence or just carry on regardless. Either way there’s a clear need to continue building the campaign against the festival.
To this end, Notts Stop the BNP are holding a public meeting to discuss what can be done to stop the festival and the BNP. Speakers will include an anti-BNP activist from Huddersfield attacked and seriously injured by racist thugs as well as an activist from the campaign against the Red White and Blue festival.
All anti-fascists welcome.
Notts Stop the BNP
May 28, 2008
Mass lobby, June 10th, Amber Valley Council
Derbyshire and Notts anti-fascists accuse Amber Valley council officials of not listening
Today, anti-fascists activists have announced their intention to lobby en masse the meeting of Amber Valley Council that is to discuss the licensing of a BNP festival to be held in Codnor/Denby later in the year. At 7pm on Tuesday 10th June a panel of councillors will decide at Ripley Town Hall whether the BNP gets a drink and music license essential to the holding of the event. Anti-fascist campaigners will be protesting in the square outside the Town Hall from 6pm onwards that evening.
Dave Matthews of Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP campaign claimed that they expect a high turnout to lobby the meeting of Amber Valley councillors meeting. Similar claims have been made by Derby Unite against Fascism.
The lobby follows representations by campaigners and numerous trade unions throughout the region. Notts Stop the BNP claim that there is anger that representations made by themselves as well as by regional and local bodies of trade unions such as UNISON and UCU were ignored by the Council. Despite having had to name members in Amber Valley who have expressed their concern about the licensing of an event known to attract violent people, campaigners say that the Council has refused to listen to those objections.
‘It appears that the Council isn’t interested in the views of union members who are local residents’ claimed Dave Matthews, ‘despite the fact that this festival, especially if licensed with drink and music, will pose a threat to public order throughout the area.’
What has also angered the anti-fascist campaigners is the report that one of the councillors, Lewis Allesbrook, who is to sit on the panel deciding when the license for the event is granted, is one of the 2 recently-elected BNP councillors on Amber Valley Council. ‘The BNP having a final say on whether a license is to be granted, whilst local residents are shut out from registering complaints, makes the whole process a joke’, Dave Matthews added.
If the BNP’s festival goes ahead, plans are already afoot to organise a mass demonstration in the area. Already the campaign initiated by the Notts anti-BNP campaign along with Derby Unite against Fascism has been backed by many trade unions and trade union councils both in the East Midlands and from as far away as London. Organisers say that the counter-demonstration may well attract thousands of protesters. The likely required police operation would be likely to cost in the order of hundreds of thousands of pounds as well as seriously impacting on transport in the area.
Local anti-fascist campaigns and trade unions have demanded that all their objections should be passed onto the panel of Amber Valley councillors considering whether the event will go ahead. They say that Amber Valley council should listen to all the concerns of local residents and not just those filtered by the council’s principal solicitor.
Stop the BNP’s Red White and Blue Festival
Today, anti-fascists activists have announced their intention to lobby en masse the meeting of Amber Valley Council that is to discuss the licensing of a BNP festival to be held in Codnor/Denby later in the year. At 7pm on Tuesday 10th June a panel of councillors will decide at Ripley Town Hall whether the BNP gets a drink and music license essential to the holding of the event. Anti-fascist campaigners will be protesting in the square outside the Town Hall from 6pm onwards that evening.
Dave Matthews of Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP campaign claimed that they expect a high turnout to lobby the meeting of Amber Valley councillors meeting. Similar claims have been made by Derby Unite against Fascism.
The lobby follows representations by campaigners and numerous trade unions throughout the region. Notts Stop the BNP claim that there is anger that representations made by themselves as well as by regional and local bodies of trade unions such as UNISON and UCU were ignored by the Council. Despite having had to name members in Amber Valley who have expressed their concern about the licensing of an event known to attract violent people, campaigners say that the Council has refused to listen to those objections.
‘It appears that the Council isn’t interested in the views of union members who are local residents’ claimed Dave Matthews, ‘despite the fact that this festival, especially if licensed with drink and music, will pose a threat to public order throughout the area.’
What has also angered the anti-fascist campaigners is the report that one of the councillors, Lewis Allesbrook, who is to sit on the panel deciding when the license for the event is granted, is one of the 2 recently-elected BNP councillors on Amber Valley Council. ‘The BNP having a final say on whether a license is to be granted, whilst local residents are shut out from registering complaints, makes the whole process a joke’, Dave Matthews added.
If the BNP’s festival goes ahead, plans are already afoot to organise a mass demonstration in the area. Already the campaign initiated by the Notts anti-BNP campaign along with Derby Unite against Fascism has been backed by many trade unions and trade union councils both in the East Midlands and from as far away as London. Organisers say that the counter-demonstration may well attract thousands of protesters. The likely required police operation would be likely to cost in the order of hundreds of thousands of pounds as well as seriously impacting on transport in the area.
Local anti-fascist campaigns and trade unions have demanded that all their objections should be passed onto the panel of Amber Valley councillors considering whether the event will go ahead. They say that Amber Valley council should listen to all the concerns of local residents and not just those filtered by the council’s principal solicitor.
Stop the BNP’s Red White and Blue Festival
March 04, 2008
Stop the Red, White and Blue Festival 2008
For too many years the BNP have enjoyed their annual Red, White and Blue festival without major opposition. They have usually kept the location secret for as long as possible but nevertheless have often brought numbers in their hundreds for a weekend of morale boosting, party-building and scarcely concealed, well-documented Nazi and fascist celebration.This year we already know where the RWB festival is to be. Immediately after their festival in 2007, they announced it will be in the same location in Denby, which borders Nottingham and Derby and is only a few miles from the M1. This part of the East Midlands has been one of their prime areas of recent growth as well as having been a long established area of fascist activity and the birth place of the violent Combat 18.
Despite the still developing split in the BNP, they are insistent that their festival will go ahead. If it does then it will allow them to regroup, reorganise, fix and expand after the damage to them by their recent political in-fighting.
East Midland Anti-Fascists reorganise
Over the last year anti-fascists in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire have been working together to harass the BNP. Primarily this has been facilitated by the Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP campaign but it has also been supported by Derby UAF as well as a multitude of trade union organisations. All of these campaigns are determined to stop the RWB festival being a successful recruitment event for the BNP.
Already 150 people were mobilised in October, 2007 and physically blockaded and stopped a local BNP rally being held and addressed by Nick Griffin. In addition leaflets and stalls have been held in towns and villages where the BNP have been known to be particularly active.
Nottingham conference call for national mobilisation
A local anti BNP conference was called in Nottingham on Jan 19th and attended by 100 people. The conference was sponsored by many trade unions in the region including the FBU, UCU, UNISON and NUT.
Delegates called for a mass protest against the BNP festival; demanded that councils block permission for the event and asked trade unionists as far as possible to refuse to do any work that might help facilitate the BNP event; and for thousands of people including trade unionists and anti-fascists throughout the country to join us in filling the surrounding area in mass protest.
The BNP festival is still going ahead. We call on all local and national anti-racist campaigns and bodies opposed to the BNP to support the call of the Nottingham conference.
Please raise support for this mobilisation within your organisation. Contact us by emailing nobnpfestival@riseup.net. Watch for news on the plans for this mobilisation at http://nobnpfestival.wordpress.com
The leaflet (above) can be downloaded by clicking here.
Move to fight Amber Valley BNP festival
Battle lines are already being drawn over plans to hold the British National Party's annual Red, White and Blue festival in Amber Valley again this summer.
Party member and former Heanor councillor Alan Warner hosted the event on his land near Denby last summer and despite major complaints from nearby residents says he plans to do so again this year.
Mr Warner said: "The application for a liquor and entertainment licence has already gone in and we're waiting for the outcome of that. We wanted to get it banged in early because there will be more things going on here this year and more people. We've got another 14 acres to use this year thanks to a neighbour of mine opening up his fields. He was put off last year but everything went off all right so he says he's not going to be dictated to by the protesters and we can use his land. There was no trouble last time according to the police. They came onto the site four times a day and were quite happy."
Mr Warner promises the festival will be bigger and better than last year with a big wheel, dodgems, children's rides and even a massive blimp bearing the BNP logo hovering overhead.
A website has been set up to call for more organised opposition than last year when a lone protester with a placard saying "no to racism" picketed the site.
A spokesman for the nobnpfestival website said: "The BNP is a far right nationalist party. Its politics are divisive and designed to stir up hysteria around immigration. The RWB festival is intended to draw new recruits into the party and consolidate these disgraceful politics. In 2007, Amber Valley Council granted the organisers entertainment licenses in spite of widespread local protest. Anti-fascists did not mobilise in time to help stop the festival. We are determined that will not happen this year."
The site's organisers say they intend to draw together thousands of people who oppose the BNP and protest against the festival.
Mr Warner said: "If we're going to have thousands here protesting then let them come. This is a family festival and there'll be no trouble from us. I don't know where they're all going to park because they can't park on the road - we have on site parking for BNP members."
Belper News
Party member and former Heanor councillor Alan Warner hosted the event on his land near Denby last summer and despite major complaints from nearby residents says he plans to do so again this year.
Mr Warner said: "The application for a liquor and entertainment licence has already gone in and we're waiting for the outcome of that. We wanted to get it banged in early because there will be more things going on here this year and more people. We've got another 14 acres to use this year thanks to a neighbour of mine opening up his fields. He was put off last year but everything went off all right so he says he's not going to be dictated to by the protesters and we can use his land. There was no trouble last time according to the police. They came onto the site four times a day and were quite happy."
Mr Warner promises the festival will be bigger and better than last year with a big wheel, dodgems, children's rides and even a massive blimp bearing the BNP logo hovering overhead.
A website has been set up to call for more organised opposition than last year when a lone protester with a placard saying "no to racism" picketed the site.
A spokesman for the nobnpfestival website said: "The BNP is a far right nationalist party. Its politics are divisive and designed to stir up hysteria around immigration. The RWB festival is intended to draw new recruits into the party and consolidate these disgraceful politics. In 2007, Amber Valley Council granted the organisers entertainment licenses in spite of widespread local protest. Anti-fascists did not mobilise in time to help stop the festival. We are determined that will not happen this year."
The site's organisers say they intend to draw together thousands of people who oppose the BNP and protest against the festival.
Mr Warner said: "If we're going to have thousands here protesting then let them come. This is a family festival and there'll be no trouble from us. I don't know where they're all going to park because they can't park on the road - we have on site parking for BNP members."
Belper News
January 26, 2008
Stop the BNP’s RWB Festival 2008
Conference report and further actions against the BNP
A number of decisions were taken at the regional meeting that took place in Nottingham on January 19th called by Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP and sponsored by a number of trade unions and campaigning organisations in the Notts area and elsewhere in the East Midlands. The meeting, attended by over 100 people with significant representations from the FBU and other unions from Lincoln, Loughborough, Leicester and even Gloucester, decided:
To call for a major mobilisation against any attempt to repeat the 2007 BNP Red, White and Blue festival in the Region including demanding that councils block permission for any repetition of this event; calling on trade unions to refuse to do any work that might facilitate the BNP event calling on thousands of local people to join the campaign in filling the surrounding area in mass protest should any such event take place in 2008.
To continue to organise against BNP events as the Notts Stop the BNP campaign had done in October when it peacefully blockaded a meeting of the BNP that was to be addressed by their party leader Nick Griffin, thereby preventing it going ahead.
To extend the campaigning begun by organisations such as Notts Stop the BNP in the towns and villages of the region. It was considered that that campaigning must deal not only against the BNP's racist policies but also encourage local communities to address the causes of the BNP's growth: the political frustrations with the government that exists in working class communities because of failures to address inequalities in education, housing and health-care provision the scapegoating of immigrant and minority communities that much of the press and the major political parties are complicit with. The campaign also noted a split in the BNP which had led to many leading BNP figures locally, including Broxtowe councillor Sadie Graham, leaving the BNP and setting about forming their own party. It was noted that this new party looked as though it was going to be essentially the same as the BNP with the same racist policies, the same connection with individuals and organisations promoting race hate and having Nazi histories. The meeting decided it would deal with this new ‘party’ in the same way as it does the BNP.
A mass leafleting of Brinsley by over 20 activists on the next day followed. This informed local residents of the
Nazi allegations being made by each side of the current internal BNP civil war and called on Brinsley people to demand the resignation of councillor Graham. Great pleasure was taken in delivering a copy of the leaflet directly to Sadie Graham’s door to the anger of a group of burly men who came out of the door but decided to take no action against the large group of anti-fascist leafletters.
There will be a meeting of the campaign on Thursday, 24th Jan to consider the way forward. The venue will be announced tomorrow if you require information please get back to this email address: nottmstopbnp@yahoo.co.uk. Extensive activity is expected on Sunday, 27th Jan. All supporters are asked to trying to help out on the day. More later...
A number of decisions were taken at the regional meeting that took place in Nottingham on January 19th called by Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP and sponsored by a number of trade unions and campaigning organisations in the Notts area and elsewhere in the East Midlands. The meeting, attended by over 100 people with significant representations from the FBU and other unions from Lincoln, Loughborough, Leicester and even Gloucester, decided:
To call for a major mobilisation against any attempt to repeat the 2007 BNP Red, White and Blue festival in the Region including demanding that councils block permission for any repetition of this event; calling on trade unions to refuse to do any work that might facilitate the BNP event calling on thousands of local people to join the campaign in filling the surrounding area in mass protest should any such event take place in 2008.
To continue to organise against BNP events as the Notts Stop the BNP campaign had done in October when it peacefully blockaded a meeting of the BNP that was to be addressed by their party leader Nick Griffin, thereby preventing it going ahead.
To extend the campaigning begun by organisations such as Notts Stop the BNP in the towns and villages of the region. It was considered that that campaigning must deal not only against the BNP's racist policies but also encourage local communities to address the causes of the BNP's growth: the political frustrations with the government that exists in working class communities because of failures to address inequalities in education, housing and health-care provision the scapegoating of immigrant and minority communities that much of the press and the major political parties are complicit with. The campaign also noted a split in the BNP which had led to many leading BNP figures locally, including Broxtowe councillor Sadie Graham, leaving the BNP and setting about forming their own party. It was noted that this new party looked as though it was going to be essentially the same as the BNP with the same racist policies, the same connection with individuals and organisations promoting race hate and having Nazi histories. The meeting decided it would deal with this new ‘party’ in the same way as it does the BNP.
A mass leafleting of Brinsley by over 20 activists on the next day followed. This informed local residents of the
Nazi allegations being made by each side of the current internal BNP civil war and called on Brinsley people to demand the resignation of councillor Graham. Great pleasure was taken in delivering a copy of the leaflet directly to Sadie Graham’s door to the anger of a group of burly men who came out of the door but decided to take no action against the large group of anti-fascist leafletters.
There will be a meeting of the campaign on Thursday, 24th Jan to consider the way forward. The venue will be announced tomorrow if you require information please get back to this email address: nottmstopbnp@yahoo.co.uk. Extensive activity is expected on Sunday, 27th Jan. All supporters are asked to trying to help out on the day. More later...
January 01, 2008
Conference: Stop the BNP’s Red, White and Blue Festival 2008
Why this conference?In October Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP showed that it is possible to stop the British National Party. We prevented a meeting taking place in Kimberley where BNP leader Nick Griffin had come to speak. This was only the beginning.
This conference is the beginning of our campaign to prevent them organising their 'Red White and Blue' festival in the East Midlands. It is also intended to build stronger links and more support in the community and trade unions for ongoing work to undermine the BNP wherever they show their faces.
We know that the BNP view the East Midlands as a potentially fertile recruitment ground, and have been encouraged by the election of a handful of seats on local councils in the region.
In August 2007, the BNP held their 'Red, White and Blue Festival' near the Derbyshire village of Denby less than 10 miles from both Nottingham and Derby. The BNP plan to hold their festival on the same site in 2008. We believe that if the BNP are allowed to hold this event, it will allow them to make a further step in claiming legitimisation of their party—a party populated and led by fascists and held together by race hate.
It will also build the confidence of racists and fascists who will try to intimidate and undermine local communities.
Since the 2007 BNP 'Festival', anti-racists, trade unionists and other campaigners in the area have re-organised. Our mobilisation on the streets in Kimberley, Notts in October stopped the BNP meeting with BNP leader Nick Griffin. In November anti-fascist activists blocked Griffin and Holocaust-denier David Irving speaking at Oxford University.
They must be stopped from using the East Midlands as a base to organise their spreading of race hate and intimidation.
This conference marks the beginning of our campaign to stop them. Come and join us.
Download the conference leaflet by clicking here. To book and for more information, please contact NottmStopBNP@yahoo.co.uk
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