A Dewsbury councillor may be expelled from the British National Party after offering his support to an internal rebellion. But Dewsbury East councillor Colin Auty, who was elected in the May 2006 elections, said ongoing party issues would not affect his work in the ward.
He said: "At the moment I'm just carrying on doing what I do, the vast majority of which is ward work. It won't interfere with anything else. I'll just carry on."
Mr Auty, whose term ends in 2010, was one of more than 60 party members to add his name to a blogging website set up by a group using the name The Real BNP. It called on party leader Nick Griffin to reinstate six expelled party members, create a formal management system and eject two BNP members that they felt were damaging the party.
At the weekend a post on the official BNP website said there would be an amnesty for members to withdraw their support for the rebels, with the promise that their 'misguided low level involvement in this whole regrettable affair will be discounted and their prior positions and good standing restored'.
Two weeks ago Mr Auty was also at a regional party meeting in Leeds which reportedly descended into chaos after fighting allegedly broke out between some members. On Sunday an anonymous post on the Real BNP blog said members who had heckled Mr Griffin at the meeting had been sent letters expelling them from the party. But Mr Auty, whose name remains on the website, said he has not received any letters or other communication telling him he has been expelled.
He said: "At this stage I don't know what's happening. I haven't received anything yet. There were certain people that have had a letter for what they termed disrupting a meeting. As regards to the so-called rebels I don't know anyone who has had a letter from that. I just voiced what I believed were my own concerns. I stand by what I feel is right for the voters more than anything else. I'm here for the public and if I believe they would have concerns then that makes me have concerns. One thing I've said with politics is I'll call it as I see it.
"I think it's really important that even if you have issues with your own party you have got to be honest. It's up to people like myself. If I believe there's something wrong within my own party, it's up to us to make things better and to be listened to."
On Monday the rebel website posted a message to say it would no longer be commenting on internal issues and called on the leadership to drop the threats of expulsion.
Dewsbury Reporter
Showing posts with label Real BNP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Real BNP. Show all posts
December 28, 2007
December 22, 2007
BNP at war amid allegations of illegal activity
· Around 50 key members quit to set up rival faction
· Leadership claims affair will quickly blow over
Taking stock in the library of the Oxford Union Nick Griffin had good reason to be cheerful. The chairman of the British National party, who scored a resounding victory in a summer leadership challenge, had just given a confident performance in front of some of the brightest students in the country and was looking forward to the next day's headlines.
Three weeks later, however, and the political landscape on the far right has changed. The BNP is engulfed in a bitter factional war which threatens to tear the organisation apart.
This week the leadership was accused of spying, theft and money laundering and dozens of key organisers have resigned the party whip and are now calling themselves the "Real BNP".
Labour MP Jon Cruddas has handed a dossier of evidence to the Electoral Commission and the Metropolitan police that he says contains evidence of "alleged illegal activity and financial irregularities".
Cruddas, who has several BNP councillors in his Barking constituency, told MPs in the House of Commons: "What's been uncovered in the internal workings of the BNP appears to be systematic illegality in terms of data protection, bugging, money laundering, theft and the operation of the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000."
Detectives in Nottinghamshire have confirmed they are investigating claims that a BNP security team stole files and computer equipment from the home of a regional official. The Metropolitan Police said it had responded to the allegations but added it was not investigating the matter "at the current time."
The BNP insists it has not done anything illegal and says the affair will "blow over" by Christmas.
"This is not a split so much as a slither and it will all be sorted out very quickly indeed," said the BNP's national spokesman, Simon Derby.
The allegations come at the end of a tumultuous week. Tensions between modernisers and hardliners boiled over on Monday when it emerged that about 50 councillors and organisers had resigned and declared themselves to be the "Real BNP". That was followed by showdown meetings between Griffin and the rebels.
At one, in the Gun and Dog pub in Leeds on Tuesday, a witness described how the meeting descended into chaos when one of the rebels smashed a glass and threatened to attack Griffin supporter Mark Collett.
Despite the protestations of the leadership the BNP appears to have lost the support of the Yorkshire region - widely seen as one of the party's heartlands - as well as key organisers in other areas. Anti-fascist campaigners say this is the most serious crisis the BNP has faced since it was formed in the early 1990s.
"In the past disputes have been between the old guard and Griffin, who portrayed himself as a moderniser taking the party forward," said Nick Lowles, from anti-fascist organisation Searchlight. "Now, however, many of the younger more able organisers and activists who make the party tick on a day-to-day basis are breaking away and that is what makes this much more serious for the leadership."
The original row centred around two organisers, Sadie Graham and Kenny Smith, who were accused of plotting an "inept and ill-timed coup" against Griffin, Collett and another senior finance official, Dave Hannam, last week.
Graham, a BNP councillor in Broxtowe in the east Midlands and the BNP's group development officer, claims the party secretly bugged her home. She said a BNP security team "tricked" their way into her house when she was out, taking files and computer equipment.
The party's website ran a recording of a conversation between Graham and Smith, who were subsequently sacked for "gross misconduct". The BNP has insisted Graham's home was not bugged, but rather that she had accidentally dialled a number on her mobile phone that led to the conversation being recorded. And they insist that they have proof that the equipment taken belonged to the party.
The rebels cast themselves as modernisers, frustrated at the way the party's finances are run and its failure to confront unsuitable members. They have set up a "Real BNP" faction which appears to have the support of up to 60 senior members.
The split comes at a crucial time for the BNP, which is hoping to make a breakthrough in next year's London assembly elections. In the Commons this week Cruddas said the party was "engulfed in a political crisis" that threatened to tear it apart. "This is not the behaviour of a legitimate political party and I hope to see the police and the Electoral Commission investigate these charges," he added.
The Guardian
· Leadership claims affair will quickly blow over
Taking stock in the library of the Oxford Union Nick Griffin had good reason to be cheerful. The chairman of the British National party, who scored a resounding victory in a summer leadership challenge, had just given a confident performance in front of some of the brightest students in the country and was looking forward to the next day's headlines.
Three weeks later, however, and the political landscape on the far right has changed. The BNP is engulfed in a bitter factional war which threatens to tear the organisation apart.
This week the leadership was accused of spying, theft and money laundering and dozens of key organisers have resigned the party whip and are now calling themselves the "Real BNP".
Labour MP Jon Cruddas has handed a dossier of evidence to the Electoral Commission and the Metropolitan police that he says contains evidence of "alleged illegal activity and financial irregularities".
Cruddas, who has several BNP councillors in his Barking constituency, told MPs in the House of Commons: "What's been uncovered in the internal workings of the BNP appears to be systematic illegality in terms of data protection, bugging, money laundering, theft and the operation of the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000."
Detectives in Nottinghamshire have confirmed they are investigating claims that a BNP security team stole files and computer equipment from the home of a regional official. The Metropolitan Police said it had responded to the allegations but added it was not investigating the matter "at the current time."
The BNP insists it has not done anything illegal and says the affair will "blow over" by Christmas.
"This is not a split so much as a slither and it will all be sorted out very quickly indeed," said the BNP's national spokesman, Simon Derby.
The allegations come at the end of a tumultuous week. Tensions between modernisers and hardliners boiled over on Monday when it emerged that about 50 councillors and organisers had resigned and declared themselves to be the "Real BNP". That was followed by showdown meetings between Griffin and the rebels.
At one, in the Gun and Dog pub in Leeds on Tuesday, a witness described how the meeting descended into chaos when one of the rebels smashed a glass and threatened to attack Griffin supporter Mark Collett.
Despite the protestations of the leadership the BNP appears to have lost the support of the Yorkshire region - widely seen as one of the party's heartlands - as well as key organisers in other areas. Anti-fascist campaigners say this is the most serious crisis the BNP has faced since it was formed in the early 1990s.
"In the past disputes have been between the old guard and Griffin, who portrayed himself as a moderniser taking the party forward," said Nick Lowles, from anti-fascist organisation Searchlight. "Now, however, many of the younger more able organisers and activists who make the party tick on a day-to-day basis are breaking away and that is what makes this much more serious for the leadership."
The original row centred around two organisers, Sadie Graham and Kenny Smith, who were accused of plotting an "inept and ill-timed coup" against Griffin, Collett and another senior finance official, Dave Hannam, last week.
Graham, a BNP councillor in Broxtowe in the east Midlands and the BNP's group development officer, claims the party secretly bugged her home. She said a BNP security team "tricked" their way into her house when she was out, taking files and computer equipment.
The party's website ran a recording of a conversation between Graham and Smith, who were subsequently sacked for "gross misconduct". The BNP has insisted Graham's home was not bugged, but rather that she had accidentally dialled a number on her mobile phone that led to the conversation being recorded. And they insist that they have proof that the equipment taken belonged to the party.
The rebels cast themselves as modernisers, frustrated at the way the party's finances are run and its failure to confront unsuitable members. They have set up a "Real BNP" faction which appears to have the support of up to 60 senior members.
The split comes at a crucial time for the BNP, which is hoping to make a breakthrough in next year's London assembly elections. In the Commons this week Cruddas said the party was "engulfed in a political crisis" that threatened to tear it apart. "This is not the behaviour of a legitimate political party and I hope to see the police and the Electoral Commission investigate these charges," he added.
The Guardian
Labels:
BNP split,
Jon Cruddas,
Nick Griffin,
Real BNP,
Simon Darby
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