Don't give them a toehold in Aylesbury

The leader of a Buckinghamshire union has put out a call for help from activists

Steve Bell, branch secretary for the Bucks Health Branch of Unison, will hold a meeting a week before a planned protest by the English Defence League in Aylesbury.

Mr Bell said: "The EDL, whileclaiming not to be racist or fascist, has on previous demonstrations been giving Nazi salutes and shouting slogans that could be considered racist. BNP (British National Party) and other fascist activists have also been witnessed at these events. It is also clear that if their ideas are not challenged then the local community in which they are active, will see a rise in racist incidents.

"That is why the Bucks Health branch of Unison believes that we need to challenge their ideas and organise to defeat them, so that the ideas they represent do not get a toehold in the Aylesbury area. These ideas are not welcome and are divisive and will set back our struggle to defend the public sector and the terms and conditions of our members."

Mr Bell has invited members of the Labour movement and the local community to work out how to challenge EDL's ideas. The meeting will take place on April 26 at 7.30pm at the Multicultural Centre.

The Bucks Herald

In My View - Schools and the BNP

In the 21st century, there should be no place for racism, or for the far right's politics of hate, in our schools

The Maurice Smith review was set up to assess what measures are needed to make this a reality. But, by failing to ban the most obvious measure -banning BNP members from working in schools - the review is a missed opportunity.

Membership of the BNP is incompatible with being part of the team delivering education. In fact, the union sees it as incompatible with delivering any public services at all. Our communities are diverse, and multi-racial and public service workers must be able to treat everyone equally.

Schools should be places where children learn values of equality, fairness and inclusion - values that will help create a just and fair society. Allowing BNP members to peddle their message of hate, or the freedom to discriminate against those from ethnic minorities, flies in the face of these principles.

The second missed opportunity of the review was the little attention it paid to the role of support staff. In today's schools, support staff play a significant role in delivering education. They can also have a closer, one-on-one relationship with the pupils they work with. Support staff monitor break-times and areas such as libraries. If left unchecked, support staff who are BNP members could let racist bullying take place.

The review could have also gone one step further, and highlighted the role support staff can play in encouraging community cohesion. Research shows that support staff more closely reflect the community they serve, than teachers. Given the right training, support staff could use this advantage to spread a more inclusive atmosphere in the school and beyond.

Last year UNISON health members voted to keep the BNP out of the NHS. It has already been banned for members of the police and prison officers, for very good reasons. Children deserve to be protected from the influence of the BNP, and UNISON will be pressing for this when the promised review of the guidance set out by Maurice Smith takes place next year.

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, writing in Nursery World

Maurice Smith review 'missed opportunity' to kick BNP out of schools says UNISON

UNISON, the UK’s largest public sector trade union, today (12 March) said that by failing to ban BNP members from working in schools, the Maurice Smith review* was a ‘missed opportunity’ to kick racism out of education.

The union also criticised the review for its inadequate focus on the wider school workforce. The school of today, said the union, heavily relies on support staff, such as teaching assistants, librarians, learning mentors and home liaison officers, who make up more than 50% of the school workforce. These staff can also play a key role in community cohesion.

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:

“This review is a missed opportunity to kick the BNP’s politics of hate out of our schools. Membership of the BNP is completely incompatible with delivering education to children. Schools should be at the forefront of promoting racial equality, not places where BNP members can spread their message of hate to impressionable young people.

“The review is limited by not properly considering the wider schools workforce. Support staff play a significant role in delivering education to children. Young people at school can have a close, one on one relationship, with support staff. Support staff are also in charge of break times, and places such as libraries, where they could allow racist bullying to take place, if they were members of the BNP.

“Research suggests that support staff more closely reflect the community they serve, compared to teachers. They could therefore play an important role in community cohesion. This review promises a yearly check on the guidance set out. UNISON will be pressing for the full ban on BNP members working in schools to be imposed next year. It is vital that there is no place in our schools for racism.”

* The Maurice Smith Review was set up by the Secretary of State to undertake a full and detailed review of measures to prevent the promotion of racism in schools.

Unison

Anti-women BNP must be exposed, say delegates

Unison women's conference 2010: Anti-fascist organisations must highlight the anti-women views of the BNP as part of their fight to defeat the far-right, delegates have urged. National women's committee speaker Davena Rakin demanded that the labour movement oppose the BNP on an "anti-racist and pro-feminist" platform.

"The BNP's racist views are well known. But we also need to highlight its views on women," she stressed.

In a series of motions, delegates argued that women had a crucial role to play in the fight against the rising threat of fascism. The BNP is militantly against abortion rights, wants to repeal all equalities legislation and some members had described rape as "simply sex" and said that women should be hit regularly "like a gong," conference heard.

Greater London region delegate Louise Cooling, who lives in the BNP stronghold of Barking and Dagenham, called for widespread support to stop party leader Nick Griffin's attempt to become her MP.

"This is not a battle for Barking, this is a battle for Britain," she told delegates gathered in Gateshead.

Morning Star

Four nazis arrested at anti-BNP protest

The image is blurry but you can still see these nazi twats sieg-heiling

North West UAF held a vibrant and noisy protest outside the BNP's 'Victory Rally' today. Exactly how many of their party attended the rally is unclear. But it is interesting that there was no sign of them at the hotel windows, no display of numbers or any celebration.

Just over 100 people from around the region took part in the protest; which was great, given that there were only a few days in which to organise and publicise it. Banners included those from Blackpool Trades Council; Blackpool and Fylde College UCU; Greater Manchester UAF and the local PCS.

Several speakers addressed the crowd and onlookers on the promenade. Points made included: why we say 'no platform for Nazis'; the fact that they are virulently homophobic as well as racist; the level of misogyny within the party and ended with a promise to Griffin that wherever he tries to appear publicly in the North West, we will be there too. Speakers talked about the fact that anti-fascists represent the majority and that UAF will organise protests to outnumber and oppose the Nazi BNP wherever they try to organise.

Andrew Wheatley, from Blackpool Trades Council, emphasised that, despite Griffin winning the North West seat, the BNP do not represent the majority of people in the area. Pete Marsden, of Blackpool UNISON, speaking in a personal capacity, criticised the “British Jobs for British Workers” slogan which had benefited the BNP.

Jain Gawn, of Blackpool and Fleetwood Unite Against Fascism, talked of the legacy of fighting Fascism in Britain, including the Battle of Cable Street and the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. Jain also cited the recent attacks in Belfast as an example of where racism leads. Other speakers included Dione Bough of UNISON, Independent Socialist Councillor Michael Lavalette, and others.

Weyman Bennett, joint-national secretary of UAF, called for people to attend the demonstration against the Nazis’ “Red, White and Blue” event in August, while Dave Sewell of Manchester University Students Union spoke about the need to continue a No Platform position against the BNP.

Off to the clink we go...

There was anti-nazi representation from across the North-West, with protestors from Blackpool and Fleetwood, Lancaster, Wigan, Preston, Liverpool, Kendal, Manchester, Barrow, and elsewhere, and representation from the North West’s LGBT community.

A letter was read out from the two Blackpool MP’s, Joan Humble and Gordon Marsden, which had been sent to the New Kimberley Hotel, opposing the Hotel’s hosting of BNP events, stating “The Nazis too deceived, frightened and scapegoated people – just the same as the BNP try to do. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that many BNP activists try to deny the Holocaust.”

Unfortunately, the rally was not entirely free from Nazis. Several of them came out of the hotel to harass people. This is a new development for BNP gatherings in Blackpool and was obviously born out of a new confidence they've gained since the elections. We will have to make sure that that confidence is short lived. While many of their thugs lolling around in gangs were dressed in suits, a small group of skins sauntered over in ‘nationalist’ t-shirts and started sieg-heiling at the crowd (with a wall and cops in between, to protect themselves, obviously). Whilst this was met with fury and much shouting, no on attempted to physically attack them. Instead we slowly moved them on along the prom.

It was quite obvious that the episode was orchestrated purely to provoke us into a violent response. When the old Nazi salute didn't cause anyone to loose control and attack them, they started chanting the names of concentration camps, as a taunt. As they descended into a tirade of racial abuse the police intervened and four of them were arrested. It would be hard to find a clearer example of the fact that the BNP is a haven for hardcore, unreconstructed, Nazis.

Some of the crowd at the demo

As time went on we noticed small groups of thugs strategically positioned down the promenade. Like vultures they were gathering in order to pick people off as they left the protest. It was agreed that the best way to avoid anyone getting hurt was to leave the area outside the hotel together as a group. With the numbers involved, this became a demonstration in its own right. We marched down the prom singing and chanting.

While it was depressing to see them so confident and closer to our demo than in other years it is important to bear the following in mind: anti-fascists are by far the majority; it looks like we had far more people outside that hotel than they had inside it and while we can march through the streets, they can't. It is going to be a long, hard summer making sure that this remains the case. They've got their seats in Europe, but that does not mean we have to allow them the chance to take over our public places. As their 'Victory Rally' was such a flop, they’re likely to try again at the Red, White and Blue gathering. We need to make sure they have nothing to celebrate when they get there!

Lancashire workers urged to vote against BNP

Public sector workers in Lancashire are being urged to vote in the European elections amid fears that the BNP could win a seat.

Employees of councils, health trusts and non-teaching staff at schools are being targeted by the campaign being led by public sector workers union Unison. It is urging the workers to use their vote in the June 4 elections.

The European Parliament plays a role in making European Union laws and also has a say over the EU's annual budget. The eight MEPs who are elected will represent the region on issues including environmental protection, consumer rights, energy policy and transport. The BNP is standing in June’s polls.

Katherine Johnson, branch secretary of Unison which has 2,500 members, said: “We have worked hard to develop community cohesion and we are con-cerned this will be undermined if the BNP are elected. The BNP will get £1million worth of funding over five years which we fear will be put into the party not the community.”

In Blackburn with Darwen, the council is joining forces with Unison to make sure all its workers are registered to vote in the elections on June 4. Unison, is working with Searchlight's Hope Not Hate campaign, to increase voter registration and turnout.

Ms Johnson added: “Unison in Blackburn, and Blackburn with Darwen United Against Racism, have joined forces in an anti-BNP campaign. We are working extremely closely.

On Friday, May 15, the council has agreed to allow its workers to wear a t-shirt in support of Unison’s anti-BNP stance. Graham Burgess, returning officer for Blackburn with Darwen, urged people to use their vote.

Blackpool Citizen

Call for nurses to be banned from joining BNP at conference

Nurses and health staff from the union Unison are to debate whether registered nurses should be banned from joining the far-right British National Party (BNP) at a conference next month.

Police are already banned from joining the BNP because of fears that its extreme political views will affect officers’ conduct. However the publication of a list last year of BNP members showed that several practising and former nurses were members of the party.

The motion, ‘BNP policy is incompatible with nursing’, to be debated at next month’s Health Group Annual Conference in Harrogate in April. It reminds nurses that the Nursing and Midwifery Council code stipulates that nurses should never discriminate against people under their care.

The motion says: ‘Membership of the BNP is wholly incompatible with public service, and this is especially so for Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors who have a unique role in caring for vulnerable people on a daily basis.’ It calls for the government to raise the issue with government and the four Departments of Health to establish legal powers to prevent BNP members and members of other racist groups from employment in nursing roles.

They should ensure that standards within the Improving Working Lives initiative are tightened to take account of the importance of diversity, the motion says.

If the motion succeeds, the union will also press the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to support its call for legislation on this issue and issue interim advice to registered nurses of the standards expected of them.

Nursing Times

BNP member may be struck off teaching register

Solidarity's Adam Walker: expecting detention from the General Teaching Council

A teacher and prominent British National party member could be struck from the teaching register after he was accused of posting racist comments to a website from his school laptop.

Adam Walker, who taught at Houghton Kepier sports college, a foundation school in Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, has stood as a candidate for the BNP in local elections and is president of the party's closely affiliated trade union Solidarity. He is accused of expressing views "suggestive of racial and religious intolerance" in an online forum.

Walker resigned from his post at the school after the disciplinary action was taken. The allegations date back to spring 2007.

The comments he is accused of making have not been made public but will be closely scrutinised in the General Teaching Council hearing later this year.

Walker is currently attempting to have the GTC chairwoman, Judy Moorhouse, removed from the disciplinary hearing panel, claiming she is biased against him. He told the Times Educational Supplement that the case was being "driven by political spite", adding: "No other teacher at the school has had their internet use monitored in the way mine was. My real crime is political dissidence."

Christina McAnea, of Unison, said: "Schools should be centres of learning and tolerance, not breeding grounds for the poisonous views of the BNP."

Walker worked as a supply teacher at Teesdale school in Barnard Castle, County Durham, last year. He stood as a BNP candidate for Tudhoe in the Durham county council elections in May.

Guardian

Keep the BNP out

UNISON is urging voters to “kick racism into the gutter” as England and Wales prepare to go to the polls tomorrow.

Residents of 174 local council areas are eligible to vote in the 1 May elections, with around 3,920 seats up for grabs, including that of London mayor. Polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm. UNISON has been campaigning hard in the run-up to the elections to remind voters of the dangers of allowing the racist British National Party to gain a foothold in our communities.

“The far-right BNP has to be halted,” general secretary Dave Prentis said. “I would urge everyone to get out and make sure that they use their vote to keep out their vile politics.”

Despite the smart suits and alleged concern for public services and the workers, the BNP is as dangerous as it always was, Mr Prentis stressed.

“We live in a multicultural, diverse society; our public services would crumble were it not for the thousands of immigrants who deliver them. The BNP would change all that and deliver us to the politics of hate. Our message is simple, vote for Hope not Hate and kick the politics of racism and division back into the gutter on 1 May.”

UNISON

Tribute to victims of Holocaust

Bradford's Lord Mayor joined church and community leaders at a moving and dignified open air ceremony to commemorate the Holocaust.

Tribute was yesterday paid to victims of the atrocity at a ceremony organised by the Bradford Trades Union Council and supported by Hope Not Hate Yorkshire. The event began when up to 50 official guests gathered at the Mechanics Institute in Eccleshill. They made their way to the local Cenotaph for a memorial tribute at noon. Lord Mayor Robin Owens attended, along with Council, community and church representatives.

The commemoration included readings of poetry and memoirs of the Holocaust. The Lord Mayor delivered a reading and the ceremony concluded with a Jewish prayer to victims of the Holocaust.

The event is traditionally held in April but it was postponed this year.

October 7, 1944 was the date prisoners at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in Poland rebelled on their way to the gas chambers. The uprising led to the Gestapo murdering almost all of the several hundred prisoners involved.

The Holocaust commemoration has been held in the city since 1995 when an event took place to mark the 50th anniversary of VE Day. It aims to remember all those discriminated against by Fascism. Paul Meszaros, spokesman for the TUC and Hope Not Hate Yorkshire, said it had not yet been decided which month to hold next year's commemoration.

"It is an extremely important event for the Trades Union movement in Bradford and in Yorkshire. We find ourselves on the front line in the struggle against Fascism today and it is very important that we learn the lessons about where intolerance and racism can lead to," he said.

Chairman of Bradford Unison, Brian Forster, said: "Unison is delighted to support this event. We need to remember the lessons of the past and make sure that this can never happen again."

Bradford Telegraph and Argus

Union backing for BNP-row teacher

A teacher suspended for accessing right-wing political material on the internet during school time has become the victim of a "kangaroo court", his union has claimed.

Mark Walker may now take legal action against education chiefs after his headteacher allowed a separate teaching union - Unison - to hold an anti-fascist meeting on its premises last Monday. The union sent letters to members of staff urging them to attend in opposition to "fascist infiltration" of schools. Though not naming Mr Walker - a BNP council candidate - he is indirectly referred to as a "teacher currently suspended" and the letter states that teaching unions support "action being taken" against him.

We revealed last week how Mr Walker, 36, was suspended from Sunnydale School in Shildon, County Durham, in February after checks showed he had used school computers to look at right-wing websites during teaching time. No other disciplinary action has been taken and he still hopes to be reinstated to his job.

Meanwhile, his brother Adam, 38, has quit his teaching job at Houghton Kepier foundation school in Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, after he was also found to have accessed right-wing websites on the school's computer.

Last week Mark's union - Solidarity - which has close links with the BNP, slammed the decision to allow the meeting to take place before the internal investigation.

General Secretary Peter Harrington [?] - who revealed that Mr Walker may consider legal action over the anti-fascist meetings - said: "It is ludicrous that a meeting against fascism was held at a school where a teacher has been suspended - we believe - for being a member of the BNP. It is like a kangaroo court, and the decision of the school is outrageous, as is the stand taken by the unions. Whatever one's personal view of the BNP, it is a legal political organisation which has been sanctioned by the state. Under the Human Rights Act he is allowed freedom of political expression. It is no coincidence that computers he had used - and not those of other teachers - were checked by the school authorities."

The National Union of Teachers - which had backed Mr Walker - is understood to have withdrawn its support. Neither the school's headteacher nor Durham County Council were prepared to comment. Our calls to Unison were not returned.

Sunday Sun (Newcastle)

UNISON to 'stop racism' in anti-BNP campaign

UNISON is preparing to take its campaign against the BNP and other far-right parties to the streets of Scotland this weekend.

The union's branches are organising a number of initiatives in different parts of the country on Saturday April 28 to take the message out to the public that 'racists have no place in Scotland'. It's part of their UK-wide campaign to prevent the organisation building on its 2006 ballot gains.

UNISON has produced large numbers of leaflets and posters urging its members to be careful with their vote on May 3.

Scottish organiser Dave Watson said: "UNISON members care for the whole community in Scotland; we won't allow racists to wreck Scotland's economic and cultural future. The BNP preach their message of hate, but try to hide it under a veneer of respectability. They use lies and rumour to pedal myths about, migrant workers and asylum seekers. We have been working to expose those myths and welcome much needed workers into Scotland."

He pointed to a recent economic report which found the influx of migrant workers into Scotland had boosted the economy, saying that without them the building trade would collapse, the catering and tourist trade would suffer and the health service would fall apart.

With the new proportional representation system, particularly in the local elections, there is a danger that low turnout could lead to BNP candidates being elected by default, Mr Watson said. "We are urging our members and the general public to get out and ensure they cannot destroy our democracy."

However, Dr Phil Edwards, National Press Officer for the BNP has accused UNISON of hypocrisy.

He said: "Most members do not tell the union what political party they are in. There are many members in the union who support the BNP and they are appalled by this. It is not democratic for them to campaign against us but not stand for election themselves. They get hundreds of thousands of pounds of funding from other people's money - we haven't got any money. How can you define racism? We are not racists - we are race realists."

24dash

Music to help beat fascists

A pressure group is organising a music event to highlight their message. Barrow and South Cumbria Unite Against Fascism and Unity in Music will stage Rock Against The Fascist BNP in Barrow on Sunday April 15.

A number of bands are lined up for the gig, which is set to take place at a yet-to-be-named Barrow venue. The bands include TREX, from Japan, Swallow, from Blackpool, One Man Stand, and Boredom A.D., who will detour from Scotland especially to play. Ulverston band U.K. Assassins are also set to play.

Paul Jenkins, of Barrow and South Cumbria UAF, said: “The event will highlight the truth about the British National Party’s racism and fascism to voters. This event is organised by Unity in Music and Unite Against Fascism and will be supported by other organisations including Love Music Hate Racism.”

Nigel Flanagan, the North West regional officer for Unison, will be one of the speakers.

The organisers would like to hear from other bands that would like to perform at the upcoming event. Those interested should contact unityismusic@aol.com UAF is also organising an anti-racist football event in Barrow. A date has still to be arranged.

The group has upped its campaign against the BNP in recent weeks following the announcement that Mike Ashburner is to stand for the party in the Barrow Borough Council May elections. Mr Ashburner is set to stand for a seat in the town’s Central ward. Mr Ashburner maintains that neither he nor the BNP is racist. He has said the BNP’s views are very modern.

North-West Evening Mail