Keep fascists out of Wales

This article was submitted by one of our readers, Daniel P. We welcome any contributions from our supporters (as long as those contributions conform to the law and are in reasonably good taste). Please send your articles to us via email.

Elections to the National Assembly for Wales are due to take place on Thursday May 5th and the far-right British National Party will be seeking once again to gain a foothold in mainstream Welsh politics, as they have already done in English local councils and in the European Parliament. The party will attempt to exploit public anxieties in regards to the economic crisis caused by the failure of capitalism and the Coalition's cuts and privatisation agenda, to irrationally blame scapegoats such as asylum-seekers, migrants and Muslims for our problems.

The BNP's efforts to present a more respectable face in the search for electoral credibility have begun to pay off in Wales in recent years; the party aims to capitalise on the decline of industrial areas, as well as growing disenchantment with corrupt mainstream political parties. Whilst the BNP did not put up candidates in Wales in the 1997 elections, only one stood in 2001 and two in 2005, last year they stood nineteen candidates - averaging 1,215 votes per seat. This is not enough to win a seat in Parliament or in the National Assembly, but the Assembly has 20 regional 'top-up' seats, which aggregates votes over a large area and increases the chances of the BNP winning a seat.

At the previous Assembly elections in 2007, the BNP won 9,986 votes in the North Wales region, (5.1%) putting it within 2,580 votes (0.6%) of winning a seat. A fascist voice in Cardiff Bay would be a massively divisive blow to our multicultural society. There is an urgent need for everyone who is concerned about this threat, to join anti-fascist campaigns such as Hope Not Hate & Unite Against Fascism all-out to expose the rotten BNP for what they are, and stop them in our Assembly.

It is amazing that within three years of the end of the Second World War a fascist stood in London's East End although he was soundly defeated. But for a quarter of a century after the war a long economic boom, rising living standards and little unemployment gave no ground for any far-right revival.

The return of economic crises and higher unemployment in the 1970s encouraged several fascist splinter groups to unite to form the now notorious National Front; their racism was mainly aimed at immigrants from the West Indies and their children, but they also terrorised gay & lesbian people, the disabled & Jews. Some of these immigrants were ex-servicemen who stayed in Britain after the war - others had been encouraged to come and settle by ministers such as Enoch Powell in order to fill jobs in the 1950s. The NF had some initial success with 17,500 members at its peak but were defeated by the growth of a huge anti-fascist movement able to attract over 100,000 people to Rock against Racism gigs and counter-demonstrations organised by the Anti Nazi League, the precursor of today's UAF. The ANL exposed the violence of the NF skinheads and the Nazi past of the NF leadership; eventually due to public internal rifts & strong opposition, they were effectively disbanded.

One of the splinter groups that emerged out of the NF was the British National Party, founded in 1982 by John Tyndall, a well-known anti-semite and Holocaust denier. It made little headway until 1993 when a leading BNP member Derek Beacon won a council seat on the Isle Of Dogs in London's East End. This was the same year young student Stephen Lawrence was brutally murdered by cowardly racists in south-east London, the third such murder following the establishment of the BNP head office in the area.

A united campaign swept Beacon out of office in 1994 - the BNP continued to stagnate during the remainder of the decade. The party's next success was in May 2002, winning three council seats, and in May 2003 a further thirteen; Griffin claims that it was due to his taking over the BNP, but there is much more to it than this arrogant overblown claim. Griffin and other BNP leaders had realised that they could not escape from the extremist ghetto as long as their Nazi image persisted. He learned from the success of Front National in France to present a respectable image by distancing his party from the boot boys and Nazi paraphernalia. Cosmetic changes in policy were made - for example forced repatriation of non-whites were replaced by so-called 'voluntary' repatriation. Not that this means Griffin had changed his views from when he was a young NF organiser, of course. After all it was only in 1998 that he was convicted of inciting racial hatred and received a two-year suspended sentence for publishing anti-semitic & Holocaust denial literature.

In 1998 the media began whipping up anti-immigrant hysteria about asylum seekers being given luxury accommodation at public expense, and Britain being 'flooded' by migrants. This was of course all nonsense - in reality asylum seekers were not permitted to work & claimed minimal benefits. This racist media campaign won some 100,000 votes in the 1999 Euro elections regardless. Another set of events were to benefit the BNP even more. In January 2001 the Oldham Chronicle reported police claims that there had been a significant rise in race attacks on white men by Asians. The beating of a white pensioner was highlighted as a racist attack, although his son profusely denied that it was a race issue.False claims were made that white areas received less government money than Asian areas. As the racial tensions were whipped up, the BNP and NF began attempting marches - one of which was to spark the Oldham riots as Asian youths defended their communities.

In the June general election Griffin had 16% of the vote in Oldham - the highest ever for a fascist party. In the 2002 May council elections this series of events enabled the BNP to win three seats in Burnley and over a fifth of the vote in nineteen other council seats. Over the next few years the BNP continued to pick up councillors in England, at one point reaching over 50. In Barking, east London, and in Stoke they reached double figures and had hopes of taking control; but the icing on the cake was winning two seats in the 2009 European Parliament elections, which coincided with the expenses scandal which disgraced all three mainstream parties. Griffin won in North West England and Andrew Brons, the one-time chair of the defunct NF, in Yorkshire and Humberside. Both scraped in on a low poll but nevertheless it gave them a great boost. It allowed sections of the media including the BBC to treat them as mainstream politicians. It also brought considerable financial prosperity in terms of salaries and expenses. Unfortunately for them though, it also brought them to their peak.

They did not stay long at the top. Wild claims were made that Griffin would win the Barking seat at the general election, that the BNP would take over Barking and Stoke councils. They put up a record 339 candidates spending £170,000 on deposits, nearly all of which were subsequently lost The election results were a disaster; there had been a brilliant campaign by anti-fascists to oppose them wherever they went, which contributed to this downfall. Thousands of Hope Not Hate and Unite Against Fascism attended the constituency every week. Griffin was humiliated in Barking and they lost every councillor up for election. At the same time he squandered tens of thousands of pounds more fighting the Equality and Human Rights Commission desperately attempting to maintain what amounted to a virulent 'whites-only' policy.

Unsurprisingly, much of the membership was upset - calls were made for Griffin's resignation but he only promised to step down in 2013. In theory the BNP constitution allows a challenge to the leader this year but fascists are hardly big on democracy. Ordinary BNP members do not automatically have a vote in internal elections - you have to become an activist then pass certain tests. Then if you want to stand, hundreds of signatures are needed from voting members. Not surprisingly, none of those who tried to stand against Griffin succeeded and all have now either been expelled or left. A series of BNP councillors have resigned recently in protest at Griffin's poor leadership.

So is it over for the British National Party? It could be - but let's make sure. In the last elections in Wales, they were able to enter paper candidates who did not work in the constituency but still pick up an average 1,215 votes per candidate. The BNP cannot possibly win any seats using this method, but if they stand on the regional list - which adds seven or eight constituencies together and uses a proportional representation system - they can come a lot closer; that is how the MEP seats were won in 2009.

Let's not allow the Assembly elections to give the BNP and their English/Welsh Defence League street thug allies a lifeline. We need to ensure that voters know what they really stand for and discuss this with anyone who is tempted to vote BNP in protest. Please use your vote to keep the fascists out of Wales; the future of democracy is in your hands.

Sion Owens BNP Koran Burner ITV1 Wales

From Wales Tonight broadcast this evening.

Councillors dismay over leaflet drop by 'scaremongering' BNP

Councillors in Gorseinon have reacted with dismay following news the British National Party have leafleted homes in the area. According to the party's website, two leafleting teams delivered leaflets to "almost every house in Gorseinon" in preparation for the Assembly elections, which take place in March.

Town councillor Jim Dunkley said he could not believe the party had tried to drum up support in the area, and he said they would not be welcome.

Mr Dunkley said: "I just cannot believe it. I am one of 16 town councillors who all live in the community and we deal with the day-to-day problems of the area, and an organisation like the British National Party is here just to stir up problems. What solutions do they have to deal with the problems of Gorseinon? I do not see any place for a party like the BNP in this community. Their party is based on scaremongering and paranoia. This place is a better place without the BNP. We are a tolerant community here and there will be no place for them."

Mr Dunkley also said the best way of dealing with a party like the BNP was to question their views.

"The only way to expose them is to challenge their beliefs," he added. "If they are confident they could have any support base in Gorseinon, I would welcome a public debate with them. I am confident if I sat down with them I would win the argument hands down.

Mr Dunkley's views were shared by fellow town councillor Janet Curtice. Her home was leafleted by the party.

"My house was leafleted and my husband ripped it up. It is a concern as apparently a group has been set up in the area, too," she said. "These people are paranoid. We are all concerned about a large number of issues but we can all work together."

A spokesman for the British National Party said: "This is part and parcel of living in a democracy. We are working towards the National Assembly elections where we feel we can do well in both North and South Wales. There will definitely be a candidate in the Swansea area."

This is South Wales

AM urges all parties not to share meetings with BNP

Counsel General John Griffiths has urged all parties in Wales to refuse to take part in election hustings at which BNP representatives will be on the platform

The Newport East Labour AM is a fierce critic of the BBC decision last year to have BNP leader Nick Griffin on the Question Time panel. He believes the party must not be presented as part of the political mainstream. He challenged rival parties and organisations hosting hustings to deny the BNP publicity.

Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats said they would debate with the BNP with the aim of exposing it as a party of “thugs and fascists”. Mr Griffiths said: “I certainly call on them not to share a platform with the BNP because I think it does give the wrong message of the acceptability of the organisation.”

The BNP said in a written statement: “[This] just shows how frightened Labour is of voters hearing what the British National Party has to say.”

But Mr Griffiths insisted that the BNP should not be seen as a “bona fide political party”. He said: “They have had some success presenting themselves as a mainstream party, which they are not. They are getting more publicity through appearances like Question Time. I think it’s all very worrying, especially perhaps when we live in an age which is anti-politics and the mainstream parties are viewed with considerable suspicion because of issues like MPs’ expenses and sleaze and so on.”

The Conservatives are prepared to take part in hustings if all the other parties are represented. Tory Assembly leader Nick Bourne said: “We think their agenda is vicious and needs to be exposed. It isn’t what people in Britain have stood for – I’m absolutely clear on that. I think they are nasty, vicious thugs.”

Mr Bourne said views between mainstream politicians differed on how to tackle the BNP but the parties agreed “they need tackling”. He said: “I think there is a great danger in pretending they are not there. That’s probably what happened in Hitler’s Germany – people pretended they would go way and they didn’t.”

Mr Griffiths was not impressed by recent changes to the BNP constitution to admit people from ethnic minorities. He said: “I think it’s part of their attempts to mislead people, to change their image and make them think they are something they are not.”

Plaid Cymru does not want their candidates to take part in hustings with the BNP but will not stop them from doing so. A spokeswoman said: “Plaid Cymru believes that, wherever possible, the party's elected members and candidates should do all in their power to reach agreement with other mainstream parties not to share a platform with the BNP. Where this is not possible, and the choice is between sharing a platform and leaving an empty chair, elected members and candidates are free to challenge and defeat the racist lies peddled by the BNP by choosing to appear on a platform with their representatives. However, no candidate or elected member would be compelled to share a platform with the BNP.”

The Liberal Democrats were ready to engage the BNP in open debate. A spokesman said: “If the BNP is invited to an event, the Welsh Liberal Democrats should be there to take them on. The BNP has no interest in the important matters that people really care about – jobs, the NHS, good quality schools and reducing the tax burden for hard-working people. We should be there to show people that the BNP are a party of thugs and fascists with no answers to the important issues facing Wales today.”

Mr Griffiths said there were ways to attack the BNP other than taking part in the same hustings.

Wales Online

Top Tory's blog on BNP is cleared

More than 180 complaints against Welsh Conservative leader Nick Bourne's blog criticism of the British National Party (BNP) have been officially rejected. The Mid and West Wales AM was cleared by a Welsh assembly standards committee inquiry after a post in February. More than 180 complaints were registered about the comments.

Mr Bourne, who believed the complaints were politically orchestrated, called it a "victory for common sense and a victory for the right of free speech".

"I stand by every word I made about this organisation and its supporters. I have no intention of apologising for making them. I am delighted that the standards committee rejected these complaints out of hand. To condemn the language I used against this organisation would have sent out totally the wrong message from the National Assembly. I believe the National Assembly has today sent out a strong message that it will not tolerate such prejudice as we seek to build a fair and tolerant society."

During the recent assembly election campaign Mr Bourne joined a cross-party campaign to promote tolerance and diversity in Wales.

AMs and candidates backed the Wales Friends of Searchlight's Hope not Hate campaign against discrimination.

BBC News website

Wales’ first ethnic minority AM

Wales will finally have an ethnic minority Assembly Member after Plaid Cymru’s Mohammad Ashgar was elected in South Wales East.

Mr Ashgar, 61, was the beneficiary of an extra Plaid seat on the regional list, at the expense of Conservative Laura Anne Jones. Mr Ashgar said that “harmony, peace and loving” and helping different sections of society understand each other were among his priorities, and admitted he was still “lost for words” after realising at 6am that he would be going to Cardiff Bay.

Campaigners hailed a breakthrough after attempts to get ethnic minority candidates in 1999 and 2003 foundered.

Simon Woolley, director of Operation Black Vote, said, “This is an historic and exciting day for Welsh politics. Multiculturalism has been celebrated by the election of Mohammad Ashgar as the first black Assembly member. Equally important was the Welsh electorate’s wholesale rejection of the racist BNP.”

Mr Ashgar was born in Peshawar and is councillor in Newport. He is also a member of Plaid Cymru’s national executive, and has contested seats in previous election campaigns.

“I’m very pleased to be the first AM from an ethnic minority, and I would like to see more getting elected to the Assembly,” he said. “I think we need to see a bigger Assembly, more than 60 people, to get proper representation.”

Mr Ashgar arrived at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay yesterday for a photocall with Plaid leader Ieuan Wyn Jones, and for his first meeting with fellow Plaid AMs. He will take up his seat, alongside 14 other Plaid members, when the Assembly holds its first meeting of the of the new session on Wednesday. Plaid were always confident that he would be elected, having come close to capturing the extra list seat in South East Wales on a disappointing election night in 2003. Having failed to deliver a single leaflet in parts of the region four years ago, a co-ordinated campaign was launched to make the seat safe.

Mr Ashgar said, “I am very pleased and I’m sure people are voting for me because they like Plaid Cymru. Plaid had the best manifesto of all the parties. We’re in South-East Wales, we’re not the Far East, it’s part of Wales like any other part of the country.”

The South-East Wales region contained some of the most deprived areas of Britain, he said, and said he wanted to see tackling poverty and deprivation as his main aim in office.

“We’re close to England, but we’re very far away from some of the developments we’ve seen in places like Bristol,” he said.

Mr Ashgar thanked fellow Plaid AM Jocelyn Davies for encouraging him to stand and helping him with his campaign.

“I will be serving with my heart and soul for ethnic minorities which are a definite part of the United Kingdom now, and Wales. I’m lost for words. I’m very excited and I don’t know what to say.”

Plaid leader Ieuan Wyn Jones said he was delighted with the result.

“I have come to know him over the years, and I know about his commitment to the party,” he said. He will not only be representing ethnic minorities but be a good, hard working AM and a good constituency representative.”

Elaine Clayton, Deputy Director of Valleys Race Equality Council, said, “For more than 150 years black communities have been fundamental to the fabric of Welsh society, in the docks, in the mines and today in every walk of life. Our communities, by voting, continue our positive contribution to this great nation.”

icWales

Stars unite in anti-BNP campaign

Falklands hero Simon Weston has added his voice to a campaign against the BNP in the Assembly elections. He has been joined by Twin Town star Rhys Ifans.The pair have added their support to the campaign by Unite Against Fascism.

The group claims that in English towns where the controversial party has been successful, racist attacks have increased. Unite wants to stop the BNP securing any seats in the Assembly next Thursday.

Simon Weston said: "I am against bigotry of all forms and I hate people using race to whip up fear and intimidation. I urge people not to propagate that kind of rhetoric."

Notting Hill star Ifans added: "To Nick Griffin and the BNP - the ethnic communities you dare to vilify in Wales are speaking Welsh, feeling Welsh and will forever be welcome in Wales."

South Wales Evening Post

BNP Welsh broadcast pulled by BBC...

...but has the BBC been manipulated?

The BBC has pulled the plug on a BNP broadcast due to air tonight on BBC Radio Wales, on the grounds that the broadcast defamed the Chief Constable of North Wales Police, Richard Brunstrom.

The BNP were told that the broadcast could not go to air unless references to Brunstrom were removed.

It is highly irregular for political parties to use election broadcasts to attack non-political individuals, particularly public servants.

In a whining justification published on their website the BNP says:

The broadcast does indeed focus on the record of the Chief Constable, one of the most politically correct cops in the country and is justifiably scathing about his forces’ handling of the Wrexham riots in the summer of 2003 but as a senior public figure funded by taxpayers he is in a position where he expects to be robustly criticised in the same way government ministers and senior politicians of all parties expect criticism.

Which would be all very well if Brunstrom were to have equal air time set aide to him to answer the BNP's smears - but the BNP knows full well that won't happen.

In fact the BNP must have known from the beginning that to use election air-time to attack Brunstrom would be unacceptable.

There is more than a suspicion that the BNP has deliberately engineered this outcome, happy to sacrifice a broadcast very few will hear in favour of gaining much-needed headlines from having it banned.

Ever ready to play the victim, expect the BNP to claim that its "free speech" has been infringed, and to work up a nice little conspiracy theory to explain the ban.

But don't expect them to thank the BBC for saving them the horrendous costs of a libel suit from Brunstrom.

That's not the game they're playing.

Parties unite in opposition to BNP as poll looms

Politicians from all parties have put their differences aside in a bid to oppose the far-right British National Party. Sitting Assembly Members abandoned their campaigning and joined candidates and community members to discuss the BNP.

The group is putting up a record 20 candidates in the National Assembly election, with the most high profile bid for power coming from leader Nick Griffin in the South Wales West constituency.

At a meeting in the Glamorgan Muslim Community Centre, Aberkenfig, near Bridgend, on Saturday, politicians including Environment Minister and Bridgend AM Carwyn Jones and Plaid Cymru candidate Bethan Jenkins pledged their commitment to tackling discrimination against ethnic minorities.

The Bridgend Unite Against Fascism Group, which organised the gathering, believes the BNP is a racist party which poses a threat to democracy and freedom.

Unite spokesman Jeff Hurford said: 'The highlight of the day was being able to get all of the parties together and a commitment to showing unity against the BNP. This all bodes well for future co-operation between the parties ahead of next year's council elections.'

icWales