Alternative voting system on its way

Following the discussion here, one of our readers, James J, has sent in his idea of the only alternative voting system absolutely guaranteed to keep Nick Griffin and the BNP out of Parliament forever.

Thanks, James. :-)

Proportional Representation = BNP MPs!

This article was submitted by one of our readers, bnpinfo. 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.


After the crushing defeat inflicted on the BNP in the 2010 elections, BNP chairman Nick Griffin e-mailed BNP members to plead for their continued financial support, arguing that blame for the BNP defeat lay in the electoral system, not in his leadership. Nick Griffin argued that the BNP "tripled its vote from 2005, jumping from 192,746 to a healthy 563,743", ignoring the reason why BNP votes rose after 2005 - which was only because the BNP contested 3 times more seats in 2010, not because the proportion of voters who support the BNP had increased. Nick Griffin also ignored the catastrophic collapse in BNP support since the BNP polled 1 million votes in the 2009 Euro election - between 2009 and 2010 Nick Griffin LOST the support of half a million voters!

Nick Griffin also argued that if the UK adopts the Liberal Democrat policy of Proportional Representation (PR), the BNP would win seats in Parliament... he's right, and that's exactly why Britain must never adopt Proportional Representation.

If British people wanted our MPs to be elected by PR, then we'd elect a Lib Dem government. Instead the Lib Dems lost the election, but, in a complete travesty of all the moral principles underlying democratic politics, we now find the Lib Dems using the disproportionate and un-representative power given by their ability to swing a hung parliament, to try to impose a policy that Britain effectively voted AGAINST in the General Election.

It takes very little political sophistication to realise that PR is only superficially more "democratic" than the first-past-the-post system used in traditional British democracy, and Lib Dems who support PR should examine their motives very carefully before choosing to open the door to a party run by Holocaust Deniers, racists and closet Nazis. Green Party supporters who support PR should also remember that the Greens achieved their historic breakthrough MP without Proportional Representation.

BNP has no practical policies

Letter to Bourne Local

Chris Robinson claims that the BNP has the support of nine per cent of voters, but that they "are neither racists or seeking the Third Reich".

However, the BNP has no sensible, practical policies: it has no experience in government and has no leaders with any brains capable of formulating policy. Wishful thinking is all very well, but it does not cut the mustard.

The judiciary spend all day in court listening to evidence, rather than reading reports in tabloid newspapers. A majority of UK people support membership of the EU (two thirds of a 60+ per cent turnout in 1975).

Immigration is a major feature of mankind: it has been going on for 400 years (Mayflower set sail in 1620). It is a worldwide issue which this country cannot fix on its own, hence a need for multi-national agencies.

The BNP thinks that being beastly to foreigners is all it takes, but people like me are glad of all the medals that our ethnically-diverse sports-people win.

EU labour law makes it possible for UK nationals to work all over Europe. The only law valid in this country is that which has been enacted by the UK Parliament.

The European court system is nothing to do with the EU: it is bound by treaties that all European nations have signed (including non-EU members). The BNP cannot organise and manage its own debts, let alone the nation's.

Many people see Nick Griffin and his band of goons as similar to the racist, anti-intellectual bully-boys who helped to form the Nazi Party in Weimar Germany.

Despite attempting to portray himself as a cuddly, user-friendly man of the people, Mr Griffin still has a big credibility problem. The BNP believes in divide-and-rule: most civilised folks prefer a life fully open for anyone to progress as far as their talent allows.

The only real lesson to be drawn from the recent election is that the major parties are now fully aware of the drawbacks of proportional representation: the fruitcakes can only get elected under PR.

Euro campaigners unite against BNP

Parties from across the political spectrum have united to implore north Manchester’s constituents to reject the ‘divisive’ policies of the BNP in the forthcoming European election.

Representatives from the Labour, Liberal Democrat, Conservative, Respect and Green parties have come together to speak out against Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, who is standing as a candidate in the North West. They fear that the BNP - described by Cheetham Hill councillor Afzal Khan as a ‘fascist organisation’ - could gain its first ever MEP if there is a low turn out of voters in the region.

Under the election’s proportional representation system, it is estimated that the party would need around eight per cent of the vote to secure a seat. However, opponents hope that a large turn out of residents backing other parties will reduce the proportion of votes the BNP receive.

North Manchester has seen strong support for the BNP of late, with candidate Derek Adams coming second in the Moston by-election earlier this month, winning 23.3 per cent of votes. Now Cllr Khan is urging residents to vote in the Euro election, which takes place 4 June, to keep the controversial party at bay.

"The BNP is not a normal political party," he said. "It is a racist and fascist organisation that peddles fear, loathing and division. It preys on people’s insecurities, offering no solutions to complex questions. The BNP message stands against basic British traditions of fairness, tolerance and equality. It is a sad state of affairs that anyone would still have this attitude in the 21st century when the world is becoming more inclusive. It is a civic duty for everyone to vote. We cannot remain indifferent when the BNP are contesting the election. They are happy to destroy the hard work of Mancunians who strived to make this city the success it is today."

However, Mr Adams said he found Cllr Khan’s accusations of fascism ‘unbelievable’.

"This is coming from a Labour party councillor whose government has overseen the suggestion of ID cards, the hunting ban, the smoking ban, unprecedented video surveillance and listening in on private e-mails and phone calls," he said. "As for policies, the BNP has perfectly fair and rational arguments on all issues and if ever the dictatorial Labour Party wish to give us the opportunity to debate our policies in public, we would be more than happy to allow the people to decide who has the right answers to Britain's many problems."

To vote you must be on the electoral register and have registered by 19 May.

North East Manchester Advertiser

An open letter from Nick Lowles - Give one hour to stop the BNP!

Dear reader,

I am writing this open letter to you because I need your help. With the European election only a few weeks away it is absolutely vital that we all do what we can to stop the BNP from winning seats in the European Parliament. A significant BNP victory would herald the era of four-party politics and the BNP, with its leaders who peddle race hate, division and fear, would become a lasting national threat, and one that will play out in the ballot box and in our communities.

But they need not win. This election is being contested under proportional representation and so every vote counts. It is also a turnout election so we need everyone who opposes the BNP’s politics of hate to vote and convince others around them to vote.

This month Searchlight is launching its “Donate an hour” initiative. We are asking all our readers and supporters to give us a minimum of one hour to help us stop the BNP. Towards the end of this letter I will give you five ways you can help stop the BNP.

We are facing the biggest political challenge to date but if everyone who opposes the BNP’s message of hate does something then we can stop them.

The BNP threat

The threat from the British National Party in the forthcoming European election is very real. With just a small increase in the share of the vote the party secured at the last European election in 2004, the BNP could win three or more seats. Let there be no misunderstanding, a substantial breakthrough in the European election would change the British political landscape for years to come.

And it would change for the worse.

Each MEP is entitled to around £250,000 a year for staff and office support. Rather than benefiting voters in the region, the BNP would employ organisers to push its racist agenda in local and national elections.

That’s exactly what it has done in London, where its representative on the London Assembly employs two people, the party’s deputy leader, Simon Darby, who lives in Wales, and its Essex organiser Emma Colgate, who lives in Thurrock.

More importantly, a significant BNP breakthrough would fundamentally change the BNP’s fortunes and our ability to stop them. They would achieve a respectability and credibility that they can now only dream of. They would become regular fixtures on news programmes and we would no longer be able to pressurise the authorities to stop their activities.

As MEPs, they would be able to intervene on any issue and in any community they wish. We only have to look back to Oldham a few years ago to see how this can play out on the streets, winding up communities and pitting neighbour against neighbour. Increased tensions, fears and violence will likely follow.

Nick Griffin, leader of the BNP, needs to increase his 2004 vote in the North West from 6.4% to just 8.5%. Simon Darby only has to increase the BNP’s 7.5% vote in 2004 to 10.5% to take a seat in the West Midlands. And Andrew Brons requires his share of the vote to grow from 8% to 10.5% to take a seat in Yorkshire and The Humber.

The BNP even pose a threat in the East Midlands and London. They need to double their 6.5% vote in the East Midlands but with 26% of the electorate having voted for the UK Independence Party in 2004, which is now a mere shadow of its former self, this is not unfeasible. The BNP might only have polled 5.3% in London in last year’s London Assembly election but this could easily rise to the necessary 8.5% if inner London, which came out strongly for Ken Livingstone and Labour 12 months ago, remains at home this time.

Turnout will be a major factor.

Few people appear interested in the European election. A poll taken towards the end of last year found only 3% even knew that there was an election this year at all. Most people who are interested probably dislike the EU all the same.

In 2004 the BNP was prevented from winning through a high turnout, caused largely by all-out elections in the Metropolitan authorities in the North and West Midlands on the same day, and a huge vote for the UKIP. Neither of these factors are likely to benefit us this time. With no local elections in the urban areas of the North West, Yorkshire and The Humber and the West Midlands, turnout is likely to plummet.

In 1999, when the European elections was held without other elections at the same time, turnout nationally was just 23%. It was even worse in the North West, where the biggest BNP risk is. Twelve of the 20 local authorities with the lowest turnout were in Greater Manchester and Merseyside, with just 13% of people voting in Liverpool.

If there is anything like a repeat of this turnout then we have little hope of stopping the BNP. One trade unionist in Burnley put it very succinctly at a recent meeting. If only one million of the five million registered voters in the North West bother to vote then Nick Griffin will only need 90,000 votes to get elected. And they will certainly get this.

If two million people bother to vote, achieving a 40% turnout, then the BNP will need 180,000 votes. Suddenly it becomes more difficult for them. If there is a 50% turnout then the BNP will need 225,000, which surely is beyond their reach.

Turnout is absolutely crucial. In a short election campaign we will try to depress the BNP vote but that is far more difficult, and time consuming, than turning out our anti-BNP vote. And this has to be our crucial task. A turnout of less than 30% and it will be virtually impossible to stop the BNP from winning seats.

Mobilising

It is against this backdrop that the HOPE not hate campaign is being organised. It will be our biggest and most sophisticated campaign to date. During May we are organising days of action and mass leafleting all across the country. So far we have activities organised in over 70 local authority areas, with more to be confirmed. Some will be small events, with just a handful of people, but others will mobilise hundreds. There is now a competition between Manchester and Liverpool for who can put more people on the street on 16 May. Wigan has set itself a target of delivering 50,000 newspapers and Barking and Dagenham is aiming for more than 250 people to take part in its day of action.

However, we also recognise that we alone cannot defeat the BNP. The HOPE not hate campaign is working with a number of partners who have their own networks, among them trade unions and faith groups. If the trade unions can increase polling day turnout among their 750,000 members in the North West they can really influence the outcome. If these trade unionists can persuade their partners to vote, that will push up the turnout even further.

We are working with all the main trade unions, often customising specific literature with messages that are pertinent to their members.

Faith groups will be crucial. They have a credibility and authority in many of the communities where local politicians have disengaged. In Greater Manchester alone, the Anglican Church has over 500 full-time employees and a similar number of part-time workers, and the church as a whole has the largest community outreach project in the country. Give these people the arguments and tools to take the message to their congregations and we are really beginning to motor.

The Jewish community is already organising. In parts of north London turnout among Jewish voters in 2008 was almost 80%, largely mobilised based on the desire to defeat the BNP. A similar campaign in Manchester and Leeds is being organised and will obviously boost our vote.

High stakes

The stakes have never been higher. I’m presuming that you, as a reader of Searchlight, share my opposition to the BNP and its politics of hate. But now I must ask you to do a little bit more. If we are to defeat the BNP then we must all play a role, and we must do it now.

We have to say to ourselves, and our friends: If not me, who? If not now, when?

This is why I am asking you to donate a minimum one hour to fight the BNP. That’s my ask to you and I hope it will be your ask to your friends and family.

Many of you could probably donate far more than an hour to the campaign, but even if it is only one hour it can make a difference.

One hour is enough time to deliver 150-200 leaflets or newspapers. It is enough time to address a union branch meeting or send an email to all your friends and family explaining why you are voting in this election and to urge them to do the same.

If we all gave just one hour then we can do an enormous amount. If every Searchlight reader delivered at least 150-200 leaflets then over a million could be distributed. This could be doubled if we all found one other person to do it as well. This would be multiplied several times over if the 22,000 on our growing HOPE not hate email list also committed an hour.

And if everyone donated just two hours during May then really anything is possible.

We are building something very special this year at the HOPE not hate campaign. We are combining traditional anti-fascist campaigning with community organising. We are using new technology to bring in tens of thousands of new activists into the campaign in a way that the political parties cannot. We are doing all this because the threat is so real.

I hope you will give me the hour and in the process play your part in the HOPE not hate campaign. Please don’t wake up on 5 June thinking there was one more thing you could have done.

Yours in solidarity

Nick Lowles

Please get involved by visiting Hope not hate

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