Wrekin Stop War"a beacon in the fog of misinformation" |
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Wrekin Stop War"a beacon in the fog of misinformation" |
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Member Article submitted by andrew on Thursday, 23rd July 2009. 07:48 PM
Learning the lessons of the past
In the elections to the European parliament held on this day, the British
National Party (BNP), Britain's biggest neo-nazi organisation, made the
breakthrough which had so narrowly eluded it in the same elections held five
years earlier. Such an outcome is a real tragedy for the rest of us.
A close examination of the results gives a clear reminder of just how crucial a small number of votes can be. For example, Nick Griffin, leader of the BNP, won the final seat in the North West region by a majority of around 0.1% of the total votes cast over the second UKIP candidate and just 0.3%, or around 5,000 votes, over the Green Party candidate. In the Yorkshire and Humberside region, BNP candidate Andrew Brons beat the second Labour candidate by just 0.4%.1
The campaign against the BNP was the biggest yet and certainly made an impact. Searchlight's "Hope not Hate" campaign, for example, mobilised thousands of supporters who were able to deliver some 3.4 million leaflets and newspapers . Stories exposing the true nature of the BNP were regularly placed in the press especially the Daily Mirror. Another organisation, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) also did extensive work.
BNP deception:
During the campaign the BNP resorted to a considerable amount of deception. A photograph, for example, of a group of American actors was presented as a group of British workers in one election leaflet. Similarly, a number of people were falsely portrayed as planning to vote for the BNP. The most elaborate piece of deception involved the sending of an e-mail purporting to come from an organisation called 'Real Anti-Fascist Action'. Such an organisation does not exist and was quickly exposed as an attempt to deter people from contributing to Searchlight's 'Hope Not Hate' campaign by questioning its effectiveness.2 3
Lessons to be learned:
Whilst the BNP did manage to achieve its breakthrough, the campaign against
them certainly had an effect with the party failing to achieve the 6 gains that
it had hoped for. In the county council elections held on the same day the BNP
picked up just 3 seats. In some key areas its performance was worse than in the
district elections one year earlier.
Throughout the campaign the BNP went, as it so often does, to great lengths to disguise its true nazi nature from the electorate. This is understandable as Nick Griffin has acknowledged:
"Yes, Adolf went a bit too far. His legacy is the biggest problem that the British nationalist movement has to deal with. It just creates a bad image."4
Clearly, the BNP has no problem with Hitler's murderous deeds except for the PR difficulties they cause.
What you can do:
Reversing the BNP's recent success is an urgent necessity. Please support the following organisations.
http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/
NOTES:
1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/elections/euro/09/html/ukregion_999999.stm
2. "Doctors Angry About BNP Campaign Tactics"
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157986.php
3. http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/news/article:1147-BNP's-fake-AFA-email-is-tribute-to-HOPE-not-hate's-success
4. http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/48136,features,the-sayings-of-bnp-leader-nick-griffin
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