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Griffin and BNP strategy

MellySingsDoom said:
The BNP are by no means a dead party yet, but with their ongoing financial problems, defections of candidates and activists to the English Democrats, and Nick Griffin's chairmanship increasingly being seen as toxic by the rank and file (and not just by disgruntled "faces"), they'd need to pull something pretty big election-wise out of the bag to halt their continued decline. There's rather a lot of sympathy for the EDL by many rank & file BNP-ers (going against Griffin's official proscription of them for being a "Zionist" front group) - take a look at the postings on the EDL by pro BNP-ers on the British Democracy Forum as an example, and you'd think that the BNP would have in fact worked to court the EDL vote - after all, there's enough ex-BNP involved in the EDL top table for Griffin and co to get chatty with. Maybe one of the reasons for this is the EDL leaders not wanting to throw their lot in with the racists and fascists of the BNP, thus making their "cause" look openly racist too to the general public?

Certainly Clive Jefferson's running of the BNP's campaign has been very flawed, to say the least - I can't find accurate figures for the amount of candidates the BNP are standing in May (the BNP themselves don't seem to be advertising this - wonder why?), but it looks to be around the 250 mark - this covers the English local elections and the NI elections; I haven't been able to find the number of candidates standing in the Scottish and Welsh assembly elections. That would be less than the 744 they stood in 2007, and even less than in 2002. Still a substasntial number by any means, but certainly quite a significant decrease too.

It's hard to see under what policies/stances the BNP will be fighting under for these elections - they don't seem to have addressed the current cuts situation (surely no.1 as a topic for their potential audience at the moment?), and as butchersapron says, the EDL are currently running with the anti-Islam ball, so what does that leave then - their "Bring The Boys Back Home" campaign? Bashing the EU? (How active/effective are Messrs Griffin and Brons? Does the man/woman on the street even know they're Euro MPs?) Calls for "British First" in jobs, housing, welfare etc (Probably their biggest draw for the potential voter)? In 2002, they could lay claim to being the "radical" nationalist alternative to the mainstream parties - whither the BNP now on this score?
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i don't think any bnp member has been disciplined for involvement with the edl
 
Pickman's model- you're right on that front, surprising in that the BNP top team have been suspending/expelling activists for all sorts of other reasons over the past months. I think that Griffin does not want to associate with the EDL in public, but is well aware of the BNP/EDL links on the ground, and is wary of stamping down on this for fear of causing one hell of a ruckus amongst the rank and file. The cynic in me thinks that Griffin may well be sniffy about the EDL, but he sure wouldn't reject any donations from that direction.
 
Thanks audiotech - very useful. Getting my trusty calculator out, the BNP candidates tally is as follows: England - 261; Scottish Assembly - 32; Welsh Assembly - 27; Northern Ireland - 4. The English candidates total is I think about equal to their 2002 slate. Having a quick shufty at the line-up, it looks like the BNP are standing strongest in their heartlands - pretty much a full slate in Barnsley, for example, plus a fair whack in Birmingham. I note the confirmation that Derek Beackon (he of Isle of Dogs "fame") is standing in Thrurrock - interesting to see how an unrepentant Tyndallite is standing for them; no doubt his previous career as Councillor Beackon of Millwall stands him in good stead in the party still these days.

As an aside, I see the British People's Party (BPP) are standing one candidate (in Todmorton) - I thought that this fascist grouplet had retreated to internetland?
 
MellySingsDoom said:
Thanks audiotech - very useful. Getting my trusty calculator out, the BNP candidates tally is as follows: England - 261; Scottish Assembly - 32; Welsh Assembly - 27; Northern Ireland - 4. The English candidates total is I think about equal to their 2002 slate. Having a quick shufty at the line-up, it looks like the BNP are standing strongest in their heartlands - pretty much a full slate in Barnsley, for example, plus a fair whack in Birmingham. I note the confirmation that Derek Beackon (he of Isle of Dogs "fame") is standing in Thrurrock - interesting to see how an unrepentant Tyndallite is standing for them; no doubt his previous career as Councillor Beackon of Millwall stands him in good stead in the party still these days.

As an aside, I see the British People's Party (BPP) are standing one candidate (in Todmorton) - I thought that this fascist grouplet had retreated to internetland?
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todmorton? link pls
 
BNP member in line to become Padiham mayor

The British National party expects to see one of its members become mayor of a Lancashire town close to the scene of serious street violence a decade ago.

John Cave, whose wife, Sharon Wilkinson, is a BNP county councillor for the small former mill town of Padiham, on the edge of Burnley, is likely to take over the office in a year's time after being chosen as deputy mayor this week.

The council has only parish status but Padiham retains the title of town and uses traditional civic regalia and the town hall to assert as much independence as it can against Burnley borough council.
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I'm expecting to see a lot of this low level work being taken on again over the next year - they've already gone back to taking up parish seats recently. They need some consolidation. And Griffin needs to start showing an interest again.
 
butchersapron - Yeah, looks like the BNP are picking up parish council seats (which are usually uncontested - mainly being of a local voluntary work basis etc role). They've been putting in candidates to stand in more than one parish council too (think that Griffin's daughter's husband is doing this). Do parish councils have any real power compared to "proper" councils? (This is something I admit to being somewhat ignorant on).

Pickman's model - Yes, I know. I bet Eddy Morrison (ex-BPP leader and current NF Directorate member) won't be pleased!
 
Just found out we've got a BNP standing near us in local. Not happy at all. UAF are demo-ing against it, but don't know whether I join them or do nothing at all.
 
Guardian giving free publicity to the BNP again over a member of theirs being nominated for Deputy Mayor of a town council, no plans for concentration camps apparantly.
 
Lets face it there is considerable support for any one who says that there should be less immigration.

It was interesting to hear Capello saying that in Italy there was a problem with too much African immigration recently.
 
MellySingsDoom said:
butchersapron - Yeah, looks like the BNP are picking up parish council seats (which are usually uncontested - mainly being of a local voluntary work basis etc role). They've been putting in candidates to stand in more than one parish council too (think that Griffin's daughter's husband is doing this). Do parish councils have any real power compared to "proper" councils? (This is something I admit to being somewhat ignorant on).
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Parish councils can (but not all do) exercise a fair bit of control over how parish money gets spent, and can (especially in rural situations) be a pretty good route into the local power structures. IIRC, myself, Butch and quite a few others mentioned that the BNP might try moving in this direction after some of the ward councillor cock-ups. It is certainly a good route into the kind of "respectability" that Griffin's BNP crave.

Still, I'm sure that HnH will mobilise their battalions of anti-fascists to go shout slogans at parish council meetings!
 
ViolentPanda said:
Parish councils can (but not all do) exercise a fair bit of control over how parish money gets spent, and can (especially in rural situations) be a pretty good route into the local power structures. IIRC, myself, Butch and quite a few others mentioned that the BNP might try moving in this direction after some of the ward councillor cock-ups. It is certainly a good route into the kind of "respectability" that Griffin's BNP crave.

Still, I'm sure that HnH will mobilise their battalions of anti-fascists to go shout slogans at parish council meetings!
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The BNP has been doing this for years, their whole strategy in Wales has long been to take up community council (our version of parish councils) seats. I'm not convinced it is a worthwhile strategy tbh.
 
Parish Councils are a bit pointless apart from the sheen of respectability (you can call yourself 'councillor' which implies people voted for you, even if often there's never been an election because nobody wants to do it) and the cash they can access.
 
The39thStep said:
Lets face it there is considerable support for any one who says that there should be less immigration.
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Yes, it's one of the ways Labour councils who are doing cuts to local services have been planning to get back voters from the Lib Dems in these local elections.
 
Proper Tidy said:
The BNP has been doing this for years, their whole strategy in Wales has long been to take up community council (our version of parish councils) seats. I'm not convinced it is a worthwhile strategy tbh.
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In England they've put much more effort into ward seats. The problem there being it requires the people that get elected to actually carry out a ward councillor's workload, and some of the BNP's councillors have proven to be unable to do so. Whether through laziness or stupidity, who knows?

Getting an "in" at parish council level though, it's very likely about putting a respectable gloss to the BNP image, especially if they don't stir anything up.
 
Sue said:
Parish Councils are a bit pointless apart from the sheen of respectability (you can call yourself 'councillor' which implies people voted for you, even if often there's never been an election because nobody wants to do it) and the cash they can access.
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I think that how pointless they are depends on where you are. I know the PC where my parents live in Noddlyland north Norfolk are very active, as are the neighbouring ones. They get involved with most issues important to the local community, from amenities to shooting the county council up the arse if the verges and ditches aren't cleared regularly, and to funding local projects.

Round here, in the big shitty, I haven't got a clue what the PC do
 
Are Parish councils not at meant to at least look apolitical? I've never seen anyone standing under any kind of party banner even when they're a party member.
 
ViolentPanda said:
In England they've put much more effort into ward seats. The problem there being it requires the people that get elected to actually carry out a ward councillor's workload, and some of the BNP's councillors have proven to be unable to do so.
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As have councillors of almost all other parties - we often hear about how poor BNP councillors are around attendance & understanding of council procedure etc.., but i've never seen any studies or evidence that suggests there is anything exceptional about BNP councillors in this regard, whether re attendance, performance or behaviour while carrying out a ward councillor's workload. There are some shit ones yes, but this is true of all parties, major & minor - so not something that is of any effective use in singling out and attacking the BNP about.
 
Sue said:
Are Parish councils not at meant to at least look apolitical? I've never seen anyone standing under any kind of party banner even when they're a party member.
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They're meant to be, but they're a great impromptu platform, especially if you actually do a good job (which on a parish council generally means doing what the locals want.

Then, when you want to move up the political food-chain, people will remember you, or when you canvass for your local fash-twat candidate people may (if they're a bit mad or bad) say "here, the BNP can't be that bad if old Bob is canvassing for them!".
 
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