BNP anyone?
 

I read that once again the BNP is considering contesting elections in Hyndburn,due to the 'strong support shown in Burnley by people from the Accrington area'
Have we really got to the state where there is a local demand for an extremist party or is it just political spin?:mad:

Re: BNP anyone?
 

I hope political spin, they wouldn't get my vote.

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The trouble is that there are people out there who will vote for them. When I was campaigning last year there were a few people who told me that they were waiting for the BNP to stand. Personally I find their tactics very alarming as on the surface they claim to be reasonable but in conversation you can tell just how extremist they are.

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"When I was campaigning last year there were a few people who told me that they were waiting for the BNP to stand. "


this is the frightening thing!

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I wasn't campaigning for the BNP. I'm as worried about them as you are.

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dont wory gayle you can always use shell or tesco or even asda for your petrol

oops sorry i thought you said BP not BNP :o

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Very bad news. I hope the voters of the area give 'em short shrift.

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I tend to feel that major parties dismissing them as 'extream' are not helping the problem.

I think the reason the BNP do so well is not because theres a lot of "extream racism" in places like Burnley but more people are "absolutely fed up of political correctness surrounding race".

I hope I have explained that well and people understand the two distinct differences I'm trying to put forward.

Major parties seem unable to stand up to vocal minorities, and vocal minorities seem to get their way, a LOT. So I can see where a lot of these 'BNP voters' are coming from. The BNP offer an alternative that most major parties don't, and most voters seem to overlook the fact that the BNP are mostly a major bunch of racists with much stronger agendas than their manifesto/policies suggests.

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If the so called popular Parties do not put the case for their party in an inteligent manner, and the minorities are not prepared to integrate into our society, there will always be room for alternative parties. So ignore the BNP at your peril. This is not an advert for these radicals, but a statement of fact as seen through my eyes.

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No thanks i'll stick with the party ive got at the minute.

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Only if I can lob bricks at em.

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think cyfr has summed this up very well, which is hard for me to understand! -a tory talking sense.:D

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Maybe that is because the minorities tend to reside close together and so form a majority within a Ward. If you want to be elected in those Ward's you have to do what they want.

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So we can all see the reason the BNP could have support.So as they see it ,it's worth a try.I just hope some of the trouble seen in Burnley and Oldham doesn't hitch a ride into town.

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well i wont be voting for anyone in may, all are useless!!

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My thoughts exactly.

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would agree panther, the problem being though if many think the same it opens the door for the BNP, if they put a candidate forward.;)

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I used to think like then. Then I decided if I did not vote for someone then I did not have the right to moan about them :D

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Ah, so that's why you voted the way you did - so you can complain now - I didn't realise you had a long term strategy.:D

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Gayle is quite right about the number of people who say that they will vote BNP. Last year I canvassed in most wards of Hyndburn and there are people in every ward who say they would vote BNP.
Cashman is quite right that the BNP could easily win a seat (if they put up a candidate) because of the apathy of the people who don't vote. I just wonder how the non voters would feel, if they woke up on the morning of May 4th and found they had a BNP Councillor.

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i honestly think the the BNP has come to the fore again in recent times, due to apathy, political correctness, etc, and this is more dangerous than ANY party,any voter does not like.:(

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The reason these fringe parties gain power, is the apathy of the voters, voting in my opinion should be like the census compulsory, as I think it is in Austrailia. If everyone exercised the right to vote, just maybe we would get the party in power we all crave for, and the ballanced policies that go with them.

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I find it hard to differentiate between the major parties.Before government they all tell us things they think will get them elected.
Then once in power..'ecconomic pressures'force them to abandon thier promises,or so they say.
But I agree apathy leaves the door open for fringe parties to gain control.

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unfortunatly claytonender i fear many of them would not give a monkeys.;)

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I wonder why, knowing that voter apathy opens the door to extremists, the mainstream parties do so little to counter voter apathy and disillusionment? Why are they content to sit back and spout the same old garbage year after year after year?

I do not think that it is right to discriminate against anyone purely on the basis of race, sex, class, sexuality or any other distinguishing characteristic. Neither do I think that preferment should be practised on the same grounds either- we are all subjects of the crown and are all equal before the law. It is just that one cannot quite dispell the sneaking feeling that there are certian sections of society that believe themselves to be more equal than others and political parties who are slavishly willing to pander to them for reasons that have more to do with grabbing and maintaining power than serving the interests of democracy and the electorate they purport to represent.

Should this non-voter wake up on May 4th and find himself represented on the council by a member of the BNP I would hazard the guess that I would be neither surprised nor disappointed. It would take a damn sight more than one political extremist to effect change of any sort where HBC is concerned.

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Thats it. I am too much of a gentleman to complain about a lady.

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I'm in agreement with A-b, main stream political parties should be looking at why there seems to be such a ground swell support for parties like the B.N.P.

People are tired, and to some extent frightened, at the way this and other governments have tackled issues such as immigration, and integration of the peoples who came into to this country in recent years.

Less time, pandering and patronising people, and more insistance on integration, would mean there would be less support for the more extremist political parties.

As much as I disagree with groups like the B.N.P., in a democracy they should be allowed a voice. However, I'll be using my democratic voice, and vote, not to give them my X, come election day.

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One big problem with modern parties at they are blinkered and focus on the target section of the voters they deem they need. Until they come to thir senses (fat chance) the more extreme politics will hover in the background ready to pounce.

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Looking back at history I suppose the early Labour party and its founders were looked on as extreme radicals by the Tory and Liberal ruling class of the day

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I disagree... there will always be times that voters swing and sway... in the depression of the early 30's grass roots voters where swaying towards the far left with communism...in the 70's in this country the support for the then National Front was pretty high..frequent marches and rallies..the BNP will always get support from disillusioned voters because they make things look so easy.. it's so easy and appealling to say the asians get this or the blacks get that and we get nothing!..they know this and are becoming a little bit more consumer aware.

thing is some people will vote for the BNP just to upset the apple cart, but I haven't noticed any BNP councillors in Burnley or anywhere making an impact on local issues.. because they are only interested in total control.
If all else fails and they get anywhere close to parliment the ONLY outcome they crave for is a National Facist State in which you will do as you are told.. wether you be white , black,chinese, polish,or anglo saxon is of no consequence.

If Accrington does wake up to a BNP council then it will not be a shock.. but more of an embarresment.

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Mancie, you've hit the nail right on the head there!

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You're half right. At that particularly unstable time in twentieth century, people were attracted to either end of political extremist spectrum, it wasn't just to the left. There was also a fully functioning, and relatively well supported fascist movement in the UK, under Mosely. Just as there was a flourishing British Communist movement, many of whom were dedicated enough to go off and fight in the Spanish Civil War.

It was even more precarious in the post Treaty of Versailles Germany. The country could just have easily fallen to the political right, as to Nazism.

When people feel frightened, extremists are always there offering what seem like sensible answers, and that is my fear about today's main stream parties, who are not giving the general public enough reassurance about things like immigration, and integration, etc.

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That is the point I disagree with.. there is no poliltical party, main stream or extremist that can reassure the public regarding immigration or integration.. what sort of reassurances can be given?..why should the voting public need to be reassured .. we are not little children tugging at mummy's skirt looking for help!... if the people of this country can't think for themselves, then of course it will end in disaster.
People are to ready to blame the rise of extremists on the main stream parties, it's just an excuse, just as it was in Germany in the 20's and 30's... oh well the other parties did not TELL us what to do so we voted for the party that did!

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Well how do you account for the rise of the B.N.P.? In their old incarnation as the National Front, they were just a few skin heads joshing and preening about, now there are umpteen B.N.P. councillors throughout the country. It's the same in France, which as N.F. members of parliament, and throughout Europe, extremist politics are on the up.

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I think all these nationalist parties are a reaction to globalization and a loss of local/regional control over their lives , wether its the Scots , Welsh , Irish or French Nationalists, all 'native' groups have a tribal instinct , seems the BNP is just playing on the same fears of the English.

Question , does the BNP have any support whatsoever in Scotland, Wales or Ulster ?

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To be honest I don't know. When I lived up there for three years, I certainly never saw, or heard anything about them, but as you say they already have their nationalist politics sewn up in the S.N.P.

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Northern Ireland - very much doubt it. Next time i speak to my cousins i'll ask them. Never heard of them over there mind you if they had stood how long do you think it would take for the knock on the door and come with me ........

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Last time I was over there appeared to be 2 national parties. One stuck union jacks up everywhere and painted lamp posts, curb stones etc red, white and blue. The other is a little more subtle and just stick up an orange flag on the way into the village or town.

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Maybe some of the apathy would be countered if the people we elected to run the borough were honest and told the truth......apologising when they cocked things up......letting us know what is going on.

this could be doubly true if the people running the country would do the same.
It seems to me that most politicians are in it for the money....they never emerge from politics poor.

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Also, maybe apathy would be countered if the local and national politicians LISTENED........I mean, really listened to the views of the electorate...and once in a while acted on those views.

I'm also fairly sure that if there was a system of proportional representation then parliament would show the true voting power of the people.
The current government were NOT voted into power by the majority of people in this country. The number of parties dilutes their ability to be elected and make a difference in the political face of the country.

None of the major parties has a leader that can be trusted....and so there is a temptation to vote for a radical or extreme party in an attempt to register a 'protest' vote.....to draw away from the main political parties.