Who to vote for in local elections? BNP?

Question

Its our local elections & im not sure who to vote for. In the past i've voted for the Tories because my hubby does & he's quite a wise chap.This time i want to choose myself who to vote for.
We've had a lot of anti BNP leaflets throught he door, it seems some parties may be worried, especially as our town is quite racially divided, its the first time BNP has been on our turf for elections & i can imagine them being voted in.
I like their concept of visible policing, & sorting out the yobs by being tougher on crimes but they have been compared to Hitler in some literature i've recieved.
Whats your opinion on the BNP?

Ben H : Yes i can think for myself thanks very much but in previous years politics hasn't interested me one bit, in fact i found it boring, im getting old now ( 24 yrs) & am at home most days caring for my baby so i've noticed the literature coming through the door & instead of binning the lot, i have been reading it & i realise i do actually care about who's in control.

You idiot!

Answer 1

In my opinion, a vote for the BNP is a completely wasted vote. They are an extremist party on the margins of British politics who tend to get around 1% of the overall vote in elections.

The BNP have no policies that are in any way relevant to local government. All their policies are aimed at government on a national level, which realistically is something they can never hope to achieve, so voting for them in local elections is rather futile, and could be considered as little more than a protest vote. Even as a protest vote, the value in voting for the BNP is questionable, since they are very ineffective as a pressure group.

Almost all BNP councillors who have been elected, either have very poor attendance records and/or have been unable to take part effectively in local affairs due to an inability to understand how local government works.

I am always very surprised to hear disaffected Conservatives considering the BNP as a valid alternative.

Many of their policies are extremely right wing and authoritarian, e.g. reinstating the death penalty, flogging for petty crimes, holding entire families responsible for the crimes of individuals, return of National service, repatriation of all non-white immigrants going back three generations, e.t.c.

Some of their policies on the economy, on the other hand, tend to be very left wing and would seems to have more in common with the Socialist Workers Party than the Conservatives - setting up worker's cooperatives, anti-Global Capitalism stance, anti-free trade. Other BNP economic policies are very naieve to say th least. For instance they want to abolish income tax and claim they can pay for their entire programme by cutting foreign aid (a drop in the ocean compared to income tax revenue)

Their policies on international affairs are extremely isolationist - withdrawing from NATO and the Commonwealth as well as the EU and ending the UK/US special relationship (which they describe as "Britain's spineless subserviance to the USA").

Some of their other policies are either laughably unrealistic or very disturbing. For instance, they want to abolish the UK as a political state and reunite with the Republic of Ireland. Also they want to end the ban on private ownership of firearms and allow everybody who completes National service to keep an army assault rifle in their home. Those who don't complete it would be denied their right to vote.

Quite aside from their stated policies and manifesto commitments, they have racism written into their constitution, i.e. the BNP are "committed to stemming and reversing the tide of non-white immigration and to restoring, by legal changes, negotiation and consent the overwhelmingly white makeup of the British population that existed in Britain prior to 1948."

Also keep in mind that the BNP leadership have made many racist and anti-semitic statements (their leader Nick Griffin, has previous convictions for distributing ant-semitic literature), and no matter how hard they try to hide their real agenda behind their raft of policies - their words remain. The following quote from NIck Griffin (made to BNP activists in 2006) makes their true attitude clear:-

"We bang on about Islam. Why? Because to the ordinary public out there it's the thing they can understand. It's the thing the newspaper editors sell newspapers with. If we were to attack some other ethnic group — some people say we should attack the Jews ... But ... we've got to get to power......... the public would just think we were barking mad. They'd just think oh, you're attacking Jews just because you want to attack Jews. You're attacking this group of powerful Zionists just because you want to take poor Manny Cohen the tailor and shove him in a gas chamber."

It is also worth keeping in mind that a large number of other BNP members and supporters have had criminal convictions, including David Copeland who was responsible for the Brixton Nail bombings.

Finally, consider that Griffin recently described his opponents in the recent BNP leadership election as "Vermin" and “Hollywood Nazis, congenital losers and thieves”. If he himself uses such terminology to describe a large section of his own party, it seems that there may be some truth in the Nazi comparison made by anti-BNP campaigners.

Answer 2

I never thought I would see the day where I found myself agreeing with some of the BNP views but scarily enough I do. I don't agree with the skinhead 'aint no black in the union jack' mentality but I do think the UK needs to close the doors to all and sundry that seem to think they can turn up here for an easy life. We are a tiny island, already well populated. We do not need and cannot support extra people. Tony Blair once said we were needing immigrants with trades behind them. How about investing in our own youth and making apprenticeships more available and increase the incentives for employers to take on apprentices? I know one lad who was wanting to be a plumber and it took him months to find someone to take him on. He was a school leaver. Qualified now and earning a fortune which is a good thing! He will soon be paying 40% tax - that should boost the coffers! The point is we need to get back to basics. And it scares me that the BNP seem to be the only party offering it.

Answer 3

Hi Maria,

To tell you the truth the BNP are the average guy on the street, like all parties they have their share of idiots and believe me New Labour and the Tories have theirs to. It all depends on how you think. I think you don't have much choice if you care about who you are.

If the rest of the forum put you off you can always vote for United Kingdom Independent party UKIP.;

If you believe that immigration is out of hand; if you believe that Gordon Brown is denying us the right to have a say as to whether we should change our constitution by not allowing a referendum; If you believe in democracy and the right of the victims in crime then it is pointless looking at the three major parties.

If you live in an area where you can see your people dying and ethnic cleansing sliding in, there is little you can do but vote and if your concern is great enougth you have little option but to vote for a party that says it will try to reverse the rot.

The BNP and UKIP are our only hope, as you can see the
Socialist Workers Party is out in force today, you can tell them anywhere no arguments just ''The BNP are racist, Nazis etc. I am afraid just using this site as a SWP meeting site.

The BNP have good policies are a well run orginisation and have an excellent leader Nick Griffin. On the whole if you agree to vote BNP you will have made a wise choice. If the BNP and UKIP do not get the 50 to 60 seats between them that has been forcast then Gordon Brown will sell this country down the drain, in a nut shell the Native Britain will be lost. Vote BNP or UKIP and make a differance.

PS. If you are the Phantom SWP blogger that Space phantom and Sceptic keep on about, thanks for a great question.

Edit: Hi Space,

Space, I can see you still don't believe what your eyes show you. Which one of us is living in fantasy land; me with my eyes open or you, Sceptic and the rest of the gang with their eyes shut ? We will see ATB Red

CUL Red

Answer 4

The following information comes from the Times Guide to the Commons and summarises the BNP's election mainfesto for 2005.

They believe in the right of native peoples in the UK to self determination and would abolish the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, London Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly as well as leave the European Union. They also seek an end to immigration.

It is this last policy combined with their connection with extreme right wing gangs such as Combat 18 that has lead people to connect them to the Nazi Party of Germany (1933 - 1945). I am opposed to them myself and would suggest that you Google the following terms: "British National Party" + "arrests" to find why most people are also opposed to them.

Answer 5

I like some of their policies and not others.

I don't know what to think of them to be honest - their opponents say they are vile nazi thugs and their supporters say they will give British people back their pride and sort out the mess our country is in.

Living in a poor part of the UK (South Wales Valleys) which has always been a Labour stronghold I am wondering just what on earth Labour has done for the people round here because everyone's skint, theres high unemployment, homelessness and rampant crime and yet we're being told we're all "too lazy to work" (tell that to my other half who puts in 70 hours a week at minimum wage because he can't get a job in his field - Mechanics, or afford to retrain) and we need Polish people to do all the jobs we are "refusing" to do. Thats rubbish and an insult. People round here do all sorts of awful jobs - street cleaning, hospital cleaning, MaccyD's etc to make ends meet!! I have done so myself and I'm a graduate (no graduate jobs round here either!). Why should we then have to compete for these crappy jobs with people from overseas?!

I want someone who will make a change to this set of circumstances. I don't know if the BNP are the people to do it though. Some of their policies (like "Bring back the Death Penalty and Birching") just seem outlandish and stupid. But others such as their policies on immigration, asylum, education, training and housing make sense.

I'm on the fence about this one.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

I am not going to get into a political argument here but I what I would say is this: make your choice and live with the consequences which are likely to be horrific!

This country of hours would not be safer with the BNP in the driving seat.

Answer 8

Here's a quote from the BNP leader, Nick Griffin.

"Without the White race nothing matters [other right-wing parties] believe that the answer to the race question is integration and a futile attempt to create "Black Britons", while we affirm that non-Whites have no place here at all and will not rest until every last one has left our land."

You decide whether these are policies on race which you agree with. Be clear, if you vote BNP, this is what you are supporting.

Answer 9

A verz dodgz question. Rather than looking at their leaflets and policies I§d trz to find out more about the people who support them, perhaps go to a meeting and see if you have anzthing in common with their ground support. Usuallz pamphlets and such lie betraz aspirations rather than motivations. I think zou maz find out more about their motivations from their supporters. All the best...

Answer 10

At the moment none of the political parties have anyone worth voting for, give me a honest, truthful and trustworthy politician of any party and I would vote for him/her.The leaders of all the parties are as bent as corkscrews !