BNP in my town!

[spartan]

The BNP are set to automatically get two seats on my local town council due to none of the other parties fielding candidates in those areas!

How is this Democracy when a party can get into town councils without even a contest from another party or candidate?

The BNP are also fielding another 6 candidates in my local area though they will be running in areas where other parties are fielding candidates as well so hopefully they wont win.

This has really pissed me off so does anyone have ideas for what i should do (If anything)?

[RedAnarchist]

Why is there no opposition to them?

[spartan]

Why is there no opposition to them?

Apparently none of the other parties were going to field candidates there becuase none of their rivals were, but then suddenly at the last moment the opportunistic BNP fielded two candidates for these two uncontested seats and are now set to win them without any contset.

This is a favoured tactic of the BNP as they can boast that they are gaining more councillors without actually telling us the circumstances of how these councillors got their seats.

[RedAnarchist]

Someone could run as an Independant. Only problem is you need something like £500 to run in an election adn if you don't win, you don't get it back.

[Unicorn]

This has really pissed me off so does anyone have ideas for what i should do (If anything)?
Join the Labour party and become a candidate yourself. :)

[RedAnarchist]

Join the Labour party and become a candidate yourself. :)

Why Labour? He may as well join Plaid Cymru or the Greens.

[Unicorn]

Why Labour? He may as well join Plaid Cymru or the Greens.
Probably would be the best party for getting enough votes to beat the BNP candidate.

[RedAnarchist]

As far as I know, Labour aren't too popular in Wales.

[spartan]

Some breaking news the BNP have secured a third automatic seat on the town council due to the withdrawal of the two only other candidates contesting the ward.

I dont know how many seats my town council has but if they carry on like this the BNP will have a significant voice in the local affairs of my community!

And yet again none of these councillors have been elected, so how is this Democracy when a bunch of racists are set to represent us without even a fair contest which would show whether or not they were wanted by the people?

[redSHARP]

i live in the US, but i feel for you guys in the UK. if their is anything we can do across the pond to battle the BNP, i'm in! for ideas, raise awareness to the locals, even if they get elected, they can be made into lameducks once people are aware. and god forbid, this plague spreads.

[Pirate turtle the 11th]

Orginise a anti BNP demo write in to the BBC and the like (even the shitty newspapers) with a story about how the BNP took power in your town.

[RedAnarchist]

I doubt the BBC will be much use. They seem to be oblivious to the true nature of the BNP.

And the shitty newspapers will just ignore you. They're far more interested in celebrities and footballers.

[Holden Caulfield]

there are 8 standing in my town, so i intend to poster the 'polling station' signs with anti BNP posters the night before polling opens,

also i am considering voting labour just to keep out the BNP as there is not one socialist candidate and low turnouts would favour these rascists thugs..

[redSHARP]

so if they are elected, what are you going to do then?

[Dr Mindbender]

The BNP are set to automatically get two seats on my local town council due to none of the other parties fielding candidates in those areas!

How is this Democracy when a party can get into town councils without even a contest from another party or candidate?

The BNP are also fielding another 6 candidates in my local area though they will be running in areas where other parties are fielding candidates as well so hopefully they wont win.

This has really pissed me off so does anyone have ideas for what i should do (If anything)?

Er, raise a £500 deposit and stand against them yourself?

:confused:

Sorry my area is in a similar fix. The BNP intend to stand here but I've little success in organising a group against it due to the amount of apathy.

[Colonello Buendia]

you need to organise a protest against them, write to the main political parties in the area and beg them to stand, get together some antifascists and do a protest against the councellors and go around the wards in which they're standing raising awareness so that the locals cann get involved.

[Holden Caulfield]

how illegal is fly posting them 'polling station' signs? im thinking maybe a night before attack with anti BNP posters in the wards where they have candidates..

any thoughts?

[Dr Mindbender]

how illegal is fly posting them 'polling station' signs? im thinking maybe a night before attack with anti BNP posters in the wards where they have candidates..

any thoughts?
flyposting anywhere is illegal but youre unlikely to get done for it . if the filth catch you they'll probably just confiscate your posters .

[Holden Caulfield]

you not recon they would kick up more of a fuss if i do it over the signs?
i suppose not getting caught by the fascists should be my main concern, what is a warning to getting your head kicked in eh?

[The Feral Underclass]

The BNP are set to automatically get two seats on my local town council due to none of the other parties fielding candidates in those areas!

How is this Democracy when a party can get into town councils without even a contest from another party or candidate?

Well, it's not democracy. It's a system designed to legitimaise the power of the ruling class.


The BNP are also fielding another 6 candidates in my local area though they will be running in areas where other parties are fielding candidates as well so hopefully they wont win.

Tackling the rise of fascism cannot be achieved at the ballot box. We can't rely on the electoral system to defend our communities. Fascism has to be challenged in the community by the dissemination of ideas to begin with, with an overall objective of the community actively preventing fascists from canvasing and organising in their area.


This has really pissed me off so does anyone have ideas for what i should do (If anything)?

There's not a great deal you can do on your own and you have to be careful, but leafleting peoples doors, although time consuming and dull, at least allows you to propagate anti-fascist ideas directly to people. How successful this is in terms of encouraging people to stay away from voting for the BNP I don't know, but it's a start and something you can do more easily. You can encourage your friends to help you and perhaps start a local group.

If this were possible then you must seek advice on how to go about doing this.

[RHIZOMES]

Fuck! Okay I suggest doing everything that has been suggested so far. I talked to a Liberal Democrat friend of mine (He's the President of the Lib Dem Society in a major University) about your dilemma to see what he thinks since he knows more about bourgeois-democracy than me. He said: "However he shouldn't worry too much, BNP councillors are shit. So shit. They never show up for meetings and if they do they never get any of their policies through. they will never own a whole council"

[redSHARP]

wow, that last statement made me feel really scared!

[The Feral Underclass]

Fuck! Okay I suggest doing everything that has been suggested so far. I talked to a Liberal Democrat friend of mine (He's the President of the Lib Dem Society in a major University) about your dilemma to see what he thinks since he knows more about bourgeois-democracy than me. He said: "However he shouldn't worry too much, BNP councillors are shit. So shit. They never show up for meetings and if they do they never get any of their policies through. they will never own a whole council"

Your Lib Dem is wrong. Regardless of the fact they don't do what they say they will, they are evidently getting more and more support.

[redSHARP]

ask him what he will do if they win. usually liberals are stumped at that question, and can win you a new convert.

[anti_fash]

Your Lib Dem is wrong. Regardless of the fact they don't do what they say they will, they are evidently getting more and more support.

Who now the British National Party?

[redSHARP]

how does the english election system work?

[Sugar Hill Kevis]

It doesn't :p

It's first past the post.

Though some elections are done via the list system (London Mayoral elections) and PR (european assembley elections and london assembley elections)... the devolved scottish and welsh assemblies run on the hybrid system if I'm correct...

The BNP recently won a seat on the Greater London Assembley...

[Guerrilla22]

Show up to city council meetings and shout them down every time one of them tries to speak. This is what Michigan State University students did when Nick Griffin was invited to speak by the student hate group young americans for freedom.

[StalinLeninMao]

Greetings Comrades

Though I don't live in the UK, I fucking hate the BNP. They are a bunch of no-good, motherfucking racists!!! The world would be a far better place without racist swine. We need unity, and not division! We all have different talents, and as a mass, I believe we are just about infinite in our talent. We need to cooperate with each other to build a better world. Thus, I do suggest that you take some action!

Maybe try running yourself, or maybe pressure someone you know to run? Even if you would suck in that position, or your friends would :-P Anything is better than those germs! Also, raise awareness! Bring up the crimes of their members. Especially the racial ones. For an example, bring up how Nick Griffin was arrested in I believe 1998 for inciting hatred against the Jews! Thats all I have for ideas comrade. Good luck!!!

[spartan]

A little update:

Two of the BNP councillors who were elected to my town council have left the BNP after someone vandalised their homes and cars spraypainting "BNP racist scum" all over them.

They will still serve as councillors but as independents so its a small victory for us.

Also they gained no seats on my county council (Conwy) which was of the more importance to me, and one of the councillors who left the BNP had to pay a fine after being caught speaking on his mobile phone whilst driving:lol:

[Andropov]

The BNP have targeted Northern Ireland for a major recruitment drive.
At the last 12th Of July they were canvassing and looking for support.

[Sasha]

are they back? i thought that after the recent infighting in the loyalist groups, the group that came out on top told the BNP to leave (or else...).

[Holden Caulfield]

The BNP recently won a seat on the Greater London Assembley...


partly because the socialist parties pissed around standing in the same areas

[Andropov]

are they back? i thought that after the recent infighting in the loyalist groups, the group that came out on top told the BNP to leave (or else...).
No, very much alive and well in the Sectarianism of the North.

[Sam_b]

partly because the socialist parties pissed around standing in the same areas

In most areas the combined total of the socialist parties was less than the BNP, and in some cases even the National Front.

[High Voltage]

I say that if they try to rise up again draw parallels between them and nazis to the people. It would be negative association that not many people could ignore because of Hitler's blitz. I'm not sure if it would work, but it's worth a try.

[Kami]

Yeah, reductio ad hitlerum them to hell, that'll be so much better than dealing with their arguments! I'm sure they won't shout "evil commie propaganda" at all.

[Revolutiondownunder]

Sounds pretty bad.

I dont know much about this sorta stuff since the racists and fascists in my country [Australia] dont seem to stand for election [aside from the ones in the main parties of course!], so normally I wouldnt have posted on this thread.

But something scared me as well, a group of bogan idiots at my school who are total racists have started putting up "BNP" graffitti.

Are they fascists now?:confused:

[redSHARP]

no just some dumb nazi punks. but keep an eye on them, do research, and start a network of people you can work with.