According to this website - www.londonpatriot.org - the BNP is aiming to find a candidate to stand in Hackney's Mayoral elections 2010.
The site is not officially BNP. In its "about us" section it says: "We are an independent site for London nationalists. We fully support and will promote the British National Party as we believe it is the only serious vehicle for the advancement of British Nationalism. However, any opinions expressed in posts or comments are those of the authors and not necessarily that of the British National Party."
I couldn't find any mention of the plan to stand in Hackney on the BNP's main website and I don't know if the BNP often stand in Hackney elections either.
According to Londonpatriot, a BNP spokesperson said the party needed money and candidates.
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Interesting, certainly the first time they have stood a candidate in Hackney this century.
ReplyDeleteThe ony thing I can dig up with a quick google is Valerie Tyndall (wife of former BNP fuhrer John) standing as a parliamentary candidate in Hackney South/Shoreditch in 1983.
John, thanks for that. I didn't know where to start to find that out.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the significance of this. My first thoughts are that the BNP standing in Hackney might raise temperatures - and possibly the turnout - and remove any complacency about community cohesion. But it will probably snuff out a lot of important political issues in the borough.
But may be I should have a more apocalyptic view.
Whilst they declare they are not an official site, that sire is very much a BNP site, run by activists in London and overseen by the BNP London organiser Bob Bailey
ReplyDeleteI think the significance is that it is a very different approach from (what appears to be) their core strategy. I.e. gaining support in council elections in places like Oldham or Barking.
ReplyDeleteI guess it may or may not happen (would you want to be a sponsor for the BNP in Hackney?) but either way it means that the election becomes more about race and anti-racism and less about other issues which are probably more relevant to the borough.
It should go without saying that they won't do well electorally here, so presumably the idea is to generate publicity and hysteria.
Thanks for the blog, by the way, I've been enjoying it.
Thanks for the comments - they are few and far between! I found a letter on Luke Akehurst's blog from a BNP officer resident in Hackney which might give a flavour of the BNP's hopes:
ReplyDeletehttp://lukeakehurst.blogspot.com/2008/11/more-correspondence-from-bnp.html