Democracy and the far right threat

Thirty years since the huge Rock Against Racism gig in London's Victoria Park made a stand against the emergence of a far right challenge in the capital (then in the form of the openly fascist National Front), this weekend saw an event intended to demonstrate the unity of Londoners from all ethnic backgrounds against the politics of racism and division.  The message must go out across the city - use your vote in the Londonwide list on Thursday's elections to make it harder for the British National Party to make the 5% threshold needed to get them a seat on the Greater London Assembly.

There is a real danger of the BNP gaining a platform for their message of hate.  But at the same time, it is vital people understand that - even if the far right has no real presence in your locality - thanks to the proportional voting system, every registered elector in London has the chance to make their vote count. 

It is difficult to make direct comparisons between how the NF was crushed and the battle to combat the BNP today - not least because Nick Griffin is attempting to conceal their vicious agenda in order to appeal to voters wanting to register a protest.  The Economist claims that in the 70's "the far right was kept at bay by the electoral system", pointing to the NFs 5.3% share of the vote in the GLC elections of 1977, which was not sufficient to win them a seat under a First-Past-the-Post system.  Firstly, this misses the whole point of an electoral system - which does not exist to sweep uncomfortable minority opinions under the carpet but to give representation to candidates in line with the way votes were actually cast.

And, in any case, a "like-for-like" comparison can't be made like this - under the FPTP system in 1977, Labour voters in areas like Westminster, Wandsworth or Chelsea might well have concluded that their vote would've been wasted, and so not turned out. But under a PR system they still would still have an incentive.  The cumulative effect of such voters turning out would be a higher turnout, which would've made it harder for the BNP to meet a 5% threshold. 

Progressives and democrats should not bemoan the fairness of the voting system and hark back to systems which skew the way candidates are elected - we should concentrate on winning the arguments, giving a positive alternative and inspiring people to get out and use their votes for democratic parties that promote unity and mutual respect.

Vote Lib Dem get the BNP!

Slightly dated but staggering nonetheless. At a full meeting of Burnley Council on December 13th 2006 a position on a local regeneration board came up for renewal. When it came to the vote, there was a choice of only two candidates - a BNP Councillor or a Labour Councillor. The casting vote rested with the Lib Dem controlling group and they backed... the BNP councillor!

Indeed in a letter to the local paper the Lib Dem Councillor declared that in his view he backed the 'better candidate.' Really? A person who stands on a platform of bigotry, racism and prejudice is, in the view of Lib Dems, a 'better candidate' - what a stupid and ignorant statement.

You can imagine how pleased the halfwits over at the BNP are about this.

'Vote Lib Dem and get the BNP' - will this be featuring on the Lib Dem Focus leaflets in Burnley in May? Somehow I doubt it.

Cruddas is right about the BNP

Yesterday acquittal of the BNP’s Nick Griffin from charges of inciting racial hatred raises all sorts of questions about how progressive politics deals with the rise of the far-right in Britain. According to Gordon Brown we need to do “whatever we can to root it out (racial hatred) from whatever quarter it comes.” He is right of course. The question is how is this best achieved?

One way is to address some of the underlying causes that have resulted in many traditional Labour supporters taking refuge in the policies of the far-right. As people like Jon Cruddas have pointed out, one reason for the growing support for the BNP has been its ability to respond to and exploit genuine local grievances, such as the end of funding for a project in a white area in Mixenden, or the lack of affordable housing on the Isle of Dogs. Cruddas is right when he argues that the BNP is often successful in what he describes as the ‘forgotten’ white areas, areas where many traditional Labour supporters say that they feel alienated from modern political discourse and have long been of the view that no one in the Labour party is listening to them let alone concerned about them.

I think it is true to argue that all too often there is a lack of what might be described as a “safe space” for ordinary working people to air their feelings – they often struggle to find the language to say what they want without being thought of or even accused of being a racist. It is also true to say that the BNP often finds support in a context of significant problems: high unemployment, deprivation, lack of educational achievement, high crime rates, drugs, and people of different ethnic backgrounds living apparently separate lives which encourages the growth of myths and rumour. One leaflet used in the May local elections in Dagenham asked voters, “Are you concerned about the growth of Islam in Britain? Make May 4th referendum day.” It added, “Defend Our Christian Culture.”

It is sobering to remember that at these local elections back in May the BNP gained 11 seats in east London, 3 seats in Stoke-on-Trent and picked up enough elsewhere to hold 46 council seats in England. This of course follows the dramatic 2002 local election successes in the North of England and a 4.9 per cent showing in the Euro elections in 2004. For the first time ever in this country, an openly racist party has sustained the support of more than one in 20 British voters over several contests. I believe that the BNP is evidence of a new challenge in British politics. In the past the battle ground (sometimes literally) of left vs right politics centred on our inner-cities – this is no longer the case. The BNP has begun to develop a network of suburban supporters, people who are openly willing to admit not only to supporting a racist and bigoted political party but to doing so with pride and patriotic fervour.

So just exactly how should the progressive centre deal with the rise – however small and incremental – of the far right? Some areas, notably Oldham, have shown that a resolute and unrelenting local campaign led by the council, local MPs, religious and voluntary groups, businesses and the local media can help blunt the BNP’s message of despair and alienation. At the May local elections the BNP put up three candidates in Oldham. None was elected.

What is certain is that the advance of the BNP can be stopped — as the experience of some parts of the country has already shown — but it requires a united, cross-party, multi-racial, multi-faith effort, and most importantly an effective political strategy. The BNP is a fascist party and it is incumbent on any broad anti-fascist movement in this country to unite and lead the great majority of society who feel repulsed by the rise of such parties. The aim must be to defeat them before they come anywhere near influencing the national political agenda let alone achieving political power. This cannot be done without taking on, and defeating, their political arguments. Last year’s general election and this year’s local election results have confirmed the continuing rise of the BNP. However it also remains the fact that they have yet to make the kind of breakthrough into mass politics achieved by the far right in much of the rest of the Europe. However, if present trends continue, they will make that breakthrough and it will then be far more difficult to reverse than to stop it before it occurs. What Britain needs is a broad anti-fascist coalition, a new coalition of the willing. This broadest possible coalition against the BNP must be constructed nationally, regionally and locally. It needs to involve trade unions, black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, faith groups, lesbian and gay groups and every other community threatened by the rise of the far right.