BRITISH NATIONAL PARTY

A campaign has been launched in Denby village to stop a BNP festival which is expected to attract thousands of the group's supporters. RWB, or Red, White and Blue, is scheduled to take place on the weekend of August 4 and 5 but people living near the Codnor Denby Lane site fear the event could cause havoc. RWB is an annual event, which had, for the past four years, been held in Lancashire.

This year, it is scheduled to be held on 20 acres of land belonging Heanor and Loscoe parish councillor Alan Warner. Mr Warner defected to the BNP from the Conservative Party after being an Amber Valley borough councillor from 2002 to 2004. He was the first BNP candidate to take a seat in Derbyshire when he was appointed to Denby Parish Council after an uncontested election earlier this year. He said the festival would be entirely self-contained, with 60 BNP security guards to prevent people from getting too drunk or taking drugs.

Mr Warner said, "Previous events have been attended by 3,000 people but it might not be that many this time. There will be 30 toilets on the site and if people cause trouble I have told the organisers that I will call the police and they won't be able to hold the festival here again. I'm surprised at the reaction of people in the area. They are acting like thousands of Nazis are about descend on them. The BNP are not Nazis." The BNP's national press officer, Dr Phil Edwards, said that the festival was held as "a celebration of the culture of white Europeans". (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jul/07)

Organisers of the BNP festival in Denby say they intend to return on an annual basis. Some 2,500 people, including BNP leader Nick Griffin, attended the Red, White and Blue event. Police said there was no trouble, although they received seven complaints about noise coming from the site. Not one rampaging nazi skinhead in sight but residents who opposed the event in the first place say they will continue to object to future festivals. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Aug/07)

The Rev Ken Horleston, vicar for St Clement's Church in Horsley, has called for opposition to BNP plans to hold its annual festival in Derbyshire for the next two years. He said, "As far as my guilt is concerned, I did nothing to try and stop the Denby event taking place but now wish to make my opposition clear. If Red, White and Blue becomes an annual event I would like to think that not only I but others from the local area would let our voices of objection be heard."

He said the party stands for, among other things, an immediate end to immigration to the UK and the repatriation of Britain's non-whites to their countries of origin, and that the BNP's views on race and immigration went against the view, which was central to Christianity, that people should love one another. He added, "The bible calls on people to 'love thy neighbour' but the BNP's views are in violation of this. A person cannot be a practising Christian and vote for the BNP." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Sep/07)

The BNP is to fight for seats on Derby City Council for the first time and the move has appalled members of the city council, who claim the BNP is racist and will not gain any support in Derby. Conservative deputy city council leader Philip Hickson viewed the BNP's intentions for Derby with "horror" saying, "It's a racist party completely at odds with mainstream political activity and there's absolutely no hope for it in Derby."

Councillor Chris Williamson, the council's Labour group leader, added, "What the BNP has attempted to do in recent years is give a veneer of respectability. But the reality of its policies is outside what people in Derby would have any support for. Derby is a very tolerant city and I don't think it would have any truck with a vile right-wing party like this."

Derbyshire BNP organiser Sadie Graham said, "We're planning to field a number of candidates right across Derby and Amber Valley. We're not racist, all we're doing is standing up for the rights and wishes of British people who need a voice."

Leaders of Amber Valley's opposing political groups have united against the British National Party, which is fighting for seats in the borough. In a joint statement Amber Valley's Conservative group leader Councillor Alan Cox and Labour group leader Councillor Paul Jones say the BNP "preaches a message of racism, intolerance and brutality".

They say, "We deplore this use of the democratic system of this country by the BNP to force their policies on the decent people of Amber Valley. How can candidates of such a party make any impact on the services provided by Amber Valley Borough Council such as refuse collection, street cleaning, car parking and leisure facilities?"

"We would urge all voters in Amber Valley not to be taken in by the sweet talking of the BNP, but to vote for the party which can best deliver the services provided by the council at the lowest cost to the council tax payer."

The media's 'hate campaign' against the British National Party seems to have backfired somewhat by bestowing on the BNP a 'victim status' in the eyes of the public. Sympathy for the party has been stirred because of those never-ending queues of celebrities, unions and churches, all so eager to attack the BNP.

It has also been stimulated by the censoring of their broadcast, the non-delivery of their election address and the deluge of leaflets from organisations that have nothing to do with the election, but without exception all urge people not to vote for the British National Party.

These things taken all together have alerted the public that there might not be that much of a level playing field for these elections. Martin Wingfield, editor of the BNP newspaper Voice of Freedom, said he wasn't surprised at the British National Party's new victim status.

He said, "The media's campaign against the BNP has been over the top and I think the public are beginning to find it rather unpleasant. It's rather ironic that the media's campaign to deter voters from supporting the BNP is having the opposite effect, simply because they don't know when to stop."

A row erupted following a decision to allow the BNP to have a stall at the Vale of Glamorgan Show. Last year the BNP was allowed to have a stall for the first time in the event’s history. The party will again be setting up on the showground this year, alongside other political parties, including Labour, Conservative and Plaid Cymru. All three mainstream political parties have expressed concern the BNP has again been granted permission to set up a stall on the showground at Fonmon Castle Park, near Rhoose.

But show organisers say that the BNP is a legitimate, licensed political party and that if it was banned from the showground all other political parties would have to be banned too. Councillor Margaret Alexander, who is Labour leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council, will be hosting a “Business Brunch” at the authority’s marquee on the showground. She said, “I am not particularly happy at having to share the showground with the BNP. The Labour Party made representations last year that the BNP should not have a tent at the showground this year.”

Plaid Cymru AM Chris Franks, who is also a Vale of Glamorgan councillor, will be attending the show. He said, "Whether it is appropriate to have their stand at the show is questionable. The way they play on people's fear is totally abhorrent.” Councillor Michael Kemp, leader of the Conservative group on the Vale council, said, “I recognise that the BNP is a political party and as such has a right to be at the show but their views, and the fact that they will be promoting them at the show, concern me.”

Nicola Gibson, general secretary of the Vale of Glamorgan Show, said, “The Vale of Glamorgan Agricultural Society is a non-political organisation. If we allow one political party onto the showground, we have to allow them all. Similarly, if we banned the BNP we would have to ban all the other political parties. We did have a few complaints about the BNP tent at last year’s show from people who just don’t like them.” (Source: IC Wales, Aug/07)

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