11/04/05 With a general election date now set for 5 May, it is crucial that
the anti-racist majority of voters are mobilised to ensure the lowest possible
vote for the BNP.
The fascist BNP have already announced they will be standing in over 100 constituencies.
The reason for this is simple: they hope to benefit from the free mail shots
and party political broadcasts on television and radio, bringing their message
of hate into millions of homes. Their aim is not to get MPs elected - this
is not yet in their reach - but to build local bases in preparation for next
year's local elections. The higher their vote in any local area this year,
the more likely they will be to use this to build a local campaign, stirring
up racism and dividing communities.
Last June, the BNP was narrowly defeated from making the breakthrough they
crave onto the national political stage, coming close to winning seats in
the Greater London Authority and European Parliament. The campaign against
them stopped this from happening, but the results brought into focus the need
to mobilise the majority of the population against the BNP's race hate. For
more information click HERE.
It is still possible to drive the BNP back. The example of what happened in
Oldham is telling: At the last general election in 2001, the BNP received
its highest vote in Oldham with over 16% of the vote. Since then, as a result
of a campaign that was formed on the basis of unity between the trade union
movement, the local Asian communities and all those who opposed the BNP race
hate, not only the BNP didn't win a single seat in Oldham but also their share
of the vote was significantly reduced. This strategy was also applied successfully
in Millwall in 1993 and led to the resounding defeat of the BNP's Derek Beackon.
Time and time again, the importance of this alliance between the trade unions
and the black communities is proven in practice and this is what will make
a difference to the situation we are facing in Britain today. Either this
strategy is applied and the BNP is defeated, without having made a national
breakthrough which it needs to follow in the footsteps of fascists in the
rest of Europe or it is not followed, as the election of 4 BNP councillors
in Bradford has shown last June, and the BNP makes its breakthrough, with
the consequence of infinitely more difficult task of reversing that breakthrough.
This is the clear choice that the anti-racist, anti-fascist movement is facing
right now.
The National Assembly Against Racism believes that the only way to effectively
defeat fascism, which is still possible in Britain, is to form the alliances
that are the most powerful in opposing fascists. The strategy in Millwall
in 1993 and in Oldham since 2001 shows that it is effective in defeating the
BNP.