INTRODUCTIONGriffin and the BNP dealt a hammer blow The best news of the election was the drubbing the Nazi BNP received at the ballot box. First came the shattering defeat of Nick Griffin in Barking and Dagenham constituency in East London. In the BNP’s number one target seat and one which they thought they could win, Griffin came third with 6,620 votes (14.6% of the vote). Labour’s Margaret Hodge won with 24,628 votes (54.3% of the vote). Then came the glorious news that the BNP had lost every single seat it held on Barking council.

This massive set back for the BNP was repeated around the country. It lost the large majority of the 31 council seats they were defending at these elections. They retained a seat in Pendle, but they lost the other 8 seats they stood for in the area. In Stoke, where Griffin bragged the BNP would take control of the council the BNP lost every seat including their three councillors up for re-election.

They now have just four councillors on Stoke council. In Burnley the BNP lost all ten seats they were standing in, including the one seat up for re-election. Again in Barnsley they failed to win any seats, and in Sandwell the BNP lost two sitting councillors. Over the last two months hundreds of Unite Against Fascism activists campaigned, leafleted and canvassed in Barking. Across the country millions UAF leaflets were distributed, in Barnsley over 8,000 people attended the Love Music Hate Racism carnival and our anti BNP advan toured the country.

But we must not be complacent. The BNP still got a worrying 563,743 votes across the country — and the combined vote of the BNP and UKIP was 1.6 million. The BNP are not going to disappear. The election setback for the BNP has seen tensions rise inside the organisation: there are a number of key members of the BNP calling for the head of Nick Griffin. There is also a strong possibility that sections of the BNP will be further drawn towards the racist street thugs of the English Defence League.Weyman Bennett (Joint Secretary UAF)

1. TESTIMONYMargaret Hodge MP “Unite Against Fascism was part of the winning strategy in Barking which focused on those areas where the BNP were strongest. Our emphatic victory on 6 May in the local and general elections is a reflection of the support we received from Unite Against Fascism who made a vital contribution to the campaign to drive the BNP out of Barking. UAF put in months of work that began before the elections. They knocked on thousands of doors and distributed many more leaflets. This helped to mobilise to beat the BNP and increase voter turnout which made such a difference in reducing the BNP’s vote.”

Peter Hain MP“The BNP’s Achilles heel is that they live in the Nazi hinterland. Labelling them as Nazis was a central factor in defeating the BNP. It’s great to see UAF organising like the Anti Nazi League” Sabby Dhalu (Joint Secretary UAF)

“The BNP has experienced its first defeat since electoral rise from the 2001 general election. It has lost 27 councillors - including 12 in Barking and Dagenham , held only 2 council seats and gained none. A big factor in the BNP’s defeat was the rise in voter turnout because the local elections coincided with the general election so the BNP’s vote was squeezed. However UAF’s role was crucial because the BNP suffered a setback in the its key target areas of Barking, Stoke and Dudley where the BNP’s vote was reduced from 2005 and UAF prioritised campaigning in these areas” 

2. THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGNUAF activists distributed millions leaflets across the country during the 2010 election campaign, including a generic “use your vote to stop the BNP” leaflet sponsored by the PCS union and a special schools leaflet sponsored and distributed in conjunction with the National Union of Teachers. UAF groups also produced many local leaflets.

These leaflets were sent to all major union branches and distributed to homes in BNP target areas including: Aberdeenshire, Barnsley, Bolton, Bristol, Burnley & Pendle, Cambridge, Cardiff, Chelmsford, Christchurch, Cleveleys, Colchester, Coventry, Derby, Essex, Exeter, Glasgow, Huddersfield, Hull, Ipswich, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Livingstone, London, Luton, Manchester, Oxford, Neath, Newcastle, Norfolk, Nottingham, Peterbrough, Portsmouth, Rotherham, Scunthorpe, Shirebrook, Stoke-on-Trent, Sussex, Swansea, Plymouth, Wigan, Wirral, Wolverhampton and York.

The BNP polled 514,819 nationwide. The party stood in 326 parliamentary seats, but saw its support inch up by only 1.83 percent. The BNP was comprehensively routed in the local elections. (See below)

3. BARKING & DAGENHAM CAMPAIGNUAF’s Barking & Dagenham campaign began in earnest the weekend before Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January with the first of many Days of Action. We produced a special leaflet that highlighted how the BNP are the heirs of Hitler and the Nazis.Throughout the course of the campaign we produced 20,000 “use your vote” posters and 10,000 “fight racism and fascism in the

Unite Against Fascism: Stopping the Nazi BNP in the 2010 elections

Hugh Lanning, deputy general secretary of the PCS union, hands out leaflets on UAF day of action in Barking and Dagenham

workplace” posters. We also produced thousands of anti-BNP badges and stickers, with slogans including “Never Again”, as well as special “Teachers against the Nazis”, “Students against the Nazis”, “Public service workers against the Nazis” badges and so on. These helped create a visible anti-fascist presence in the borough that raised the confidence of those who wanted to drive the BNP out of Barking & Dagenham.

UAF put out a specific leaflets in areas were the BNP had councillors. These pointed out that the BNP was a party of violence, pointing to its Nazi history, the racist bombmakers associated with the party and the thuggery meted out in its name. The impact of these leaflets was dramatic – BNP supporters who approached our canvassers indicated that the leaflet had spread uncertainty in their ranks. We believe this leaflet, distributed over three Days of Action, was crucial in shifting the debate from one of “immigration” and “immigrants” to one that questioned the legitimacy of the BNP as a democratic party.

The BNP revealed its violent face during the election campaign, even attempting to intimidate voters at polling stations. There were also attacks by BNP members and supporters on young people, anti-fascists and others involved in the campaign against them.

A crucial component of the UAF campaign was to engage with those who were tempted to vote BNP and challenge their arguments. Our canvassing teams knocked on every single door in Valence, Heath, Parsloes, Alibon, Mayesbrook, Goresbrook, Eastbury and Thames wards. Every house in the borough received at least one of our leaflets (apart from Chadwell Heath, Whalebone and Village wards). We estimate we had roughly 4,500 conversations on the doorstep. Our returns consistently showed a firm 60% majority of people against the BNP (though many were unsure of who to vote for). Many union branches across London twinned with days of action in Barking and brought members and friends to leaflet and canvass, including: Unsion LGBT members, Unison branches , PCS, CWU, UCU, NUJ, NUT members, ( Including Michelle Stanistreet Deputy General Secretary), that Hugh Lanning PCS Deputy General secretary spoke at several events, Steve Hart Unite the union joined the campaign. Dominic Bryne and Kevin Courtney joined teachers from across London. Mobilisation drew in UEL students, trade unionists, community activists, local members of faith communities, young students.  Over 500 local people of all backgrounds have joined the Barking & Dagenham UAF campaign over the past two months, by contacting our campaign, joining our mailing list, signing a petition or taking part a Day of Action. Many local people also took the initiative to leaflet their own roads and estates, places of worship and workplaces, in conjunction with Barking & Dagenham UAF. We also brought in hundreds of anti-fascist activists from across London and beyond to Barking & Dagenham to help with the campaign.

Thanks to the NUT we were able to hire an Advan that toured the borough with the slogan “Don’t vote Nazi BNP”

CAMPAIGN DIARY16 January Emergency protest against the Nazi BNP in

Barking & Dagenham24 January Around 200 people leafleting Alibon, Parsloes and

Goresbrook wards  6 February Leafleting Abbey and Gascoigne wards21 February Leafleting Valence, Mayesbrook and Becontree

wards13 March Around 100 people leafleting Eastbury and

Longbridge wards20 March Student Day of Action in Barking, plus campaign

stall with University of East London students28 March Day of Action sponsored by NUT – 160 people

canvassing Alibon, Parsloes and Valence wards9 April Leafleting of Barking & Dagenham mosques for

Friday prayers11 April Day of Action sponsored by PCS. 120 canvassing

in Mayesbrook and Goresbrook. Church leafleting. 17 April Love Music Hate Racism gig attended by 400

people22 April UAF battle bus around Barking & Dagenham25 April Supported by SERTUC.  200 canvassing

Goresbrook, Parsloes, Alibon, Mayesbrook and Gascoigne.

29 April PCS organised public meeting: “Love Public Services, Hate Racism”

2 May Some 150 people canvassing in Thames, River, Heath, Goresbrook. Church leafleting

4 May Leafleting morning and evening rush hours at Barking station

5 May 40 people leafleting in Becontree, Longbridge and Gascoigne, plus evening rush hour at Barking station.

On election day, Thursday 6 May, we had 70 UAF campaigners at polling stations in key wards. The BNP attempted to intimidate voters in Goresbrook, Eastbury, Mayesbrook, Alibon, Parsloes. We leafleted Barking and Dagenham Heathway stations at morning and evening rush hours, as well as leafleting local workplaces such as Jo Richardson secondary school (with the special NUT/UAF leaflet) and council workers on their lunch break.

We held two anti-BNP protests outside the general election count and council election count on Friday 7 May, as well as a victory stall in Barking town centre that saw dozens joining UAF. We plan to follow this up with a public meeting in Barking & Dagenham on Tuesday 18 May.

Battle Bus: The PCS union lent us its battle bus for one day. We used it to tour schools and colleges in the area as well as University of East London and Tower Hamlets College. The bus stopped to leaflet students and held a number of impromptu street meetings.

Love Music Hate Racism: The Love Music event in Barking Broadway Theatre attracted me 300 young people from Barking, Dagenham, Ilford and Romford. They were overwhelmingly young people who were below the voting age. Those who signed up were called by telephone and kept in touch with the campaign. We believe that this event helped to shape the rebellion against the BNP among young people and school students.

A final note of caution: While the BNP was wiped out at an electoral level, it still secured a total of 28,897 votes in the local elections. Nick Griffin pulled 6,620 votes (14.6%) on a 61.8% turnout in Barking constituency, while the BNP’s Michael Barnbrook polled 11.2% in Dagenham & Rainham on a 63.6% turnout – up from 4.4% in 2005.

Leaflets sponsored by the NUT and PCS were distributed to tens of thousands of households

4. STOKE-ON-TRENTIn the BNP’s “Jewel in the crown” in Stoke-on-Trent, the Nazis were hammered. This is highly significant in an area where the BNP have had a strong presence for a number of years, and where the EDL went on a racist rampage in January. BNP Deputy Leader Simon Darby failed to win the Stoke Central Parliamentary seat, coming fourth. The Fascists failed to win more council seats too — in fact they lost two, bringing their representation on Stoke Council down to five. A year ago, the BNP held nine seats and were poised to take control of the council.

In the Stoke anti-fascist campaign, Unite Against Fascism worked closely with North Staffordshire Campaign Against Racism & Fascism (NorSCARF). NorSCARF and UAF worked with trades unionists from Stoke Trades Council, PCS, NUT, UCU, UNISON and others. The UAF/NorSCARF campaign was highly visible in Stoke, it was clear that the thousands of highly effective NorSCARF/UAF leaflets delivered, which labelled the BNP as the Nazis they are, had a big impact. The leaflet quoted on the front page that ‘Former Stoke BNP Council Leader Alby Walker admits “the BNP has Nazi sympathies.”

The leaflet also highlighted Walker’s public statement that “there is a vein of Holocaust denial running through the BNP”. This was the basis of the campaign, and people recognised the significance of rejecting a Nazi party. UAF and NorSCARF members took part in a number of high-profile activities involving a broad base of campaigners - eg joining PCS members on the PCS “Make Your Vote Count” Battle Bus which toured and leafleted Stoke, creating a big impact.

Both NUT and PCS sponsored NorSCARF/UAF Days of Action. UAF groups travelled to join these and other activities from across the Midlands and the North West. UAF/NorSCARF worked with Staffordshire University Students Union to mobilise a higher turn-out than usual of the student vote. High-profile leafleting in the centre of Stoke received a highly positive response, showing that locals despise the BNP, rejecting them as fascists and Nazis.

Last year’s 20,000-strong LMHR Festival in Stoke must also be credited with helping to build an anti-racist/anti-BNP atmosphere, which has put pressure on the Nazis and played a part in them splitting. No-one is complacent in Stoke, activists are already planning campaigning work to stop the nazis at next year’s elections, (those holding seats are there for a year) and to kick them out of their “jewel in the crown” for once and for all.

Over 70 anti-fascists turned out for the Days of Action sponsored by the NUT — who mobilised many of their members. People travelled to help local campaigners in Stoke from Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster, Barrow, Sheffield, Birmingham, Walsall, Stafford, across the Midlands, and elsewhere.

Campaigners remembered the victims of the Nazi Holocaust by holding aloft balloons, each of which represented thousands of people killed by Hitler. This has increased significance in Stoke, with ex-BNP Council Group Leader Alby Walker publicly admitting that the there is “a vein of Holocaust denying within the BNP”. The leaflet which was distributed, produced jointly by NorSCARF and UAF, highlighted this and the fact that Walker has said that “the BNP has Nazi sympathies”.

Kevin Courtney, Deputy General Secretary of the NUT, travelled to Stoke to help with the campaigning. Kevin spoke to the group about the importance, and significance of, the forthcoming Barnsley Love Music Hate Racism Festival , which the NUT is backing. Campaigners met people who said they would vote BNP, and people who said they wouldn’t. With splits in the local Labour Party leading to rival candidates, it was vital that UAF supporters came to Stoke to prevent the BNP winning a

parliamentary seat or council seats.

The Day Of Action followed on from a highly successful protest, called at short notice, against Nick Griffin’s launch of the BNP’s national election manifesto in Stoke on Friday. Some 30 local people joined the demonstration - including trades unionists, students, pensioners and others. Anti-BNP War Veterans also took part in the protest. The Nazi bodyguards, who looked nervey throughout the demo, eventually bundled Griffin into a car, while the Fascist Leader was surrounded, chanted at, and chased out of Stoke. Other local Trades Unionists involved in the Stoke UAF/NorSCARF activities include members of Stoke Trades Council, UNISON and others. Stoke Trades Council organised a Workers’ Memorial event on Wednesday (28th April), which UAF/NorSCARF members attended. Speeches were made by MP Joan Walley, and by Parliamentary Candidate Tristram Hunt who criticised the BNP in his speech. As well as Sunday’s Day of Action, NorSCARF/UAF are continuing our campaigning every day/evening until after the elections. If you can help at any of these times too, please let Paul Jenkins from UAF know on

HUSTINGSUAF activists in Fleetwood and in Burnley prevented the Fascist BNP from attending Hustings events in those areas, after religious groups had invited the Fascists to attend. In both areas, UAF members held protests, and distributed UAF leaflets. In both areas the Fascists pulled out. The BNP admitted that they were not attending the Fleetwood Hustings because UAF were holding a protest, and in Burnley, where the Nazis had been invited to two events, the reason given for no BNP presence was that there had been “a death in the family”.

CAMPAIGN DIARY18 April NorSCARF/UAF Day of Action. 19 April leafleting, Tunstall.22 April leafleting Tunstall.24 April Stafford street stall.25 April NorSCARF/UAF Day of Action (Sponsored by

NUT).26 April UNISON meeting. PCS activities during day with

Mark Serwotka. PCS-sponsored Hustings event. 27 April Anti-racist play, Staffs University.28 April Workers’ Memorial Day Commemoration30 April Mosque leafleting.1 May Barnsley Love Music Hate Racism Festival4 May PCS Love Public Services Hate Racism event

5. OTHER ACTIVITYUAF produced special leafiest for trades union conferences, including the BNP and the NHS, the BNP’s attitude towards women, a LGBT leaflet, and a leaflet for the NUS conference on why we support the “No Platform” policy. UAF supporters organised several protests against the BNP in the run up to the election campaign.

Document produced by Unite Against Fascism, 10 May 2010

Exposing the BNP as Nazis in Barking and Stoke

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