Do you want this racist representing you in Europe?

Original message at https://twitter.com/#!/nickgriffinmep/status/100135489859895296

We should not be complacent about the BNP failures

I like many was ecstatic to see Nick Griffin fail in his attempt to become the first BNP MP, in the seating of Barking.  And I though Margaret Hodge's acceptance speech was excellent:



It was also wonderful to see every BNP councillor in Barking lose their seat.  In total the BNP lost 22 council seats across the country.

We should however not be complacenet.  The BNP has increased their vote share nationally from 0.7% to 1.9%.  This is a massive increase in overall vote.  It is clear our job is not done and we must continue to work convincing the electorate that the BNP do not have any answer but hatred and bigotry.

What really happened at the Red, Whie & Blue festival

The News of the World rarely publish news worthy articles. But they actually carried out a responsible piece of investigative journalism by going undercover at the BNP's 'Red, White and Blue festival'.

They infiltrated the so-called family festival and captured images of Nazi salutes and a video of a 12 year old girl encouraged to carry out a mock execution on a golly doll.

Read the article at http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/465772/Angel-faced-racist-aged-12-Girl-burns-golly-at-BNP-fun-day.html

The event saw a protest of over 2000 anti-fascists organised by Unite Against Fascism.



Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism, said:

"This was a great day for anti-fascists. We brought more protesters to Codnor this year than the numbers the BNP managed to attract to its 'festival' of race hatred. They had fewer people attending this year because the protests drove away their softer supporters.

"Protesters also managed to cause real disruption to the event by making it difficult if not impossible for the BNP's supporters and guest speakers to get into the event.

"Today we saw what can happen when black and white, young and old, Muslim and Jew, gay and straight, come together in unity to fight the fascist BNP. We now need to build this anti-fascist movement in every locality where the Nazis are active – and drive the BNP out of town."

Not a good week to be from Yorkshire

If electing an English Democrat mayor on Thursday was not bad enough, we now have the racist BNP representing us in the European parliament. I am not going to make excuses for the people voting for them by saying they are disillusioned Labour voters, or protest voting. The people who vote in the BNP know exactly what they are and don't care. It is shameful that 9.8% of those who voted went for the BNP, that equates to over 3% of the Yorkshire electorate supporting racist policies.

What is more disappointing is that this election saw an increase in the Green vote of around 50% giving us a national share of 8.7% compared to the BNP's 6.5%. But despite this we have not seen an increase in MEP's. Green candidates and activists have put their all into campaigning over the past few months, and in some cases we have only narrowly lost out on sending some good candidates to the European parliament.

Let's hope that those who stayed at home on Thursday wake up with morning and feel as dismayed as we do and feel guilty for not voting. After all, fascism suceeds when good people do nothing.

This week I am ashamed to be a Yorkshireman.

Letter published in local press

• THERE is a lot of disillusionment with the main three UK political parties at the moment as a result of MPs’ expenses being published. Such disillusionment is understandable, and the record is no better in the European Union.

Many of you will be thinking about voting for a different party this time round and I urge you to vote for the Green Party, who have a proven record campaigning for democracy and transparency.

The Open Europe think-tank recently produced a league table based on MEPs’ commitment to promoting transparency and reform in the European Union, which rated Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas, along with an SNP MEP and an independent MEP, at the top of the UK list and joint tenth across Europe’s 785 MEPs. The same table also placed UKIP’s Yorkshire and Humberside MEP at number 405 and close to the bottom of the list of UK MEPs.

There is a credible alternative at the European Elections. I urge you not to remain at home on June 4, but to go out and vote Green and help us increase our number of MEPs.

The alternative is to allow the usual three tired parties to get back in or to have the likes of UKIP or the BNP representing you in Europe.

http://www.thepress.co.uk/news/analysis/readersletters/4398345.Election_too_vital_to_ignore/

BNP quote Porritt and the OPT

The BNP are now using the environment as a cover for their anti-immigration stance.

The most recent edition of their disgusting rag Voice of Freedom has Jonathan Porritt pictured on the cover and using his statements to try and add respectability to their policies.

This has always been the danger when environmental groups start calling for tough measures on population and immigration.

It is important we distance ourselves from such thinking. And I hope when Mr Porritt finds out that he is being used by the BNP that he issues a statement strongly distancing himself from their policies.

Back from conference

Finally back in York after a couple of days in Blackpool at conference. It was good to see the party taking a strong stand against the BNP and racism.

Peter Cranie's opening speech was inspiring and took a strong stand against the BNP. It is important that the Green Party strongly condemn the policies of the BNP, which is something we can do as we have the policies which are radically different than other parties who try and out do each other on who is willing to take the toughest line on immigration. By using slogans like 'British jobs for British workers' and agreeing that there is a problem with immigration is only adding fuel to xenophobia and racism.

I was also pleased to see Joseph Healy's migration motion passed bringing us in line with the European Green party policy.

I attended 3 fringes, the LGBT group's 'Homophobia in Easter Europe and the Green Response, Green Left's 'Expansion of NATO and the danger of a new Cold War in Europe' and the Trade Union group's 'Welfare rights and advice'. All three fringes had excellent speakers and promoted interesting debate.

Finally, thank you to everyone who voted for me in the SOC elections.

The BNP support the Optimum Population Trust

I've long felt that the Optimum Population Trust is an embarrassment to the UK Green movement. The OPT population policy is:

OPT POPULATION POLICY
OPT campaigns for policies to achieve environmentally sustainable population levels both globally and in the UK. The ecological issue is one of population numbers, resource demands and the environmental impacts created by different sizes of population at given levels of affluence and technology. For more details see the Fertility, Migration, Population policy projections, Briefings and submissions and other sections of this website. OPT recommends the following population policies:
# Globally, that full access to family planning should be provided to all those who do not have it, that couples should be encouraged voluntarily to "Stop at Two" children to lessen the impact of family size on the environment, and that this should be part of a holistic approach involving better education and equal rights for women.
# In the UK, that population should be allowed to stabilise and decrease by not less than 0.25% a year to an environmentally sustainable level, by bringing immigration into numerical balance with emigration, by making greater efforts to reduce teenage pregnancies, and by encouraging couples voluntarily to "Stop at Two" children.

Such a policy is completely immoral, as we should not be dictating how many children a couple can have, or even what the immigration levels for the country should be. Such policies belong on the far-right of politics and should be disowned by the Green movement.

You need look no further than the British National Party website to see what kind of support groups like the OPT attract.

Globalisation, over-consumption of resources and capitalism fuel our environmental problems, not the population levels and certainly not immigration.

Join the Anti-Optimum Population Trust group on Facebook.