British National Party

British National Party
Leader	Nick Griffin
Deputy Chairman	Vacant
Founded	1982
Headquarters	PO Box 14 Welshpool SY21 0WE
Youth wing	Young BNP
Membership	14,032 [1]
Ideology	British nationalism Fascism[2][3][4][5][6][7] Right-wing populism[8][9] Third Position White nationalism[10][11][12] Euroscepticism
Political position	Far-right
European affiliation	Alliance of European National Movements[13]
European Parliament Group	Non-Inscrits
Official colours	Red, White, Blue
European Parliament	2 / 72
London Assembly	1 / 25
Local government[14][15]	28 / 21,871
Website
http://bnp.org.uk/
Politics of the United Kingdom Political parties Elections

The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982. The BNP restricted membership to people it referred to as "Indigenous Caucasian", effectively excluding non-whites, until 2009 when its constitution was challenged in the courts on grounds of racial discrimination.^[16][17] After a vote by members in a February 2010 extraordinary general meeting the BNP dropped this policy, with chairman Nick Griffin saying that it will now "accept anyone as a member providing they agree with us that this country should remain fundamentally British".^[18] The High Court has found that the new constitution is still "likely to commit unlawful acts".^[19]

The BNP seeks to restore the overwhelmingly white ethnicity of Britain that it says existed prior to 1948 through legal means, including "firm but voluntary incentives for immigrants and their descendants to return home",^[20] and the repeal of anti-discrimination legislation. It is ostracised by mainstream political parties in the UK.^[21]

In the 2005 general election, the BNP received 0.7% of the vote but had no candidates elected to Parliament. In the 2006 English local elections, the BNP doubled its number of seats in England. The BNP finished fifth in the 2008 London mayoral election with 5.2% of the vote and secured one of the London Assembly's 25 seats.^[22] They won their first county council seats in 2009^[23] together with two seats in the European Parliament.^[24] During the 2010 General Election the BNP received 1.9% of the vote, but failed to win any seats.^[25]

The BNP's media profile has increased under its current leader Nick Griffin, a former national organiser of the National Front.^[26]

History

Background, National Front outgrowth

National Front march from the 1970s. The movement from which the BNP would emerge by 1982.

The British National Party^{[note 1]} was founded in 1982 by John Tyndall, following a split within the National Front movement which had occurred two years previously.^[27] At its foundation, they were joined by a faction of the disintegrating British Movement led by Ray Hill. Tyndall had entered the National Front in 1967 with various members of the Greater Britain Movement and had become its chairman by the early 1970s.

The party also organised public marches in an attempt to further raise their profile amongst the electorate, though these marches sometimes led to violent clashes with political opponents.^[28] Left-wing groups set up the ANL campaign against the NF.^[28] After a poor showing at the 1979 general election, internal factional division heightened within the NF. This culminated in Tyndall leaving the party and chairman post in 1980,^[29] founding the New National Front, which became the BNP two years later.^[30]

Tyndall leadership, early years

According to Spearhead, the political magazine edited and produced by Tyndall, the split within the movement was not initially intended to be a permanent one.^[29] During the 1983 general election itself, the party fielded 53 candidates,^[31] enough to qualify for a televised party political broadcast. The broadcast featured chairman Tyndall, flanked by two British flags. The footage shown included images of the Brixton riot, one of the 1981 England riots during the early 1980s; in this case a violent riot between predominantly black local residents and the police.^{[32][note 2]} All candidates combined, the BNP achieved only 14,621 votes in the general election, marginally less than the NF's 27,065, who remained the most popular party of the far right.^[33]

It was revealed afterwards that Deputy Chairman of the party, Ray Hill, had been working as a mole on behalf of the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight.^[34] During the mid-1980s, the party began to develop friendly relations domestically, with organisations such as the NF Flag Group^{[note 3]} and, according to Barberis, the Federation of Conservative Students (a hard-edge faction of the Conservatives, soon disbanded).^[34] The BNP also made contacts on the continent, particularly with Flemish nationalists of the radical Odal Group, which succeeded the VMO.^[34] In 1986 Tyndall was imprisoned after being convicted of inciting racial hatred.^[36] While Tyndall was in prison he wrote the part-autobiographical, part-political The Eleventh Hour. Richard Edmonds was the de facto leader during this time.^[37]

Gains at local level, into the 1990s

A party banner associated with the BNP since the 1990s.

A report in The Sunday Times during 1988 revealed that Deputy Chairman of the party Richard Edmonds, was involved with a newspaper called the "Holocaust" News, published by the Centre for Historical Review.^[38] The publication claimed that the Holocaust as presented in state-sponsored accounts was an elaborate politically motivated hoax, instead it promoted various papers such as the Leuchter Report, the Ball Report and the Rudolf Expertise. The BNP mobilised 200 people for a Rights for Whites demonstration resulting in the 1989 Dewsbury race riot. The BNP claimed the demonstration was in support of white parents who withdrew their children from predominantly Muslim schools.^[39] Around this time, the party saw a popularity growth in east London and relocated its bookshop to a heavily fortified headquarters at Welling, south east London.^[40] At the 1992 general election, Tyndall and Lady Birdwood, were noted candidates who unsuccessfully stood for election.^[41][42]

Following on from this, the BNP with candidate Derek Beackon—a last minute replacement for Eddy Butler—won its first local council seat in 1993 from Labour, during a local-by election for the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.^[27] The seat was fought on a Rights for Whites basis, in which it was spuriously claimed black families were being favoured for local housing initiatives.^[34] In 1991, a security force made up of nationalists drawn from football casual firms was created to defend far-right activists, allegedly in response to a hammer attack at Kensington Library.^[43][44] The force firebombed the headquarters of Communist Party newspaper the Morning Star and by 1993 renounced democracy, transforming into Neo-Nazi^[45] paramilitary Combat 18.^[43] That same year, the BNP banned membership in the group^[41] and claimed it was MI5 infiltrated and "police-ran".^[46]{{#tag:ref|Nick Griffin who would later become BNP chairman, stated in Spearhead during 1999 that; members of Combat 18 had been a faction of the British Movement some years earlier, from which they were expelled, but never part of the BNP. He claims that "It has been known for some years that MI5 encouraged or even ordered the setting up of C18 in order to disrupt and discredit the BNP after its historic electoral success in Millwall in 1993" and also that The Observer confirmed the fact that Combat 18 was a state-sponsored 'honeytrap' right from the start (5/4/99)". It was revealed around this time that another Searchlight mole, Tim Hepple had infiltrated the BNP, proving controversial in far-left circles.^{[note 4]}

Political opponents claimed that "racist incidents" occurred around the BNP's headquarters at Welling and instigated a "close down the BNP" march in October 1993.^{[50][note 5]} Elements among the demonstration, linked to Militant and SWP rioted with the police,^[53] leading to frontpage news coverage.^[54] In 1995 Welling local council shutdown BNP headquarters.^[55] The same year relations were built up with William Luther Pierce's National Alliance from the United States.^[56] Nick Griffin joined the party in 1995 and Tyndall allowed him to edit Spearhead. Griffin stated in The Rune, that approved presentations of the Holocaust was a "mixture of Allied wartime propaganda, extremely profitable lie, and latter witch-hysteria".^[57] Consequently, the state prosecuted him under the Public Order Act at the instigation of Alex Carlile, a Liberal Democrat MP.^[58] During the 1997 general election, the ascent of New Labour, the BNP's highest results were in the East End of London and Canning Town.^[59]

Griffin leadership, identity nationalism

By 1999 there had been some internal realignments within the party. Griffin supported by the likes of Tony Lecomber, stood against Tyndall for leadership of the BNP in October.^[60] Griffin won and began "modernising" the party,^[60] changing the policy on non-European immigration from mandatory to voluntary repatriation and a move away from the Jewish Question focus, allowing them to stand for election.^[61] A new monthly newspaper, The Voice of Freedom, was initiated, as well as a journal Identity.^[60] During the 2001 general election, Oldham and Burnley polled highest for the BNP,^[62] a year in which riots occurred earlier.^[62] The BNP claimed in Freedom that "injustices" underpinned this in Oldham, such as the Home Improvement Grant issuing on average £3,509 to white families, while Pakistanis received £11,336.^[63] Following 9/11 the BNP made further political capital in this direction.^[64]

Nick Griffin, present chairman of the BNP and an elected Member of the European Parliament.

At local level the BNP continued to progressively improve their electoral results from 2002—03.^[65] Including a strong showing at the Stoke mayoral election,^[65] as well as local council victories in Blackburn, Calderdale and Burnley,^[65][66] despite an extensive opposition campaign by the local news media, trade unions, the Big Three parties and anti-fascists.^[65] Aired after the local, London and European elections of June 2004,^[67] the BBC and Searchlight created a documentary called The Secret Agent.^[67] The film featured Jason Gwynne infiltrating the BNP to create an expose. In it Griffin made comments critical of Islam and subsequently the state attempted to prosecute him and Mark Collett. After the documentary was broadcast Barclays Bank froze the party's accounts.^[68] The two were eventually acquitted of all charges by 2006.^[69] The BNP branded the BBC "cockroaches" and claimed it had abused a tax-payer funded institution for politicised ends.^[69] Following the 7/7 bombings in London, the BNP released fliers with the slogan; "maybe now it's time to start listening to the BNP."^[70] Griffin claimed it was the "cost of voting Labour",^[70] attacking the government for bringing the United Kingdom into an "illegal" Iraq War and for its immigration policies.^[70] YouGov claimed in 2006, that support for the party stood at up to 7%.^[71][72] Large gains were made in the 2006 local elections, where the BNP more than doubled its number of councillers,^[73] especially in former Labour heartlands.^[74] It became the second party on the Barking and Dagenham council.^[73]

The Guardian's infiltration

On 21 December 2006, The Guardian revealed that one of its journalists, Ian Cobain, had worked undercover in the BNP for seven months, and had become the party's central London organiser.^[75][76] Among the accusations made by the paper was that the BNP used "techniques of secrecy and deception ... in its attempt to conceal its activities and intentions from the public". It asserted that the BNP operated with a "network of false identities" and organised rendezvous points to allow members to be directed to "clandestine meetings" elsewhere. Members of the party were directed to avoid "any racist or anti-semitic language in public". Cobain also claimed that the membership in central London had expanded beyond the party's traditional range, now including "dozens of company directors, computing entrepreneurs, bankers and estate agents, and a handful of teachers".^[75]

In the aftermath of The Guardian's report, the campaign group Unite Against Fascism called for the 'BNP ballerina' Simone Clarke to be dismissed from the English National Ballet, with UAF vice-chair Weyman Bennett claiming her views on immigration were "incompatible with a leading arts institution such as the English National Ballet" and that she had "used her position to support a party which fosters division".^[77] However, Clarke defended her personal political opinion, stating that "the BNP is the only party to take a stand [against immigration]".^[77]

The BNP was investigated by the Electoral Commission on 12 April 2007 after The Guardian revealed that senior figures in the BNP had set up a front organisation in an attempt to raise money from sympathisers in the United States.^[78]

2007 split

Terry Farr, a councillor in Epping, resigned to spend more time developing his business after a suspension for writing abusive letters to Trevor Phillips.^[79][80] In October 2007, James Lloyd, a BNP councillor, was disqualified from Sandwell Council for not attending a single meeting in a six month period.^[81]

In December 2007, an internal dispute led to the resignation or expulsion of more than 60 of the party's local and national officials.

Several of its leading officials, including Councillor Sadie Graham and Kenny Smith (Head of Administration), had pressed for some months for the expulsion of three other senior officials—John Walker (National Treasurer), Dave Hannam (Deputy Treasurer) and Mark Collett (Director of Publicity)—who they accused of having brought the BNP into disrepute (the BNP later accused Graham and Smith of being "far left" infiltrators.^[82]) In December, frustrated by the failure of disciplinary proceedings, Graham and Smith launched a blog called "enoughisenoughnick" detailing their complaints against the trio.^[83] In response, Graham and Smith were swiftly dismissed from their positions by Nick Griffin. During the dispute which followed, members of BNP Security seized a computer from Graham's home; Griffin claimed that they were recovering party property, while Graham claimed that it was her own.

A large number of BNP officials then resigned in support of Smith and Graham or were expelled. These included the head of the Young BNP,^[84] the head of BNP Security Training, the National Fundraiser Bev Scott, the head of the party's merchandising operation Excalibur, the editor of the party's website and 5 out of the 13 regional committees of the BNP. The leadership of the BNP asserted that the significance of the dispute was exaggerated and that it would quickly blow over.^[85][86] In late December 2007, the dissidents began to refer to themselves as the "Real BNP". They claimed that they would stay within the BNP and campaign for a change of leaders.

In January 2008 the group launched a new website called "Voice of Change—A New Dawn For the British National Party", announcing that "Voice of Change is an umbrella group to assist candidates who wish to stand as independent nationalists in the local elections in May 2008 and in any local by-elections throughout the year." They aim to challenge Nick Griffin's leadership, calling him "tyrannical", "arrogant" and stating that he is surrounded by "yes men". They did not directly disclose any policy differences with Griffin.^[84]

The internal democracy of the BNP has been criticised by members for giving too much power to the Chairman and for not being widely available for the membership to consult.^[87] In 2007 a leadership challenge to Griffin by Colin Auty and previously by Colin Jackson resulted in resignations and expulsions of their supporters and 67 senior activists including many councillors resigning the whip after Councillor Nina Brown claimed that BNP Security had misled her into giving them the key to the home of fellow BNP councillor Sadie Graham in order to ransack it, searching for evidence of her support for Auty's leadership bid.^[88]

In September 2007, Robin Evans, a BNP councillor in Blackburn, walked out of the party, then wrote a letter to his former colleagues denouncing it as a party of drug-dealers and football hooligans. Evans remains a councillor, describing himself as a "national socialist".^[89]

Another, BNP councillor, Maureen Stowe, in Burnley left the party after being repelled by its racist nature. She told the Guardian. "I became a BNP councillor, like most people who voted for me, by believing their lies".^[90]

2008 membership list leak

On 18 November 2008, a membership list was leaked in breach of a court injunction^[91] and published on WikiLeaks. It contains details of more than 10,000 members,^[91][92] with the names, home addresses and sometimes telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of BNP members including senior party officials, people aged under 18 (as parts of family membership), teachers, doctors, serving and former members of the military, police and prison officers (since 2004, police officers have faced dismissal if found to be members of the BNP),^[91] civil servants and members of the clergy, as well as people asking for discretion, due to employment concerns.^[93] At least one of those named had already disavowed his membership.^[94] The BNP-backed trade union Solidarity has stated that anyone concerned that they will be victimised at work on account of appearing on the list will receive immediate protection upon joining. It has condemned those who are seeking to encourage such harassment and warned bosses that they will face immediate action if they act in breach of human rights and/or employment law.^[95] Nick Griffin has claimed that any party member dismissed from employment will be able to receive substantial compensation,^[96] although this has not been the case in any previous court cases. The BNP advised those named on the list to deny their membership and said that they would confirm that in writing if required.^[97] The BNP claimed it contained the names of persons who had never been members of the BNP.^[91] Lee Barnes claimed that the list had been tampered with and that it was false.^[98]

People affected by the disclosure include a DJ, Rod Lucas, who was dropped by the Talksport radio station. He defended his membership as being part of his research, saying that "I am an investigative radio journalist and am a member of over 20 political parties and pressure groups... It doesn't necessarily mean I agree with their views."^[99] A drama teacher at a prep school whose name was found on the list was revealed to have been a presenter in BNP videos and to have lectured BNP activists in public speaking, and had been dismissed from a previous position as a result of her BNP membership.^[100]

Following an investigation by Welsh police and the Information Commissioner's Office, two people in Nottinghamshire were arrested in December 2008 for breach of the Data Protection Act concerning the leak.^[101] These were later revealed to be 37-year-old Matthew Single (an unemployed engineer) and his 30-year-old wife Sadie Graham-Single, of Brinsley, Nottinghamshire.^[102] The former was charged, convicted and fined £200, and was ordered to pay £100 towards the cost of prosecution. The latter had all charges dropped completely. The judge himself said it was "ridiculous" that he could only fine people for such a serious crime, adding: "It came as a surprise to me, as it will to many members of the party, that to do something as foolish and as criminally dangerous as you did will only incur a financial penalty."^[103]

The leniency of the fine itself was a reflection of the fact that Single was on government benefits but was criticised at the time both by a BNP spokesman (who described it as "an absolute disgrace") and by a detective sergeant (who said he was "disappointed" with the outcome).^[102] In the days that followed, the Information Commissioner Christopher Graham described the penalties for breaches of the Data Protection Act as "pathetic", and announced his intention to allow judges to impose tougher penalties.^[103]

British Army immigrant issue

The BNP is opposed to allowing British Army Gurkhas the right of settlement in the United Kingdom. On 12 May 2009, in a radio broadcast on BBC's Five Live, Griffin told presenter Nicky Campbell that on the issue of allowing retired Gurkhas the right to settle in Britain: "We don't think the most overcrowded country in Europe, can realistically say, 'Look, you can all come and all your relatives.'" Griffin went on to say, "When the Gurkhas signed up—frankly as mercenaries—they expected a pension which would allow them to live well in their own country."^[104][105] Later in the month, Nick Griffin told Sky News if he could swap 100,000 al Qaeda-supporting Muslims for the Gurkhas it "would be a good exchange".^[106]

There has been controversy concerning a statement to the newspaper The Sun by actress Joanna Lumley, condemning a leaflet which had allegedly been distributed by BNP candidate Adam Walker with a picture of a dead Gurkha soldier crossed out and attacking her campaign for settlement. Both Walker and the BNP have condemned this as a forgery, and the BNP have published a statement they attribute to Lumley and the Gurkha Justice Campaign, retracting the criticism.^[107] The Sun later retracted the allegation and accepted that neither the BNP nor Walker were responsible for the leaflet.^[108]

On 17 May 2009, The Daily Telegraph wrote that the BNP's leader, Nick Griffin, had branded Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry VC, a black Grenada-born British Army recipient of the Victoria Cross an "immigrant" whose bravery was simply "routine". The Telegraph alleged that the BNP website called Beharry VC's award of the Victoria Cross "positive discrimination by the PC-mad government".^[109] Beharry was awarded his Victoria Cross in 2005 for action in Iraq, when he returned to his burning armoured personnel carrier three times, under sustained enemy fire, to lift out his wounded comrades from the vehicle.^[110] The BNP has denied some of these allegations.^[111]

Question Time appearance

Following the BNP's performance in the 2009 European elections, the BBC controversially changed their policy on the BNP and invited Griffin onto the 22 October 2009 edition of Question Time.

BNP and theatre

In March 2010, A Day at the Racists by Anders Lustgarten received its world premiere at the Finborough Theatre. The play deals directly with the rise of the BNP in Barking and questions New Labour's apparent responsibility for this in its abandonment of the white working class. The play received widespread press coverage, including an article in The Independent which reported on a wave of shows putting anti-BNP politics on the stage.^[112]

2010 Leadership challenge

Following the 2010 General Election, Nick Griffin announced that he would step down as leader in 2013.^[113] This move was interpreted as an attempt to stave off a leadership challenge,^[113] however Griffin has been challenged for the leadership by 3 candidates: Derek Adams, Richard Barnbrook and Eddy Butler.^[114]

Structure

The chairman of the BNP has final say in all policy matters.^[115] There are then fifteen further members of the 'party leadership', who have responsibility for various areas of its operations. These executive positions work alongside the Advisory Council, the party's senior policy body. This group meets at least three times a year. Its role is to "inspect the party's accounts, ensuring proper conduct of the party's finances, and to act as a forum for the party's leadership to discuss vital issues and carve out the party's agenda".^[116] The Trafalgar Club is the party's fundraising arm.^[117]

The party is organised on a regional basis, with 12 regions, based upon the European Parliament constituencies within the UK,^[116] each with an organiser.^[118] The party also organises four groups that deal with specific areas of activity i.e. Land and People (which deals with rural affairs), Pensioners' Awareness Group, the Friends of European Nationalism (a New Zealand-based organisation) and the Ethnic Liaison Committee, which co-ordinates work with non-whites.^[119] The BNP also has 16 specifically defined party officials, with the current holders of the major offices being as follows:

• Chairman – Nick Griffin
• Deputy Chairman – Vacant
• Director of Administration – vacant
• National Treasurer – Simon Darby
• Legal Director – vacant
• Editor of Identity – John Bean
• Editor of Voice of Freedom – Martin Wingfield
• Head of Publicity – Vacant
• Head of Young BNP – John Salvage

In addition Arthur Kemp is head of the BNP's education and training department^[120] and editor of the BNP's website.^[121]

Policies

Economic policy

The economic policy of the party has developed over time. From the 1990s the party reflected protectionism and economic nationalism, although in comparison with other radical nationalist parties, the BNP focuses less on corporatism.^[122] The BNP would prefer economics to be driven by the interests of the nation and state, rather than the other way around.^[122] It has called for British ownership of its own industries and resources as well as the "subordination of the power of the City to the power of the government".^[122] It has also promoted the regeneration of farming in the United Kingdom, with the object of achieving maximum self-sufficiency in food production.^[122] Presently the United Kingdom is the fifth highest donor of foreign aid—the BNP has advocated ending this to greater aid the needy at home and finance immigrants who volunteer to be repatriated.^[122]

In 2002, the party criticised corporatism due to the "mixture of big capitalism and state control", claiming to be more favourable to the "distributionist tradition established by home-grown thinkers" favouring small, privately owned business.^[60] In its 2005 manifesto, the BNP declared its opposition to "globalism, international socialism, laissez-faire capitalism and economic liberalism".^[123] The BNP rejects the notion of Thatcherism and "submitting to the dictates of the international marketplace" which "has no loyalty to this country".^[123] The BNP has claimed that it is possible for a national economy to thrive outside of the laissez-faire model, pointing to 21st century examples such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore.^[123] In the manifesto the BNP claims that while immigration increases the aggregate GNP due to providing cheap labour, it decreases the per-capita GNP—the latter of which the BNP claims, as economic nationalists, is most representative of the economic well-being of British people and the figure they would strive to improve.^[123]

The manifesto states that the United Kingdom has a much higher level of economic inequality between rich and poor, when compared to neighbouring first world countries. Though the party has recognised "old-style socialist methods" of simply taxing income away from the rich "turned out to have harmful effects", it would instead seek "non-destructive means to reduce income inequality".^[123] Central to the BNP's economic policies are greater share ownership and the establishment of worker co-operatives. The party advocates the provision of extra resources for "especially gifted children" and the reversal of closures of special needs schools.^[123] It has proposed that repossessed homes should become council houses, to prevent these being sold off cheaply to undercut private sellers, and to provide housing for those who need it.^[124] It has been supported by nationalist trade union Solidarity.^[125] The BNP has also sought to make Peak oil and alternative energy an issue in an attempt to broaden its appeal.^[126]

Social and cultural policy

The BNP proposes to reintroduce corporal punishment, and to make capital punishment available for paedophiles, terrorists and murderers.^[123] In addition to increasing military defence spending, the BNP plans to reintroduce compulsory national service. The BNP proposes that men should keep a rifle and ammunition in their homes.^[123] It proposes "to end the conflict in Ireland by welcoming Eire [sic] as well as Ulster as equal partners in a federation of the nations of the British Isles".^[127]

The party supports animal welfare (such as the banning of Halal and Kosher slaughtering and the phasing out of factory farming) and environmental policies, supporting Greenpeace in its fight against Japanese whaling ships and the RSPCA's campaign against the docking of dogs' tails.^[128]

Racial and immigration policies

At its founding, the BNP was explicitly racist. In October 1990, the BNP was described by the European Parliament's committee on racism and xenophobia as an "openly Nazi party ... whose leadership have serious criminal convictions [sic]".^[129] When asked in 1993 if the BNP was racist, its deputy leader Richard Edmonds said, "We are 100 per cent racist, yes".^[129] Founder John Tyndall proclaimed that "Mein Kampf is my bible".^[130] When Nick Griffin became chairman in 1999, the party began to change its stance with regard to racial issues. Griffin claims to have repudiated racism, instead espousing what he calls "ethno-nationalism". He claims that his core ideology is "concern for the well-being of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish ethnic nations that compose the United Kingdom".

When asked about the BNP's position towards Jews in the 1992 General election manifesto, it responded:

The simple answer is that we have no quarrel with the ordinary Jew who goes about his own business and does not attempt to influence national affairs in the interests of his racial group. We do have a quarrel with certain Jews, in particular Zionists, whose activities in pursuit of the interests of their own co-racialists here and around the world can sometimes bring them into conflict with British interests. We are especially opposed to those Jews who place their allegiance to Zionism, and to the state of Israel, above any allegiance to Britain...We believe it wrong for Jews to be attacked merely because they are Jewish. Equally, however, we believe it wrong for Jews to be immune from all criticism merely because they are Jewish. There are some in our society who actually would approve of such immunity on the party of the Jews, and we believe that to be dangerous.^[131]

The BNP's constitution required that all members must be members of the "Indigenous Caucasian" racial group. Despite changes the courts have ruled that membership must stay closed until the constitution complies with the Race Relations Act ^[132] The party does not regard non-white people as being British, even if they have been born in the UK and are naturalised British citizens. Instead, Griffin has stated that "non-Europeans who stay", while protected by British law, "will be regarded as permanent guests".^[133]

The party has stated that it does not consider the Jewish, Hindu or Sikh religions to have a significantly detrimental or threatening effect, having several members with Jewish ancestry, but does not accept practising Sikhs or Hindus as culturally or ethnically British.^[134] In pursuit of the policy, the BNP has previously worked with extremists from the Sikh and Hindu communities in an anti-Islamic campaign^[135] and actively tried to win Jewish votes.^[136]

The BNP is opposed to mixed-race relationships on the stated ground that racial differences must be preserved; the party said that "when whites take partners from other ethnic groups, a white family line that stretches back into deep pre-history is destroyed."^[137] Nick Griffin stated: "...while the BNP is not racist, it must not become multi-racist either. Our fundamental determination to secure a future for white children is restated, and an area of uncertainty is addressed and a position which is both principled and politically realistic is firmly established. We don't hate anyone, especially the mixed race children who are the most tragic victims of enforced multi-racism, but that does not mean that we accept miscegenation as moral or normal. We do not and we never will".^[133]

The party did however have a half-Turkish Cypriot, half-English councillor in Lawrence Rustem.^[138][139] In 2006, Sharif Abdel Gawad, a grandson of an Armenian refugee (also of partial Greek ancestry), was chosen as a council candidate in Bradford. Sharon Ebanks, the BNP's first councillor in Birmingham, has denied claims made by her stepmother, Glenys, that Sharon is mixed race; her black father, Radwell Ebanks, having been born in Jamaica.^[140] BNP member Simone Clarke has a mixed-race daughter by a Cuban-Chinese dancer.^[141]

The BNP supported University of Leeds lecturer Dr. Frank Ellis, who was suspended from his post after stating that the Bell Curve theory "has demonstrated to me beyond any reasonable doubt there is a persistent gap in average black and white average intelligence".^[142][143] Ellis called the BNP "a bit too socialist" for his liking and described himself as "an unrepentant Powellite" who would support "humane" repatriation.^[144] In April 2006, Sky News confronted the party's national press officer, Phil Edwards (it has been claimed that this is a pseudonym for Stuart Russell^[145]) with a tape of a telephone conversation the previous year. On the tape, Edwards could be heard to say that "the black kids are going to grow up dysfunctional, low IQ, low achievers that drain our welfare benefits and the prison system and probably go and mug you."^[146] He responded: "If I thought I was going to be recorded ... I would not have used such intemperate language, but let’s be honest about it, the facts are there".^[147]

Criticism of Islam

The party states that "The BNP has moved on in recent years, casting off the leg-irons of conspiracy theories and the thinly veiled anti-semitism which has held this party back for two decades. The real enemies of the British people are home grown Anglo-Saxon Celtic liberal-leftists ... and the Crescent Horde—the endless wave of Islamics who are flocking to our shores to bring our island nations into the embrace of their barbaric desert religion".^[61]

Consequently, the party has shifted allegiance in conflicts involving Israel. Its head of legal affairs, Lee Barnes, wrote on the party's website about the 2006 Lebanon War: "As a Nationalist I can say that I support Israel 100% in their dispute with Hezbollah. In fact, I hope they wipe Hezbollah off the Lebanese map and bomb them until they leave large greasy craters in the cities where their Islamic extremist cantons of terror once stood."^[148] In an appearance on BBC Question Time in October 2009, Griffin stated: "I have brought the British National party from the frankly an anti-semitic and racist organisation, into the only party which in the clashes between Israel and Gaza supported Israel's right to deal with Hamas terrorists."^[149]

Nick Griffin has made it clear that this shift in emphasis is designed to increase the party's appeal. On one occasion, he stated, "We should be positioning ourselves to take advantage for our own political ends of the growing wave of public hostility to Islam currently being whipped up by the mass media".^[150] In a speech to local party activists in Burnley in March 2006, he said:

We bang on about Islam. Why? Because to the ordinary public out there it's the thing they can understand. It's the thing the newspaper editors sell newspapers with. If we were to attack some other ethnic group—some people say we should attack the Jews... But ... we've got to get to power. And if that was an issue we chose to bang on about when the press don't talk about it ... the public would just think we were barking mad. They'd just think oh, you're attacking Jews just because you want to attack Jews. You're attacking this group of powerful Zionists just because you want to take poor Manny Cohen the tailor and shove him in a gas chamber. That's what the public would think. It wouldn't get us anywhere other than stepping backwards. It would lock us in a little box; the public would think "extremist crank lunatics, nothing to do with me." And we wouldn't get power.^[151]

Suggested policies to help police this "threat to all of us" include a Muslim no-fly policy, which would ban Muslims from flying in and out of the UK.^[152] The BNP erected a plaque in Oldham, Greater Manchester in memory of Gavin Hopley, a 19-year-old white man who was mugged and kicked to death by Asian Muslims in the street in Glodwick, in February 2002. The plaque was later removed by the local council.^[153]

Opposition to homosexuality

The BNP states that homosexuality in private should be tolerated but believes that it "should not be promoted or encouraged".^[154] It opposed the introduction of civil partnerships and wishes to ban what it perceives as the promotion of homosexuality in schools and the media;^{[137][155][156]} and believes that homosexuality should be returned "to the closet".^[157]

BNP spokesman Phil Edwards stated that homosexuality "is unnatural" and "does not lead to procreation but does lead to moral turpitude and disease".^[157] Mark Collett, former chairman of the Young BNP and current Director of Publicity,^[158] described homosexuals as "AIDS Monkeys", "bum bandits" and "faggots" and said the idea of homosexuality was a "sickening thought".^[159]

In the run-up to the 2005 general election, it was reported that Richard Barnbrook, the BNP candidate for Barking, had produced and directed a homoerotic student art film in 1989. The story was picked up by the mainstream press after the 2006 local elections, when Barnbrook became a councillor for Barking and Dagenham.^[160] Although some portrayed this as gay pornography, Barnbrook and the BNP claimed that the film was artistic, and about "sexuality, not homosexuality".^[161]

The BNP was criticised over a list on their website titled "Liars, buggers and thieves" which grouped several gay politicians in with convicted murderers, rapists and paedophiles. The compiler of the list, BNP local councillor for Redbridge, Julian Leppert defended it and said that the reason why gay MPs were included was because "it fits in with the headline, the bugger part, I guess" and stated that the BNP are "a family party with family values".^[162][163]

Articles published in the Sunday Times and Daily Mail have alleged that Nick Griffin had a four year homosexual relationship with Martin Webster, although Griffin denies this.^[164][165] On his appearance on BBC One's Question Time on 22 October 2009, he stated in response to being asked about the death of Boyzone member Stephen Gateley, "I said that a lot of people find the sight of two grown men kissing in public really creepy. I understand that homosexuals don't understand that but that's how a lot of us feel."^[166]

Political tendency

Since Griffin took over its leadership, the BNP has become less publicly extreme, promoting similar policies to the "Euronationalist" approach adopted by a number of far right European counterparts, such as the Freedom Party of Austria set up by Jörg Haider.

It has been claimed that the BNP has, since its foundation, been fascist. The party's predecessor, the NF, was overtly fascist, incorporating nationalism, racism and antisemitism into its core ideology. In the 1970s, the NF drifted towards a more corporatist and specifically anti-immigration policy stance in order to attract conservatives. The party's focus shifted once more in the 1980s, due to the failure to attract voters in the 1979 general election; the NF's ideology, however, was taken up by the newly formed BNP under the expelled Tyndall, who opposed de-radicalisation. The NF splintered during this period, between the Political Soldier and Third Position ideas of Griffin, and the more traditionalist Flag Group. Piero Ignazi has said that the "proto-Nazi" mould of the NF, and the "generalised nostalgia for all sorts of fascist tendencies" and association with "foreign ideologies" which continued under the BNP, accounted for lack of success for both parties, especially in comparison to successful far-right parties in Europe, which disavowed the traditional "fascist mould".^[167]

The Daily Mirror has described the party's MEPs as "vile prophets who preach a Nazi-style doctrine of racial hatred".^[168] An editorial in The Guardian characterises the BNP as "a racist organisation with a fascist pedigree that rightfully belongs under a stone".^[169] Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg has described the BNP as "a party of thugs, fascists".^[170] Conservative Party leader David Cameron said of the BNP "If you vote for the BNP you are voting for a bunch of fascists... They dress up in a suit and knock on your door in a nice way but they are still Nazi thugs."^[171] Home Secretary Alan Johnson, speaking on BBC's Question Time (15 October 2009) said, "These people believe in the things that the fascists believed in the second world war, they believe in what the National Front believe in. They believe in the purity of the Aryan race. It is a foul and despicable party and however they change their constitution they will remain foul and despicable."^[172][173] Peter Hain describes the BNP as "a racist organisation with known fascist roots and values" and wrote about its "racist and fascist agenda".^[174]

The BNP denies that it is fascist, calling the accusations "utter nonsense",^[175] and an attempt to "prevent freedom of speech".^[176] Griffin has said about the claims that he is a fascist "I am not a fascist—that is a smear that comes from the far left."^[177] He has also said that "he actually 'detested' fascism".^[178]

However, political scientists support the fascist description and say that the BNP has attempted to hide its true nature and to present a more moderate image in order to attract popular support.^[2][3][4] Nigel Copsey examined the party's ideological position as revealed in its 2005 general election manifesto Rebuilding British Democracy and concluded that it was a recalibration of fascism rather than a fundamental break in ideology.^[5]

In an interview with the Guardian, historian Richard Overy said that "Fascism with a capital F was a phenomenon of the 20s and 30s. It was a revolutionary movement asserting a violent imperialism and promising a new social order. There is nothing like that now." Historian David Stevenson said that "the BNP is different in style and structure from fascism in the 1930s," adding that though they do not wear uniforms they still count "bully boys" among their membership.^[179]

It has also been suggested that the BNP represents a hybrid movement containing elements of neo-fascism combinined with anti-immigrant themes.^[180]

Electoral performance

National parliaments

The BNP has contested seats in England, Wales and Scotland. Since 2002 the party has expressed interest in contesting elections in Northern Ireland and previously promised to stand candidates in the 2003 Assembly Election,^[181] and 2005 local council elections^[182] but in each case failed to put forward candidates. No BNP candidate has ever won a seat as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons. It has been noted that the UK's first-past-the-post system causes electoral difficulties for smaller parties such as the BNP whose support is not geographically concentrated in specific constituencies.^[183]

In the 2005 General Election, the British National Party stood 119 candidates across England, Scotland and Wales. Between those candidates the BNP polled 192,850 votes, about 0.74% of the vote, a rise of .55% compared to the 2001 election.^[184] The BNP said that this made them Britain's fourth largest party.^[185] The basis for this claim was that it received the fourth highest share of the vote in the seats it had contested, but this reasoning was found to be unsound by the BBC Editorial Complaints Unit; on more conventional measures the BNP was only the eighth-largest party in the UK and the sixth largest in England.^[186] The final share of the vote of 0.74% was lower than exit poll predictions of 3%.^[184]

In the 2007 Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections the BNP fielded candidates. In the Welsh elections the party fielded 20 candidates, four in each of the five regional lists with party chairman Nick Griffin standing in the South Wales West region.^[187] It came fifth behind the major parties in some areas. It did best in north east Wales, polling 9% in Wrexham and 7% in both Alyn and Deeside and in Clwyd South. However, it did not win any seats in the Welsh assembly.

In the Scottish Parliament election the party fielded 32 candidates which entitled the BNP to public funding for its campaign and an election broadcast, prompting criticism from various leftist groups.^[188] The BNP received about 1% of the vote and no seats.

General election performance

Local government

In 2008, the BBC estimated the BNP had about 56 councillors.^[189] The party holds a London-wide seat on the London Assembly.

As with other minority parties in the UK, the majority of the BNP's electoral success has come in local government elections. The BNP's first electoral success came in September 1993, when Derek Beackon was returned as councillor for Millwall (in London). He lost his seat in further elections the next year.

In the council elections of May 2002, three BNP candidates gained seats on Burnley council. This was interpreted in some quarters as an indicator of the mood of the British electorate (the BNP had fielded 68 candidates nationwide). In the council elections of May 2003, the BNP increased its Burnley total by five seats, thus briefly becoming the second-largest party and official opposition on that council, a position it narrowly lost soon afterwards after the resignation of a BNP councillor who had been disciplined by the party after unruly behaviour at the party's annual 'Red, White and Blue' festival. The BNP lost the subsequent by-election to the Liberal Democrats.

During these 2003 elections, the BNP contested a record 221 seats nationwide (just under 4% of the total available). It won 11 council seats in all, though Nick Griffin was unsuccessful in his attempt to gain a place on Oldham Metropolitan Council. In some areas, such as Sunderland, it contested all wards and failed to get a seat; in others areas such as Essex, parts of the Black Country in the West Midlands and in Hertfordshire it gained council seats.

Prior to the 2004 elections to the European Parliament, the BNP had stated that it believed it could win "between one and three seats" in the 2004 European Parliamentary elections. In fact, although its share of the vote increased to 4.9% (placing it as the sixth biggest party overall), it failed to win a single seat. The Party also hoped to pick up an increased share of the vote in the South West of England, where its strongly eurosceptic policies were believed to be most popular. However, in that region it gained only 3.0% of the vote.^[190] Given that parties with other lower total percentages of the vote, but a higher regional concentration of support, gained seats,^[191] its lack of a geographical stronghold can be seen as a disadvantage for the party.

The party's biggest election success to date was a gain of 52% of the vote in the Goresbrook ward of Barking on 16 September 2004. However, the turnout was just 29%, and the councillor Daniel Kelley retired just 10 months later, claiming he had been an outcast within the council. A new election was held on 23 June 2005, in which this time the Labour candidate gained 51% of the vote, and the BNP came second with 32%.^[192]

In the local elections on 4 May 2006, the BNP more than doubled its number of councillors, increasing the number to 49.^[193] The biggest gain was in Barking and Dagenham where the BNP won initially 11 of the 13 seats it contested,^[194] gaining 17% of the vote.^[195] The BNP also won three seats in Epping Forest, three in Stoke-on-Trent, three in Sandwell, two seats in Burnley, two in Kirklees, and single seats in Bradford, Havering, Solihull, Redditch, Redbridge, Pendle and Leeds. It was initially declared to have won the Birmingham seat of Kingstanding but this was due to a counting error that was subsequently overturned in court.

On 10 August 2006 the BNP gained its first parish councillor in Wales when Mike Howard of Rhewl Mostyn, Flintshire, previously an Independent, joined the BNP. Hence as of 10 August 2006, the party had 53 councillors in local government.

2007 local elections

In the run-up to local elections in May 2007, the BNP predicted that it would again double its councillors, which would have taken the total to around 100. However, in the event it made only small gains and also suffered significant losses, so that the net increase was only one seat. From this peak of 47 councillors on local authorities, the number of BNP councillors fell slowly through the rest of 2007 due to resignations and expulsions, several of them associated with a failed leadership challenge in the summer. By the end of the year the number had sunk to around 42.

In the UK local elections which took place on the same day as the Scottish and Welsh elections, the BNP fielded a record 754 council candidates, more than double the number the previous year.^[196] It won increased support in Windsor and Maidenhead but did not increase its number of councillors in Sandwell from 4 and saw its seats in Burnley reduced from seven to four. It won both Hugglescote and Whitwick—the first seats to be won by the BNP in Leicestershire. Before the poll, the BNP's declared aim was to double its number of elected councillors to around a hundred. In the event, it increased its net representation by just one councillor.

London Assembly and mayoral election, 2008

The Evening Standard^[197] reported at the beginning of April 2008 that Nick Eriksen, second on the candidates list for the London Assembly election and the party's chief London organiser, is the author of a far-right blog 'Sir John Bull'. On his blog, Eriksen said rape is a "myth" and claims women are like gongs as "they need to be struck regularly". Eriksen was removed as a BNP candidate because of these comments, but his position as a party official remains unclear.^[198][199]

BNP lead candidate Richard Barnbrook won a seat in the London Assembly in May 2008, after the party gained 5.3% of the London-wide vote. Nationally, the BNP won over one hundred seats throughout the United Kingdom in the May 2008 local elections, which is less than 1% of the total number of seats available.^[200]

2009 European Elections

In light of the disclosure of expenses of British Members of Parliament and resultant voter apathy fallout, it was postured by the media and commentators that the BNP could do well in the polls, as voters sought an alternative party to register their protest.^[201] The BNP launched its advertising vehicle, which it called the "Truth Truck," around the themes of "British Jobs for British Workers" (a slogan that had previously been used by Prime Minister Gordon Brown^[202] but was originated by the BNP^[203] and quoting from BNP members as to why they had joined the party. In May 2009, The Sunday Mirror revealed that the photographs used were from stock collections, with the models having posed for a general photo agency shoot in Portland, Oregon; another shot on the truck quoting a doctor in the NHS is also an American stock photo; while the OAPs were the Italian parents of the British resident photographer.^[204] Distributed in leaflet form by the Royal Mail, Plaid Cymru MP Adam Price said: "These leaflets hideously misrepresent the views of the people photographed. I believe they have breached the guidelines set out for electoral communications and I call on the Royal Mail to stop distribution immediately."^[204] However this was defended by the BNP who said it was standard practise by political parties.^[205]

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York had said it would be tragic if people abstained or voted BNP at the local and European elections on 4 June.^[206] Their views are said to represent all of the Church's bishops.^[206]

When results were announced on 7 June, the BNP won two seats in the European Parliament. Andrew Brons was elected in the Yorkshire and the Humber regional constituency with 9.8% of the vote.^[207] Party chairman Nick Griffin was elected in the North West region, with 8% of the vote.^[208] Nationally, the BNP received 6.26%. Griffin stated that it was "a great victory ... we go on from here." Meanwhile, the Labour and Conservative parties both referred to it as a "sad moment".^[209] In local elections held the same day, the BNP also won its first three county council seats in Lancashire, Leicestershire and Hertfordshire.^[210]

2010 General Election

The BNP put forward 338 candidates for the 2010 General Election^[211] gaining 563,743 votes^[25] but failed to win any seats.

Party chairman Nick Griffin came third in the Barking constituency behind Margaret Hodge of Labour and Simon Marcus of the Conservatives, first and second respectively. At 14.6%, this was the BNP's best result in any of the seats it contested.^[212]

2010 local elections

The 2010 local elections were held at the same time as the General Election. 26 BNP councillors lost their seats leaving the party with 28 seats overall.^[15][213] In Barking and Dagenham, the party lost all 12 councillors that had gained seats in 2006.^[214][215]

Legal issues

Claims of repression of free speech

The BNP claims that the mainstream media in the UK do not mention BNP policies, or make reference to statements made by the BNP. The BNP argues that NUJ guidelines on reporting racist organizations forbid journalists who are NUJ members from reporting uncritically on the party.^[216]

The BNP has encountered difficulties finding a company prepared to print its monthly publication Voice of Freedom. The Party acquired a printing press in the run up to the 2005 general election, thereby removing its dependency on external printing houses. In September 2005, 60,000 copies of Voice of Freedom, which had been printed in Slovakia, were seized by British police at Dover. The police later admitted this was a mistake and released the impounded literature shortly thereafter.^[217]

Party members sometimes conceal their affiliation, which can be deemed unacceptable by employers, unions and co-workers. Police officers are not allowed to be members of the BNP "or similar organisation[s] whose Constitution, aims, objectives or pronouncements may contradict the duty to promote equality".^[218][219] The prison service likewise prohibits membership of the BNP and similar organisations, because it considers them racist.^[220] A similar policy has been discussed in the Fire Brigades^[221] and Civil Service,^[222] but neither has implemented such a proscription. On 24 April 2007 an election broadcast (which was scheduled to air at 9:55 PM) was pulled by BBC Radio Wales' lawyers, who believed that the broadcast was defamatory of the Chief Constable of North Wales Police, Richard Brunstrom.^[223][224] The broadcast was made available to download from the BNP's website.^[225]

Employment discrimination and other related controversies

BNP members have alleged discrimination in employment.

In the case of ASLEF v. United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights overturned an employment appeal tribunal ruling that awarded a BNP train driver damages for expulsion. It found that the union the train driver belonged to was entitled to decide who could be a member, and that the UK was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights in the way it had treated ASLEF.^[226] Through publications such as British Nationalist, the BNP has encouraged supportive trade unionists to be open about BNP membership. However, the only other case sparking controversy has been that of Clive Potter, later a former official of Solidarity – The Union for British Workers. Potter was expelled from the union, and when he took his case to the courts, the courts upheld the expulsion and the grounds were based on previous exclusion rather than BNP membership.^[227]

In another case, Robert Baggs claimed that he had been discriminated against because of "religion, or similar philosophical belief" after he was refused a job at a GP surgery. His main argument was that the employer was in violation of the Employment (Religious Discrimination) Regulations of 2003. The Employment Tribunal found that membership of the BNP was not a "similar" belief,^[228] and the case was rejected. Stuart Chamberlain of management consultants Gee Consult has advised that a similar case might be successful since the removal of the qualification "similar" from philosophical belief by an amendment in 2007. "Cases concerning claims made by British National Party's (BNP) members that their fascist beliefs were similar to religious beliefs have previously been decided in favour of the employer or potential employer. Under the new law, a strong argument could be made to the contrary."^[229] However, this has yet to be tested and there is a clause in the regulations which provide that the beliefs of employees may be required to be in line with the "ethos" of the organisation. Yet still this is a contested area as the case of a climate change activist has indicated.^[230]

Arthur Redfearn was a bus driver whose BNP membership was unknown to his employer, Serco, until he was elected as a councillor. He was dismissed as the employers were concerned that he might endanger their contract with a local authority to transport vulnerable people of various ethnicities from a day centre. The decision by the Employment Tribunal summarises: "where an employee who is a member of a racist group (in this case the BNP political party) is dismissed because of the danger that his continuing employment might lead to violence in the workplace, the dismissal can properly be regarded as being for legitimate health and safety reasons and will not be unlawful race discrimination."^[231] It had been argued at the Employment Tribunal that Redfearn had been racially discriminated against over his BNP membership because the BNP is a whites-only organisation, and was treated unfairly in comparison to racist organisations that were non-white.^[232]

In 2002, a BNP candidate and Regional Organiser, Kevin Scott, was dismissed from the B&Q hardware store in Gateshead. Management said this was not due to his party membership but due to "low morale" amongst other staff who did not want to work with him and due to the numbers of calls from customers expressing their disapproval. Scott settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, although the BNP had pledged to support any action.^[233]

Organisations which ban BNP membership

Police

Membership of the BNP, Combat 18 and the National Front in the police forces was specifically prohibited by David Blunkett^[234] following an undercover TV exposure of racism in a police training centre.^[235] The Association of Chief Police Officers banned serving police officers joining the BNP in 2004.^[236] Despite this, Simon Darby has claimed that the BNP still has members who remain covert. Police authorities have taken this very seriously and Manchester Police Authority have viewed footage taken at BNP events in order to identify off-duty officers in attendance at a BNP St George's Day rally, wearing BNP badges and T-shirts, with the slogan "Love Britain or Fuck Off".^[237] A retired police officer, standing as a European Assembly candidate, Inspector Phazey, has said that he was a member in defiance of the prohibition and that other serving officers remained members. He denied that he was a racist or that the police were institutionally racist, saying;

Of course you heard words like Paki and nigger, but it didn't mean much more than someone saying Paddy for an Irishman or Jerry for a German. It was just the language of working-class blokes. There was a fair bit of leg-pulling but it was never malicious. I remember there was one officer who, whenever an Asian officer came into the room, would go, 'Coon, coon,' like he was making the noise of a pigeon. But it was a joke. It's like saying Paddies are as thick as two short planks or Jocks [i.e. Scots] are tight-fisted. It was just jokes in the canteen. You'll get that anywhere when you have men in their 20s and 30s together.^[238]

A Police Community Support Officer, Ellis Hammond, was found to be a BNP member after he was discovered stockpiling weapons at his home, including a taser.^[239]

After a recent leak of alleged BNP membership lists to the Internet, a number of police forces are investigating officers whose names appeared on the list.^[240]

In March 2009, PC Steve Bettley, of Merseyside Police a policeman whose name was on the leaked list was dismissed, despite the Police misconduct panel reporting "the panel confirmed there was no evidence that PC Bettley had ever displayed any racist views or discriminatory behaviour in the workplace." They added that "Pc Bettley's membership of the BNP is a clear breach of lawful orders and police regulations as the party's views are incompatible with the duties and values of the Police Service." He accepted that his name was on the list, but denied membership, saying he had been enroled without his knowledge. ^[241]

Prison service

A ban on BNP membership was imposed by Martin Narey, Director of the Prison Service in 2002. Narey told the BBC that he received hate mail and a death threat as a result.^[242]

Other professions

As of 2009^[update] only the police and the prison services have an official stated policy that they will sack officers for membership of the BNP.^[243] A ban on BNP membership in the civil service was considered in 2004 and also considered in the probation service in 2005.^[244][245] In October 2005 a proposal to ban the BNP from Dorset Fire Brigade, proposed by the management and the Fire Brigades Union, was turned down by the Fire Authority.^[246] The president of the BNP-linked trade union "Solidarity", Adam Walker, resigned from his job at a college for accessing BNP websites and posting comments using a school laptop during working hours.^[247] He has been summoned to a hearing of the General Teaching Council, which could result in him being banned from working as a teacher in England.^[248] His brother, Mark Walker, was suspended from another college for allegedly accessing adult pornography using school equipment,^[249] and he was eventually sacked on the basis of his sickness record.^[250] His supporters told the press that he had been suspended for accessing the BNP website and had been victimised because of his political beliefs.^[248] A report by the NSPCC found that "a substantial amount of emails indicating a sexual relationship between himself and a 17-year-old former Sunnydale student have been recovered from Mr Walker’s school laptop and the school server."^[249]

The Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has refused to act against a BNP council candidate, Ian Johnson, after he wrote in his election leaflets that he was a retained firefighter, despite Fire Brigades Union pressure to do so.^[251] Liam Birch, a sociology student standing as a BNP council candidate for Southway was dismissed as assistant warden at Plymouth University, when his BNP membership was known via an internet blog concerning the Holocaust, in which he declared "The Jews declared war on Germany, not the other way round".^[252]

In February 2009 the General Synod of the Church of England voted to ban its clergy from joining the BNP.^[253] As of 2009 only the police and the prison services have the power to sack officers for membership of the BNP.^[243]

Association with violence

John Hagan claims that the BNP has conducted right-wing extremist violence intended as a methodology to "seek institutionalized power".^[254] Critics of the BNP, such as Human Rights Watch in a 1997 report, have asserted that the party recruits from skinhead groups and that many believe it promotes racist violence.^[255]

In the past, Nick Griffin has defended the threat of violence in furthering the party's aims. After the BNP won its first council seat in 1993, he wrote: "The electors of Millwall did not back a postmodernist rightist party, but what they perceived to be a strong, disciplined organisation with the ability to back up its slogan 'Defend Rights for Whites' with well-directed boots and fists. When the crunch comes, power is the product of force and will, not of rational debate." In 1997, believing he was addressing members of the French Front National, he said: "It is more important to control the streets of a city than its council chambers."^[57] In January 1986, when Griffin was Deputy Chair of the NF, he advised his audience at an anti-IRA rally to use the "traditional British methods of the brick, the boot and the fist."^[256]

The BNP defends itself by arguing that over 20% of the working population has some criminal record or another and that a large proportion of MPs, councillors and activists in the other three main parties also have unsatisfactory past records.

A BBC Panorama programme reported on a number of BNP members who have had criminal convictions, some racially motivated. The BBC's list is extensive. Some of the more notable convictions include:

• John Tyndall had a number of convictions including assault, organising and participating in paramilitary neo-Nazi activities. In 1986 he was convicted and jailed for conspiracy to publish material likely to incite racial hatred.^[257]
• In 1998, Nick Griffin was convicted of violating section 19 of the Public Order Act 1986, relating to incitement to racial hatred. He received a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and was fined £2,300.^[258]
• Kevin Scott, who in 2001 was the BNP's North East regional organiser, has two convictions for assault and using threatening words and behaviour.^[259]
• Joe Owens, now expelled but previously a BNP candidate in Merseyside and former bodyguard to Nick Griffin,^[260][261] has served eight months in prison for sending razor blades in the post to Jewish people and another term for carrying CS gas and knuckledusters.^[262]
• Tony Wentworth, former BNP student organiser, was convicted alongside Owens for assaulting demonstrators at an anti-BNP event in 2003.^[263]
• Colin Smith, who in 2004 was the BNP's South East London organiser, has 17 convictions for burglary, theft, stealing cars, possession of drugs and assaulting a police officer.^[264]
• Richard Edmonds (at the time BNP National Organiser, currently a member of the BNP's Advisory Council). was sentenced to 3 months in prison in 1994 for violent disorder for his part in a racist attack on a black man in Bethnal Green, London (although he was released after sentencing as he had already served this period on remand). Edmonds hurled a glass at the man as he was walking past the Ship pub in Bethnal Green Road, East London, where a group of BNP supporters were drinking. Others then 'glassed' the man in the face and punched and kicked him as he lay on the ground, including BNP supporter Stephen O'Shea of Purfleet, Essex, who was jailed for 12 months. Another BNP supporter, Simon Biggs from Penge (who smashed a beer glass into the man's face causing deep wounds), was jailed for four and a half years for his part in the attack.^[265]

Tony Lecomber cases

Tony Lecomber was jailed for three years for possessing explosives, after a nail bomb exploded while he was carrying it to the offices of the Workers' Revolutionary Party in 1985;^[266] and again for three years in 1991, for assaulting a Jewish teacher.^[267] He was Propaganda Director of the BNP at the time of the latter conviction.^[268]

Robert Cottage case

In October 2006, Robert Cottage, a ex BNP member who had been a candidate for the party earlier in the year for election to represent Colne on Pendle Council, "was arrested under the Explosives Act on suspicion of possessing chemicals that may be capable of making an explosion."^[269] The 22 chemical components recovered by police are believed to be the largest haul ever found at a house in Britain.^[270] An associate of Cottage, David Bolus Jackson, whom he had met at a BNP meeting^[271] was also arrested at this time.

The case came before Manchester Crown Court on 12 February 2007 where it was claimed by the prosecution that Cottage had plans to assassinate Tony Blair and Liberal Democrat peer Lord Greaves. Cottage pleaded guilty to one count of the possession of explosives, but denied the count pertaining to conspiracy to cause an explosion. Jackson pleaded not guilty.^[272] In a statement read in court by the prosecution counsel, Cottage's wife said that he believed that "civil war" was imminent in the UK.^[273]

The jury in the trial was unable to reach verdicts and the case was set for retrial in July 2007, when, once again, the jury failed to reach a verdict. The prosecution indicated that it would not seek a further retrial.^[274] On 31 July 2007, Cottage was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment for the charge he had admitted of possessing explosives.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

The Equality and Human Rights Commission sent a letter, preceding legal action, on 22 June 2009 to the BNP setting out its concerns about the BNP's constitution and membership criteria. The BNP disagreed and chose to fight this opinion in the High Court. The Equalities and Human Rights Commission alleged that the BNP's constitution restricting membership to particular 'ethnic groups' and those whose skin colour is "white" and the publication of these rules on the BNP website was unlawful under the Race Relations Act.

The Commission issued county court proceedings on 24 August 2009 against party leader Nick Griffin and two other officials in respect of its constitution and membership criteria.^[275][276] The court set a date of Wednesday 2 September for a hearing for the Commission's application for an injunction against the BNP. The proceedings on 2 September 2009 were adjourned until 15 October 2009 as the BNP changed its solicitors shortly before the case. Robin Allen QC for the plaintiff asked for an interim injunction. Justice Paul Collins rejected this stating that although the BNP had been in existence for 27 years, he saw "No evidence of a long queue of black people wanting to join the BNP".

The conclusion of the case on 15 October 2009 saw costs awarded against the BNP.^[277] The BNP stated that Griffin was "required in Brussels" on that day. Griffin has written to BNP members preparing to concede the case, stating that it will cost £80,000 to proceed or potentially £1m if the case goes to the House of Lords,^[278] they also were quoted as saying that "that to continue fighting the commission would bleed the party dry", "and would strip the party of the ability to fight the next general election".^[279] Griffin subsequently announced that he would ask BNP members to accept the court's decision and allow non-whites to join the party^[280] claiming that this action "outflanked" the EHRC.^[281] The BNP anticipate that their members will accept the change on financial grounds.^[282]

The BNP agreed before Judge Collins to suspend further membership applications until an Extraordinary General Meeting in January 2010 confirming the changes to the constitution to comply with legal requirements. The case was further adjourned until 28 January 2010 in order to ensure compliance.^[283] As a result of the case Welsh Secretary Peter Hain protested against the BBC's inclusion of Griffin on the Question Time programme claiming the court case meant the BNP was "an unlawful body". Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: 'A shiny new constitution does not a democratic party make. 'It would be a pyrrhic victory, to say the least, if anyone thought that giving the BNP a facelift would make the slightest difference to a body with so much racism and hatred pumping through its veins.'^[282]

The courts have declared that the new constitution still breaches equality laws as it is "still indirectly discriminatory". Judge Paul Collins ordered the party to pay costs and said its membership list must remain "closed" until it complied with race relations laws. Delivering his ruling, he said: "I hold that the BNP are likely to commit unlawful acts of discrimination within section 1b Race Relations Act 1976 in the terms on which they are prepared to admit persons to membership under the 12th addition of their constitution."

The BNP have denied this and claim that they have a waiting list of black and Asian people and want more applications from ethnic minorities.^[132]

Opposition

The BNP is condemned by many sections of the media, including right-wing newspapers such as the Daily Mail, and representatives of the three major political parties all condemn the BNP. High-ranking politicians from each of the mainstream parties have, at various times, called for their own supporters to vote for anyone but the BNP,^[284] including former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair.^[285] In 2008 Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated : "Londoners and the rest of the British people know that backing the BNP is totally at odds with what it really means to be British—and the great British values the rest of us share, such as democracy and decency, freedom and fairness, tolerance and equality".^[286] Conservative Party leader David Cameron,^[287] Liberal Democrat party leader Nick Clegg,^[288] and former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell^[289] have all condemned the BNP.

In response to the election of two BNP MEPs the British government announced that it is to single out the British National party's two newly elected representatives in the European parliament for special treatment. This will mean that the BNP will be denied some of the access and information afforded to all the other 70 UK MEPs. The BNP would be subject to the "same general principles governing official impartiality" and they would receive "standard written briefings as appropriate from time to time". But British diplomats made plain that they would not be "proactive" in dealing with the BNP MEPs and that any requests for policy briefings from them would be treated differently and on a discretionary basis.^[290]

Amongst the most visible and vocal opponents of the BNP and other far right-wing groups are Unite Against Fascism and Searchlight. Unite Against Fascism, which aims to unite the broadest possible spectrum to oppose the BNP and the far-right, includes the Anti-Nazi League (ANL), the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR), and the Student Assembly Against Racism (SAAR). Searchlight has monitored the activities of the BNP and its members for many years.

Some opponents of fascism call for no positive coverage to be given to groups or individuals enunciating what they describe as "hate speech". Such a tactic states that the BNP and similar parties should be ignored by both rival politicians and the media. A more militant position is that of "No Platform", which seeks to deny perceived fascist hate speech any sort of platform. The policy is most commonly associated with university student unions and debating societies, but has also resulted in BNP candidates being banned from speaking at various hustings meetings around the country.

Examples of the "no platform" policy being operated include:

• Complaints directed at the Leeds Student newspaper after it published a full-page article/interview with Nick Griffin. The Leeds Unite Against Fascism (LUAF) group accused the publication of breaching Leeds University Students' Union 'No Platform' policy, whereby extremist organisations are prohibited from expressing their views on campus.^[291]
• An invitation to Nick Griffin by the University of St Andrews Union Debating Society to participate in a debate on multiculturalism was condemned, then withdrawn after protests.^[292]

Examples of more direct action against the BNP include obstruction of BNP activists who set up stalls in shopping centres. For example, members of the Scottish Socialist Party in Edinburgh surrounded a BNP publicity stall, forcing it to close.^[293]

The BNP claims that such cases exemplify how political correctness is being used to silence it and suppress its right to freedom of speech.^[294]

The Anti-Nazi League-organised group, Love Music Hate Racism, held a free concert in Trafalgar Square ahead of the 2006 local elections, aimed at getting people not to vote for the BNP, which claimed 50,000^[295] people attended, according to the organiser, while the The Daily Telegraph put the number substantially lower at just 3,000.^[296]

In May 2007 a presentation by Nick Griffin was organised by Danny Lake, Young BNP organiser and a politics student, to be held at the University of Bath. The University administration agreed to hosting the meeting on the grounds of freedom of speech, yet it was opposed by a sizeable portion of the student and lecturer population. At a meeting of the Student Union a motion was passed to criticise the BNP and oppose the meeting, mainly due to the BNP's opposition to the Union's equal opportunities policy, the fact that the meeting was an invitation only event with no opposition debate and that it was to be held on the first day of the exam period. The University later withdrew permission for the event due to concerns over the large number of people opposing the meeting and possible disruption it could cause.^[297]

Veterans and World War II

In June 2009 the Royal British Legion wrote to Griffin privately to ask him to stop wearing their poppy symbol. After he refused and wore the badge at campaign events and the party's televised election broadcast The Legion said in an open letter: "True valour deserves respect regardless of a person's ethnic origin, and everyone who serves or has served their country deserves nothing less ... [our national chairman] appealed to your sense of honour. But you have responded by continuing to wear the poppy. So now we're no longer asking you privately. Stop it, Mr Griffin. Just stop it."^[298] In September 2009 the Legion accepted a donation which it had initially rejected from BNP member Rachel Firth. Firth had spent 24 hours raising the money of which half was given to the Legion and the other half was given to the BNP. The Legion said that Firth had assured them that the donation would not be exploited politically although the story was later "splashed across" the BNP's website. BNP spokesman Simon Darby denied that the party exploited the story.^[299]

Winston Churchill's family have criticised the BNP after the party used his image and quotes from one of his speeches in its campaign. Churchill's grandson, Nicholas Soames, described the BNP as "monstrous" and said its use of Churchill was "offensive and disgusting".^[300]

The BNP was also caught up in a dispute with 1940s singer Vera Lynn after she objected to the party selling copies of her White Cliffs of Dover CD on its website to fund its European election campaign.^[301]

Online presence

In September 2007, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that Hitwise, the online competitive intelligence service, said that the "website run by the far right British National Party is the most visited website of any UK political party, with more hits than all other parties put together, a survey has found."^[302] In 2009, the party's website came under fire, after it was revealed that a large amount of the merchandise sold on their online store was made in Honduras, which seemed to run contrary to the party's pledge of "British Jobs for British Workers".^[303]

Affiliated organisations

Officially linked groups

• The short-lived American Friends of the British National Party gave financial assistance to the BNP from American supporters, and it also facilitated contact between far right figures in both countries.
• The Trafalgar Club is the BNP fundraising club, and the name the party uses to book hotels and conference facilities.
• The BNP Ethnic Liaison Committee is an organisation that people from ethnic minorities can join. The committee has joined with BNP members in staging demonstrations.
• Great White Records is a record label launched in January 2006 that is described by the BNP as "a patriotic label". It launched a campaign to introduce British folk music to schoolchildren. Most of the songs were sung by Doncaster folk musician Lee Haggan, and were written by Nick Griffin. Haggan denied that the BNP was targeting schools, Griffin saying "It's a great way of getting our message to children." in a TV interview.^[304]
• Albion Life Insurance was set up in September 2006 as an insurance brokerage company on behalf of the BNP, in order to raise funds for its actvities.^[305] The firm ceased to operate in November 2006.^[306]
• The BNP obtains some of its funding from the sale of books and heraldic or Norse jewellery. The merchandising arm of the British National Party is the Excalibur brand.^[307]

Political parties

The BNP and the French Front National have co-operated on numerous occasions. Jean-Marie Le Pen visited the UK in 2004 to assist launching the BNP's European Parliament campaign and Nick Griffin repaid the favour by sending a delegation of BNP officials to the FN's annual 'First of May Joan of Arc parade' in Paris in 2006.^[308][309] The BNP has links with Germany's National Democratic Party (NPD). Griffin addressed an NPD rally in August 2002, headed by Udo Voigt, who Gerhard Schroeder accused of trying to remove immigrants from eastern Germany. According to Stop the BNP, NPD activists have attended BNP events in the UK.^[310] In the run-up to the 2004 European Parliament election campaign, Nick Griffin visited Sweden to give the National Democrat Party his endorsement. Members of the Swedish National Democrats were present at the BNP's Red White and Blue rally, which took place over the weekend of 20–21 August 2005.^[311] In London on 16 May 2008, Nick Griffin met leaders of the Hungarian far right party Jobbik to discuss co-operation between the two parties. Griffin also spoke at a Jobbik party rally in August 2008.^[312] In April 2009 Simon Darby, deputy chairman of the BNP, was welcomed with fascist salutes by members of the Italian nationalist Forza Nuova during a trip to Milan. Mr Darby has stated that the BNP would look to form an alliance with France's Front National in the European Parliament.^[313]

Alleged front organisations

• Solidarity – The Union for British Workers.^[314][315] Solidarity's president, Patrick Harrington, and the BNP both deny that Solidarity is a BNP front organisation.^[316][317]
• The Christian Council of Britain was set up by BNP members and supporters to organise Christians "in defence of traditional Christian values". The United Reformed Church has said that "Any form of support for organisations such as the BNP is incompatible with Christian discipleship." Robert West, the council's liaison officer, denies it is a BNP front.^[318][319]
• Opponents of the BNP claim that the English Defence League is a front for BNP-backed activity, although the BNP denies any link and says that the EDL is "proscribed" to its members.^[320][321] It has been reported that an EDL website was set up by Chris Renton, a BNP activist who has been accused of hijacking the EDL,^[322][323] in a radio interview in July 2009, EDL spokesperson Paul Ray confirmed this.^[324] In response to the revelation that Mr Renton was a BNP activist the EDL attempted to distance themselves from him.^[325] The website was taken down, according to Hopenothate ”in an apparent attempt to conceal any link”^[326] In an broadcast audio conversation with Simon Darby Nick Griffin claimed that the EDL was a “Zionist false flag operation” and added that “This is a neo-con operation.”. They also claim that this was an attempt to provoke a low level civil war.^[327][328] on 10 August 2010 Lee Barnes was removed as head of the partys Legal Department for "his call for all British nationalists to join the EDL demonstration"^[329]

See also

• List of white nationalist organizations

Notes

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

• BNP.org.uk — official party website
• BNPTV.org.uk — official party video media
• 1997 Manifesto
• Rebuilding British Democracy 2005 Manifesto — hosted by the BBC
• 2007 Welsh Assembly Manifesto
• Democracy, Freedom, Culture and Identity 2010 Manifesto — hosted by Scribd
• BNP Related Articles

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