To lose three seats to the BNP may be regarded as a misfortune, but to lose another five is carelessness. Away from the world of Lady Bracknell, however, the continued success of the BNP should be regarded as more than mere carelessness – it is nothing short of a disaster. Mainstream political parties must rise to the challenge.
The success of the BNP over the last two years has led many on the centre-left, especially in local government, to blame national government for ‘under funding’ or for ‘pandering’ to the far right. Yet local public institutions, political parties and politicians have themselves failed to understand and accept their continued contribution to the rise of the far right in their localities.
There are numerous myths surrounding the success of the BNP. The party succeeds in deprived areas; it appeals only to working-class people; it flourishes in an environment where the council provides poor services; it targets areas that are characterised by very low turnouts at elections.
But in Burnley, where it has seen a meteoric rise, the BNP has appealed to affluent wards. The turnout in these areas has often been near 50 percent above the norm. Blackburn was far from a poor-performing council when the BNP succeeded there: it had just been named council of the year.
The BNP has been good at filling democratic vacuums left by politicians who have become too bogged down
or too comfortable in town halls, which has only exacerbated already existing disenchantment with mainstream politics.
Above all, though, it is a lack of effective communication that has aided the far right. In Burnley and Oldham, for example, the belief is widely held among the white electorate that ‘ethnic minority areas’ have disproportionately benefited from regeneration money – yet the reverse is true. And, far from being ‘swamped’ by asylum seekers, as some of the electorate would have you believe, there are only 54 asylum seekers in Burnley amongst a population of 90,000.
The existence of the BNP in the town hall too often means that racism has become normalised and acceptable. Sadly, BNP leader Nick Griffin was right when he said that ‘people knew what they were voting for when voting BNP’. This is no longer about a protest vote – it is deep-rooted, entrenched racism.
By sensationalising and simplifying sensitive and complex issues such as asylum, the media have added to the problem. In addition, institutional racism is still a major factor. Public institutions accept they have a problem but are resistant to change – inertia sets in at the thought of the radical action required to remedy the problems.
The solution is not complex. The centre-left, and indeed all mainstream political parties, must get back to basics. Politicians have become detached, and they will have to visit every citizen in wards that have fallen to the BNP to win back their hearts and minds. To date, we have failed both to expose the BNP and to present an alternative.
We must engage on the doorstep like never before, but we will only succeed with all year round campaigning. Gone are the days of campaigning for only a few weeks before the election. If the BNP are likely to win the seat, we may have to consider voting for the party best placed to beat them. The harsh reality is that the BNP would not have won a single seat if we had effective voter ID and used this intelligence to engage in tactical voting.
The irony though, of course, is that attempts by Labour councils to improve BNP-held wards may only serve to strengthen their grip. As we focus on these wards and begin to direct resources to them, BNP claims that they are responsible for improving the ward begin to appear true. People might then continue to vote BNP because they believe it’s the only way to get things done in their areas. The trick is therefore to support and engage wards before they are exploited by the likes of the BNP.
Locally, we find it difficult to link effectively positive national policies with many of the changes for the better that have taken place on the ground. Strong local leadership is required to set out the values expected of citizens in towns and cities. This must be reinforced by strong, responsible national leadership on issues of race and cohesion that avoids populism.
Trade unions must work harder to create an environment of zero tolerance towards racism in the workplace. Currently, many factories and places of work have become recruiting hubs for
the far right. In schools, citizenship is a vital tool. A more inclusive national curriculum, where all children can derive a sense of self-esteem, could be used as a vehicle to engage parents.
Multicultural and multi-faith Britain’s fault lines are appearing starker by the day – now is the time for radical action. The Prime Minister and cabinet have already demonstrated how effective their single-minded and determined leadership was
on Iraq – now they must apply that same leadership to defeating the far right and creating cohesion in the community.
The BNP put up thirteen candidates for Burnley’s fifteen wards and won in seven – they were easily the most successful party on the night and are on course to win the parliamentary seat in 2005 and the council in 2006. The BNP is fast becoming Britain’s fourth political party. Living in a state of denial is not
the solution: it is the problem.