AN ANTI-BNP campaign is being launched today by ex-YUSU president James Alexander and backed by Vision.Alexander, who is the Labour prospective MP for the area, is spearheading the anti-fascist crusade across Yorkshire, focusing in particular on the University.
The action is a response to the election of BNP member Andrew Brons to one of Yorkshire and Humber’s seats in the European Parliament last June.
The BNP won more than 120,139 votes in the Yorkshire region during this summer’s elections. This figure was slightly less than in 2004, but still enough to take one of the six seats on offer in the region.
Alexander and York Vision has seen information that shows there to be at least 48 BNP active members in York alone. Last year the University saw BNP material distributed by a member of staff in the internal post.
There are even rumours circulating campus that a BNP student group holds secret meetings at the University.
Talking exclusively to Vision, Alexander outlined the aims of his anti-racist crusade:
“I am taking the lead in this campaign to undermine the mandate of the elected BNP MEP for Yorkshire and his chances of re-election in 2014 through a democratic and patriotic Yorkshire campaign.”
Using the slogan ‘The BNP Do Not Speak For Me,’ Alexander and Vision aim to show the rest of the country and the rest of the EU that the BNP MEP for Yorkshire does not speak for us. The BNP will contest this claim, arguing that instead they were “democratically elected,” but their racist policies cannot be tolerated.
Alexander plans to use a petition and Facebook page titled ‘The BNP Do Not Speak For Me’, in an attempt to popularise the campaign. In December there are plans to take the petition to the European Parliament.
“I encourage all to sign up to this very important campaign, irrespective of political persuasion,” said Alexander.
SIGN THE PETITION ONLINE: http://www.petitiononline.com/no2bnp/petition.html
While I support the relative sensibility of this campaign (compared to hypocritical, equally fascist attempts to ban the party) it still does not seem to strike at the heart of the issue.
The BNP actually lost about 6,000 votes since 2004. It was the fall in turnout that handed them a seat. Rather than trying to reduce the 120,000 who voted for them it is surely an equally important (and arguably easier) task to reduce the 2.5m who didn’t vote.
I am ashamed that this region elected a BNP MEP but I am also ashamed that less than a third of the Yorkshire electorate actually bothered to vote.
While I, also, support his anti-BNP action is he not being undemocratic?
“undermine the mandate of the elected BNP MEP.” Isn’t trying to undermine an elected offical undemocratic?