With policemen, district nurses, preachers and teachers being exposed as members of the British National Party (BNP), the rise of the far-right in British politics is beginning to be taken seriously by the media and the government.

After details of BNP members were leaked on the internet the media is beginning to discuss the impact of the far-right party in British politics.

BNP members can no longer be seen as desperate, uneducated thugs, but rather belong to what is seen as the more civilised sections of British society; nurses, policemen, preachers and teachers.

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said that the rise of the BNP was because white working class voters felt ignored by the mainstream parties

Blears told a national newspaper:

“We must recognise that where the BNP wins votes, it is often a result of local political failure.

“Estates that have been ignored for decades; voters taken for granted; local services that have failed; white working-class voters who feel politicians live on a different planet.

“In such a political vacuum, the BNP steps in with offers of grass-cutting, a listening ear and easy answers to complex problems.” (ITN: Saturday, November 22)

This follows another report by The Press Association on November 22, which said that government ministers fear the infiltration of the BNP in senior roles within the police force if plans to introduce direct elections go ahead.

On May 1, 2003, the BNP gained a foothold within the Midlands by winning two council seats in Sandwell and one seat in Dudley.

In the May 1 local elections this year the BNP made electoral history by winning a seat on the London Assembly and gaining a respectable fifth in the mayor of London race.

Disillusioned with multiculturalism

When the BNP won a seat on the London Assembly the media again spoke about ordinary white people feeling left out of mainstream politics, however there was a contradiction to this argument.

According to the Reuters article by Avril Ormsby, traditional left-wing, Labour voters are disillusioned with the party. What is not explained is why disillusioned left-wing Labour voters would turn to the extreme right.

Clive Gregory, a 52-year-old nurse told Reuters during an interview that he was fed up with Labour, which is why he was voting BNP; he said “They have screwed the working man. What with the credit crunch. I am seeing all the current influx from European and African nations. Local people can't get housed.” (Reuters: May 3, 2008)

Nicola Miller, a mother of three was concerned about crime. She told Reuters, “Nowhere is safe around here. I have two children who do not know what playing outside is because it is so unsafe. Both times they went out recently they had knives held to their throat. I can't get them into the local school because it is full.”

“Some people say bad things about the BNP, but I personally think they live in the real world, more than the government. They are the only ones to take the time and knock on doors to ask what people want.”

Both Clive and Nicola’s excuses for voting the BNP make no rational sense because the BNP is a party that stands for only whites, which suggests that both individuals not only have a problem with immigrants but people from black and minority ethnic groups who are born and pay taxes in Britain. That is more than a protest vote or indeed a vote out of disillusionment with mainstream parties. It could be argued that it is a vote against multiculturalism.

This is an argument that the media and government fear to address, whether the rise of the far-right within British politics is more to do with racist attitudes than desperation. The leaked BNP list certainly points towards the former argument.

Article by Mark Watson©

For further research:

BNP voters ‘feel ignored by politics’
ITN News: Saturday, November 22, 2008
 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20081122/tuk-bnp-voters-feel-ignored-by-politics-dba1618.html

BNP ‘could take control of police’
The Press Association: Saturday, November 22, 2008
 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20081122/tuk-bnp-could-take-control-of-police-6323e80.html

BNP makes London electoral breakthrough
By Avril Ormsby
Reuters: May 3, 2008
 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080503/tuk-uk-britain-bnp-fa6b408.html