HOPE not hate blog

Support of the NUT

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Tuesday, 9 February 2010, 08:26

The London region of the NUT threw its weight behind the HOPE not hate campaign yesterday when they backed our 17 April mobilisation for Barking & Dagenham. During a speech where I outlined exactly what the borough's education policy could look like under the BNP, I suggested that they find 25 people to leaflet one ward on the day. Several delegates, however, thought that they could at least double that, including the union's new Deputy General Secretary who promised to be there.

With the BNP battling to take control of the council, and so the area's educational services, the support of the NUT is both welcome and vital.

The real Andrew Brons

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Thursday, 4 February 2010, 08:48

Durham University Debating Society has invited Andrew Brons, a BNP MEP for Yorkshire & Humber, to debate Multicultural Britain on Friday 12 February. The HOPE not hate campaign is opposing this move and we’ve launched a petition calling on the invitation to be withdrawn.

Some people believe that by debating with Brons we can defeat the BNP’s arguments. A few people have even emailed me overnight pointing to Griffin’s humiliation on Question Time.

I can understand some people’s unease about a policy of No Platform but I disagree. Andrew Brons is not a normal politician. He has a long history as a hardline Nazi with a conviction for his racist behaviour. He even once wrote a letter defending the bombing of Jewish synagogues.

For more on Brons go to: http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/the-real-bnp/Andrew-Brons.php

I also totally disagree with the Question Time line. Many of us might have been delighted with Griffin’s appalling performance but this view was not shared by everyone. Many people, particularly in those areas where the BNP is strong, took a very different view. They attacked what they saw as the one-sided nature of the debate and identified with Griffin’s victim status.

However, there is a more important point here. By inviting Brons to ‘debate’ multiculturalism Durham University Debating Society is giving the fascist party legitimacy that it does not deserve and will only encourage it in its extremism. The BNP is a fascist party that wants to create an apartheid society, where one racial group is deemed superior to another. It says that some people who were born here can never be British and is linked with some of the most hardline Nazis and racists across the world. The BNP is not a normal political party and we should not treat it as such.

Sold out

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Thursday, 4 February 2010, 07:40

Billy Bragg’s HOPE not hate concert on 6 March is now, so I’m led to believe, totally sold out. About 1,000 tickets have been sold for what will be a fantastic evening with Billy playing a full 90-minute set.

This is even more incredible given that the gig received no proper advertising beyond facebook and word of mouth. More importantly, the event will raise valuable money for our campaign, particularly in Barking & Dagenham, Billy’s home borough.

New faces, old supporters

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Friday, 29 January 2010, 19:32

Just back in from a day of meetings. It’s been a really productive day and certainly, in regards to Barking & Dagenham, our campaign plans are taking shape. This morning I had a meeting with Richard Wallace, the editor of the Daily Mirror. Together with Ros Wynne-Jones, who joined our campaign team this week, we laid out our plans for the coming campaign. Richard not only listened but made several suggestions which we will be implementing. The Mirror has been an integral part of the HOPE not hate campaign in recent years and it remains so this year.

After that, Ros and I met Jo, another journalist who has also joined us this week. We discussed the local editions of the HOPE not hate newspaper and divided up the work between us. We are producing something like 20 different versions of our newspaper, each customised to a key area of the country. It’s going to be a lot of hard work but with three of us writing I’m hoping that it will be all doable. We’ll see ….

Jo and I then made our way over to Dagenham where we linked up with Sam, our local HnH co-ordinator, who had himself just returned from interviewing the latest two people to apply to join us as interns. Both seemed great and I hope they will be joining our team in the next few days.

Local council leader Liam Smith popped in to have a chat about the forthcoming campaign. He had a lot to say about the behaviour of Bob Bailey, the leader of the local BNP group, who turned up at a recent council event in quite a drunken state. Having been sidelined in the forthcoming local election campaign in favour of Richard Barnbrook, who is leading the BNP assault on the council, and now ignored for the Dagenham & Rainham seat in the general election, perhaps Bailey is beginning to crack?

Holocaust Memorial Day

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Wednesday, 27 January 2010, 09:24

27th January Holocaust Memorial Day

27th January is Holocaust Memorial Day.

Never Again to Auschwitz. Never Again to genocide. Never Again Rwanda, Srebrenica. No more to Darfur, no more to anyone anywhere having to die becuse of their colour, their race, their sexuality or their religion.

Never Again to the intolerance of racism and fascism. Never Again to their supporters or their apologists.

http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/Holocaust-Memorial-Day

Fantastic start in Barking and Dagenham

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Saturday, 23 January 2010, 22:10

We had a truly fantastic start to our campaign in Barking and Dagenham today, with 84 people coming out to deliver about 20,000 leaflets. We covered Eastbury, Heath and most of Becontree wards, with teams also going out in Goresbrook and Village.

The turnout was even more impressive given that we only advertised the day to our supporters in Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge and Newham.

I'll blog more about this tomorrow, especially about the 35 new people who came from the borough.

Day of Action in Barking & Dagenham

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Saturday, 23 January 2010, 12:25

We have had 64 people attend our Day of Action in Barking & Dagenham so far and another 15 are on the way. We are expecting to put out 15,000 leaflets today.

What is particularly pleasing is that we've had about 35 local people turn up who have never done any campaigning before. Several are keen to become local organisers.

Getting ready

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Saturday, 23 January 2010, 07:17

All systems go!!!

I'm up early this morning as I get ready for our first Day of Action of the New Year in Barking & Dagenham. The weather looks likely to be ok and we're hoping for a good turn out despite only advertising the event to our supporters in the borough and immediate surrounding areas.

It has been all systems go this week as preparations continue to fall into place for the election campaign. David, our new Local Group Development organiser, started last Monday and is already having an impact. Over 1,200 people have indicated their willingness in becoming a local HnH organiser in our recent and following an email sent out yesterday afternoon over 100 have already signed up to attend a number of training sessions we are holding around the country over the next fortnight.

Unite and the NUT voted to support the campaign in the past few days and we've had separate meetings with representatives of NAPO and the UCU. I've got meetings with the PCS and GMB in the coming week so if those prove positive then I think all the unions are signed up.
Sam's been busy literally building our new office in Dagenham. It was an empty shell when we first moved in there - no electricity, no ceiling, no water - but over the last few weeks staff and volunteers and have hard at work turning the place around.

Anyway, it's time for me to leave for Dagenham.

BNP beaten back in west Yorkshire by-election

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Friday, 22 January 2010, 14:35

The BNP had a disappointing result in the Airedale & Ferry Fryston by-election yesterday.

The battle in this ward in Castleford proved symbolic, with Labour trying to maintain control of Wakefield council and the BNP hoping to gain its first seat in the district.

Hope Not Hate Yorkshire ran a community-based campaign, working with local residents and organisations. Despite significant economic and social problems in the ward, which the BNP will always try to exploit, community networks are helping to build trust and collectively solve problems. Local church leaders were keen to condemn the BNP, and two community activists were prominent in a Hope Not Hate leaflet that was delivered in the ward. Our activist base in Wakefield district has grown through this campaign.

Having come second in the last two local elections in Airedale & Ferry Fryston, this time the BNP was beaten back into third place and the number of votes it received almost halved. The BNP candidate came in 977 votes behind the newly elected Labour councillor Les Shaw.

Thanks go to all the activists and unions that supported this campaign, and particularly the residents and workers of Airedale & Ferry Fryston who came together to reject the BNP.

Result:
Labour 1,330
Liberal Democrat 603
BNP 353
Conservative 275
Independent 102

Building capacity

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Tuesday, 19 January 2010, 13:44

It’s been another busy few days getting everything for our 2010 campaign. We’ve been raising money, sorting out schedules with the printers and frantically putting the finishing touches to our new campaign office, which should open later this week. We’ve taken on two new members of staff, one dedicated to developing and supporting local HOPE not hate groups and the other to work exclusively with faith communities.

We’ve also been building capacity for our offline activism. An incredible 7,200 people have signed up for our 2010 campaign, with almost 4,600 committing themselves to be active in their local area. Over the next few weeks we expect to launch dozens of new HOPE not hate groups as we begin to organise the 1,245 people who have said that they are willing to become local organisers. Obviously our focus has to be prioritising the areas at the greatest risk so it is fantastic that 2,166 people have indicated their willingness to travel to our key priority areas.

We are building something really special. Even the BNP appear to be getting rattled. In their latest leaflet, distributed in Barking & Dagenham over the weekend, they began to warn voters about outsiders ringing them up. The fact that most of the 60 BNP supporters who were out came from outside the borough obviously is completely different!