The numbers game

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Monday, 6 April 2009, 10:14

One of my main tasks this week is to finalise the literature we are going to put out during the short campaign. We are producing a combination of tabloid newspapers and leaflets. There will be generic material and others that will be customised to local areas. There will also be leaflets for specific issues and audiences.

Working out how many newspapers and leaflets to print is proving tricky. We have already adjusted our totals upwards more than once as our campaign grows. Areas such as the South West and the South East, where we had little on the ground before, are now coming into play big time. We now have over 300 supporters in Bristol and 250 in Brighton, both places where we have done nothing in the past. The campaign against the BNP 'Jesus' billboard has given us potential activists in more rural areas, and through faith networks, while our success at NUS conference has led to over 50 events being organised around Student Sunday, which in itself could see 300,000+ leaflets distributed on that day alone.

Even in our traditional heartlands, such as the North West, we will be delivering more material than ever before. A combination of an increased threat from the BNP and our attempts to help local groups build capacity has led to increased orders. Our latest projected print run is 700,000 – and that's just for the North West. Local groups across Greater Manchester have put in orders for 300,000 alone, with Manchester taking 150,000. Merseyside groups are ordering 120,000 and the East Lancashire towns an incredible 130,000. Blackburn has ordered 45,000, the same for Oldham and Wigan. Burnley wants 35,000 and the Ribble Valley 20,000.

It is going to be a huge effort to get this material out but I'm confident that it can be done. If it can, and be targeted at likely anti-BNP voters, then our chances of defeating Nick Griffin and his nazi mates greatly improve.