Unison adds their support

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Saturday, 13 June 2009, 20:39

Today I joined 1,000 other people at the Compass conference in Central London. I spoke at a session with Blue State Digital boss Matthew McGregor on online campaigning. I have to admit that I had been so busy over the last few days that I hadn't prepared a speech. I was hoping that I would have time while others were speaking to jot a few notes down but it seemed that we were all in the same boat so there was a frantic rush as people began arriving.

However, it all seemed to go well. Actually, it was a good exercise as it made me think of what worked and what we could do better in the future. Matthew and I have already been discussing how we can keep our relationship going so this meeting was a useful way of brainstorming a few ideas.

It was good to bump into Rev Paul Butler, from St Pauls church in Deptford. As usual he was sporting his HOPE not hate badge. It was interesting to hear his views about the egg-throwing incident. Like an increasing number of people I've been talking to, he said that the incident had played into the BNP's hands. Throwing eggs is a British political tradition but I fear that in regards to the BNP it could be counter-productive as it reinforces the victim status that they thrive on, to say nothing of the five hours of interviews and TV coverage they received. This is not to say that I think the BNP should be given a free run – because I don't and to suggest otherwise is a distortion – but I think we have to be a bit more sophisticated in our approach.

All this reminds me of the hammer attack on the BNP member in Leigh in March. The BNP had booked a nightclub for a fundraising event but thanks to a 5,000-strong open letter we managed to get the event pulled. However what should have been a positive news story became three days of negative coverage and widespread local sympathy for the BNP.

The BNP acts differently from the National Front of the 1970s and our tactics have to change accordingly.

This week I'll be off to Brighton for Unison conference. They have really got involved in the HOPE not hate campaign and its good to see that their support is continuing. The Unison home page carries a personal message from Dave Prentis in support of our 'Not in my name' campaign. You can see it here: http://www.unison.org.uk