BNP claims credibility

Sonia Gable | Wednesday, 13 September 2006 Source: Searchlight

The BNP's monthly newspaper, The Voice of Freedom, crowed about the party's growing credibility in Stoke-on-Trent. The article followed the award of the position of chair of the Health Commission to Mark Leat, one of the party's councillors.

"Over the previous two years the undemocratic Labour controlled council in Stoke had effectively banned the two BNP councillors from taking part in the democratic process by passing a rule which stopped them taking up seats on committees and commissions," the paper writes.

"After the BNP gains and the subsequent weakening of the Labour group, it was unable to continue with this affront to democracy and all five councillors, under the new leadership of Alby Walker, have taken an average of five seats each on committees and commissions with the long term plan of fully understanding the democratic process, and working towards the day when the BNP hold the majority on Stoke Council."

The Mayor and senior councillors believed that they had little choice but to award the position to the BNP but others in the Labour Party are less impressed.

In a separate move, the BNP councillors in Stoke-on-Trent staged a protest against halal meat being served in city schools.

They have also been investigating NorSCARF, the local anti-BNP group which works closely with Searchlight, in the belief that it receives over £40,000 of public money a year. The Voice of Freedom made the mad claim that NorSCARF spent £28,000 in the recent local elections.