HOPE not hate: Yorkshire

Moving on

The people of Yorkshire are now represented in the European Parliament by a confirmed hardline nazi, Andrew Brons. Although this is a disaster for all the people of our County it is important to learn the lessons, regroup and move on ready to meet the trials that await.

We always knew that this would be a difficult election. The discredited PR system meant that the nazi BNP only needed to poll 9% to gain a seat, and we were also worried about some places such as Barnsley that had never seen proper anti-fascist organisation and campaigning.

The Hope Not Hate campaign itself was massive, and the commitment and activity of activists has been phenomenal. Over 750,000 leaflets were delivered, many of these targeted at particular groups and communities. These included an Asian leaflet, half in Urdu and a women's leaflet that focussed particularly on the BNP's reactionary views on women. As well as leafleting we attended and spoke at dozens of trade union and Labour Party meetings, explaining the importance of the election and the need for a positive turnout of voters. The Daily Mirror/Searchlight bus sponsored by Unite the Union also made a brief foray into the County, making stops in Sheffield, Barnsley and Leeds. These events were useful for attracting large numbers of people interested in finding out more about the campaign. more ...

We also set about the business of setting up Hope Not Hate networks across the whole region. Some of these new groups responded magnificently, delivering thousands of leaflets and spreading the message through many different networks. All of this work was underpinned by fantastic support and help from the Trade Unions and Yorkshire TUC. Pride of place this year must go to the Fire Brigades Union whose members leafleted the whole of Scarborough in one afternoon.

The Christian churches also played a leading role with most clergy signing up to deliver messages of hope not hate. The ridiculous posturing of the BNP who claimed that Jesus would vote for them certainly brought the BNP issue to the close attention of the churches. The Mosques also played a massive role with Bradford Council for Mosques taking 40,000 leaflets to deliver and also asking the Imams to deliver messages supporting the Hope Not Hate campaign at Friday prayers.

One small victory highlighted the excellent work done by Hope Not Hate campaigners. The BNP's main candidate Andrew Brons chose to stand in Skipton rather than Harrogate where he lives, in the local elections, but he was beaten into fourth and last place in this historic market town.

One of the real highlights of the campaign came in the last few days with the delivery of a new leaflet, Lest We Forget, a timely reminder of a generation who sacrificed much to defeat nazism. This leaflet struck a real chord and 75,000 were handed out in one day at all of Yorkshire's principal bus and train stations.

The result itself whilst desperately disappointing reveals some important lessons. It is important to note that there was no massive swing to the BNP; indeed they received fewer votes than in 2004 and their share was only slightly up. The changes in the rate of the BNP vote are most stark when considering how they fared in the different Metropolitan areas. For instance in Bradford, the city that the BNP had originally targeted in Yorkshire and of which they once harboured high hopes due its all too often described troubles, the BNP share of the vote actually fell yet again. Year round Hope Not Hate community based intelligent campaigning has put the BNP on the back foot and saw their support further dwindle. We will not be complacent about Bradford however as this model campaign strives to rid the city of the last vestiges of the BNP.

Both Sheffield and Leeds had slightly disappointing results with the BNP gaining over 10% in both cities, and there is room for improvement in Kirklees and Calderdale. Wakefield also had a worryingly high BNP vote and the establishment of a local Hope Not Hate group would seem necessary. However the real disaster areas continue to be Rotherham and Barnsley. In Barnsley the BNP gained 17% of the vote, easily the highest in the County, and confirmed the fears we had about the Town and its potential for the far right. Here more than anywhere we see the crying need for proper community based Hope Not Hate campaigning if we are to resist the growth of the BNP vote into them winning Council seats.

The Hope Not Hate campaign in Yorkshire will continue to build wide alliances and engage with voters about the real issues that leave them vulnerable to BNP propaganda. This is long term work and about hearts and minds. In sharp contrast Yorkshire has witnessed ill thought out posture politics, including rowdy confrontations with BNP supporters in town centres such as Barnsley. Shouting 'nazi scum off our streets' will not tackle the reasons why people are drawn to the BNP, but will alienate many voters from any anti-fascist campaign. It is important to harness activists' anger and motivation following Brons' election, and channel this into constructive campaigning which will help communities resist the insidious influence of the BNP.

News and events from Yorkshire

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Latest blog post: 2 Jun 2009

You've been brilliant...!

With only two days to go in the Yorkshire campaign we just wanted to convey how fantastic our supporters have been. Today is D-day and this morning's commuters were ... Read more

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on Tuesday 14 July the Hope not hate campaign delivered its Not in my name petition to the European Parliament. On the day that Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons formally took their seats, 90,000 people said: Not in my name.

BNP candidates exposed

If the BNP wanted to distance itself from nazism, the last person it should have chosen as a candidate is Andrew Brons. A man with a long nazi pedigree, Brons will get elected to Europe if the BNP polls 11.5% in Yorkshire and The Humber, a region that has long been a target for the party. Perhaps Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, hopes that Brons’s background will be conducive to forming good relationships with the various fascists and Holocaust deniers he has been courting. more ...