UKIP Uncovered

UKIP Uncovered
What motivates the leaders of the United Kingdom Independence Party?

Thursday, February 19, 2004

Howard's Message to UKIP Members who might believe BNP deals are Acceptable

I have had it suggested that some within UKIP might believe it necesaary to come to some kind of accomodation with BNP to avoid splitting the anti-EU vote. Nothing could be more dangerous, as has been pointed out by Tory Leader Michael Howard in his Burnley speech today:-

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But there is a specific reason why I have come to Burnley. I want to address directly what I see as a stain on our democratic way of life: the British National Party. There are those who say that it is better to ignore their presence on the political stage - that talking about the BNP gives extremists the oxygen of publicity.

I do not agree. It is important for politicians from mainstream parties to face up to extremists in any form, to tell people why we disagree with them and why they should be defeated.

Let's not mince our words. The policies of the British National Party are based on bigotry and hatred. Its approach is entirely alien to our political traditions.

Their leader, Nick Griffin, has described his party as "a strong, disciplined organisation with the ability to back up its slogan 'Defend Rights for Whites' with", as he puts it, "well-directed boots and fists. When the crunch comes", he says, "power is the product of force and will, not of rational debate". He denies the existence of Nazi death camps and has written that he has "reached the conclusion that the 'extermination' tale is a mixture of Allied wartime propaganda, extremely profitable lie, and latter day witch-hysteria."

I happen to know that he is wrong about that. My grandmother was one of the millions of people who died in those camps.

In 1998, Griffin was found guilty of distributing material likely to incite racial hatred, for which he received a two-year suspended jail sentence.

He is not alone in his Party in having criminal convictions. Tony Lecomber, the Director of Group Development, has convictions under the Explosives Act. He was also imprisoned for wounding a Jewish teacher whom he beat up on the day of the BNP's annual conference in 1990. Other BNP activists have convictions for assault, attacks on bookshops, football violence and distributing racist literature to schoolchildren.

This is not a political movement. This is a bunch of thugs dressed up as a political party. But they have enjoyed electoral success beyond their wildest dreams. They are organised at the local level and capitalise on scare-mongering and distortion. Now, they have set their eyes on a seat in the European Parliament, something they could only hope to achieve because of our system of Proportional Representation for the European elections. PR always magnifies the opportunities for small, extremist parties, as other countries have found to their cost. That is one of the reasons why I am so resolutely opposed to it.

Imagine the shame of this great nation if Britain sends a member of the BNP to Brussels.

The BNP preaches a message of racism, intolerance and brutality that flies in the face of this country's history and heritage. For centuries, Britain has welcomed energetic, ambitious and optimistic people from every part of the world. My father was one of them. We are a stronger and better country, rich in our cultural diversity, because of the immigrant communities that have settled here. People of all races and religions are to be found in every walk of life, doing as well as their individual talents and efforts deserve. Many of them came to Britain and had to start again from scratch. But hard work, ingenuity and determination have propelled them forward. They are a credit to our community.

I do not see our society as a collection of minorities, but rather as a wide spectrum of individuals, all with their own talents, all British. It is in the liberation of these individual talents that society achieves its best.

Britain has an enviable record of racial integration. Over decades and centuries, this country has successfully absorbed many immigrant communities. They have held on to their traditions and culture while at the same time embracing Britain's and playing their full role in our national life.
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The entire speech may be read from here

UKIP Uncovered applauds this speech and welcomes the assistance this is bound to provide to our year long struggle to resist the creeping suspicions of BNP incursions within the United Kingdom Independence Party. It is now well past time for the remaining decent party membership to rid the party of those at the top levels of the party who have been less than diligent in searching out the scourge of BNP infiltration, first highlighted in articles in Darlington's The Northern Echo. Links to these are still available from the earliest posts on this blog, archived on the side bar to the right.

posted by Martin |12:26 PM