Voters will head to the polls for the European elections tomorrow and two things are certain. First, the turnout will be low, perhaps catastrophically so.
At the last European elections, 40.9 per cent of adults voted in the north west. But then it was conducted on an all-postal basis. The time before, in 1999, turnout was 19.7pc. Fewer than one in five were prepared to spend five minutes choosing who would represent them for the following five years. That shames us all.
Second, one or more of the `minority' parties will gain seats. The form of proportional representation used - combined with widespread disgust at the perceived behaviour of mainstream parties' MPs - makes this all but inevitable. A party need only gain eight or nine per cent of the total vote to get a seat in Brussels. UKIP gained a foothold in the north west last time - this year, the Greens are also pushing hard.
And then there's the BNP. Rejected in other parts of the country, they are now pouring resources into our region - trying to capitalise on anger over `Expensesgate'. But a vote for the BNP is not a protest vote.
There is only one fact you need to know about the BNP; they want black and Asian Britons to leave their home country. And why? Because of the colour of their skin. It is not an economic argument; it is not a political argument. It is discrimination which has chilling echoes of the eugenicists of Nazi Germany.
For that reason, a vote for the BNP is not a vote against Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg. It is a vote against Amir Khan, Kelly Holmes and Shaun Wright- Phillips. It is not a vote against `mainstream' politics. It is a vote against human decency.
Neither is abstention an option for anyone who cares about democracy. People may be disgusted at the behaviour of some MPs, but to use this as an excuse not to vote defies logic.
Our vote is the only real voice we have. And our ability to kick people out of office, as well as putting them into office, is more important now than ever. What message does it send to those MPs who have milked the system if we respond with a collective shrug?
In any case, there are plenty of legitimate, alternative `protest' votes to lodge. Thirteen parties will be listed on your ballot paper - and are outlined on the facing page to this column. Most of those have never had an MP, and probably never will.
You may have many reasons not to vote for the Jury Team - a group of `outsider' candidates set up to fight supposed waste and malpractice in mainstream politics. You may have many reasons not to vote for Socialist Labour, or the independent candidate Francis Apaloo. But you can't claim they are tarnished by the expenses row.
What, then, of the major parties? Labour looks set for a hammering, if the latest opinion polls are anything to go by. The party has slipped as low as 18 per cent. A bad performance will be only partly disguised by the fact Labour is starting from an extremely low base (they won 22.6 per cent of the vote in 2004). But Labour - and by extension Gordon Brown - will be judged, correctly, on the total vote the party gets.
The Conservatives may not benefit as much as they would like. It is true Mr Cameron's handling of the expenses affair has been deft and decisive - particularly compared with Mr Brown. Yet it is astonishing that the opposition has come out of all this better than Labour, not merely because the actions of some Tory MPs' have been every bit as reprehensible as their Labour counterparts, but because some of the specifics - the moats, chandeliers and duck islands, for example - have seemed to reveal an aspect of the Conservative party that Mr Cameron has worked so hard to either change, or at least hide.
The Liberal Democrats should, perhaps, have been the beneficiaries of the recent upheaval. Certainly they seem to have got off the lightest. But Nick Clegg has struggled to impose himself on British politics. Perhaps the media - who tend to marginalise the third party - have had a role in that. Yet Vince Cable has managed to carve out a national profile, as Charles Kennedy and Paddy Ashdown did before him. Mr Clegg must shoulder some of the blame if his party fail to make a breakthrough.
When the election results are announced on Sunday night, the real story might not be about Labour, the Conservatives, or the Lib Dems, but about the `others'. That could be a good thing - or it could be very bad indeed.
Elections are a reflection on the political parties; they are also a reflection on us. Let us hope, as a region, we can bear to look at ourselves in the mirror when we get the results. Tweet
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BNP members always talking about skin colour it makes me laugh. How many BNP members go abroad for their holidays and come back with a sun tan, I rest my case.
If they wanted to send Gordon Brown back home then I'd vote for them.
Dear David, which political party does Amir Khan, Kelly Holmes and Shaun Wright- Phillips represent, that the voters can potentially vote against?
When politicians are not getting their way, the nature of the beast points away from themselves to be responsible for their actions. Their choice of language reflects their perception “tarnished” when bad, “robust” when arrogant and “belief” when it really is hitting the fan.
On the issue of looking into the mirror, you have to consider whether what you see reflected is down to yourself and your own judgement or is it someone else’s fault?.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! boring!! will someone change the anti BNP record! it seems to be stuck!!
in fact the more i think about it it now actually makes sense!
these elections actually mean next to nothing! so voting for whoever in these elections would actually ring alarm bells to the main parties that their policys are all wrong!
this country is a mess! it needs addressing! ignoring the main causes will just let it continue to slide!
wake up now before it becomes worse than it is!
I am no supporter of the BNP but I find this continuous sttack on the BNP through the pages of the MEN fatuous.
Presumably, the MEN would have no problem with advocating voting for Nu-Labour, who have murdered hundred of thousands of dark skinned innocent civilians in at least 4 wars of aggression.
Well said Ottewell.
Vote Green Party to see off the BNP in the Euro elections. They are the best placed party to keep the neo-Nazis out of power. And they are untainted by the MPs expenses scandal.
Vote for a Green New Deal to generate millions of green jobs--employ people to build a first class, modern public transport system to end gridlock. Bring all the rail lines closed by that that Tory blockhead Beeching back into service. Set people to work insulating all our homes. Employ people to develop solar and wind power. Even Obama agrees with this.
Use your vote on Thursday 4th June!
If people want to vote for the BNP then that is their perfectly lawfull right. Most people don't particurlarly like the BNP, but as they are the only party to stand up against the tide of illegal immigrants into this country over the last 4 years or so (with the possible exception of UKIP) they strike a cord with many voters. Having a sensible immigration policy does not equate to the current situation of a free for all with illegal immigrants abusing the system and getting council houses and social security handouts. Until the 3 main parties bite the bullet and address these issues seriously the BNP and UKIP will at some point in the future make an electoral breakthrough. Wanting to defend your own culture and way of life, traditions, etc. is not racist. Just one more point - why is it okay to have a Black or Muslim Police association that only admits ethnic minorities, but if an English policeman tried to setup a white English equivalent they would get kicked out of the force and called a racist?
@Man from Snowy River, Higher Boarsha. All this twaddle from people like you and the rest of the BNP Dr Goebbels propaganda unit that is posting on this website about public services, housing and NHS not being able to "cope" with immigrants is a complete MYTH.
Firstly, it discounts the fact that people emigrate (as well immigrate) from Britain every year. There are British expats living and working in just about every country in the world--taking "their" jobs and using "their" public services. My best friend lives in Brittany, France where there is a large British expat community. My son lives and works happily in Scandanavia. If every country in the world decided to kick out all foreigners, it would create an incredible amount of misery, upheaval, bad feeling between nations and would amount to ethnic cleansing on an unprecedented scale. It would require a massive level of violence that would amount to a new Holocaust. The BNP and UKIP are a MENACE and should be regarded with utter contempt by anyone with a conscience and half a brain.
Thousands of eastern Europeans have gone back home voluntarily in the past year as a result of the recession because jobs are hard to find. The idea that migrants need to be "encouraged" (BNP/UKIP code for forced) to leave is baloney. Migration happens naturally according to the ups and downs of the economy.
Secondly, immigrants, and the British-born offspring of immigrants, work and PAY TAXES to fund public services like everyone else. There are benefits spongers in ALL communities (including whites--oh yes there are). But there are also MILLIONS of pounds in unclaimed benefits by people who are not aware of their right to claim them--as any any welfare rights worker will tell you. But the sums of money lost to benefit fraud pale into insignificance in comparison to the money lost to taxation by the big business tax avoidance/evasion industry. The big employers and multinational firms can afford to hire accountants to do exactly that. See the recent Guardian series on this very subject at its website. Companies use tax exiles like the Channel islands and the Cayman Islands (most of which are British colonial dependences) to avoid paying billions--and these are overwhelmingly WHITE upper class rich British people who are the culprits. These tax exiles could be closed in a jiffy if the government was minded to do it. And then there are MPs expenses.....and they are overwhelmingly WHITE.
Thirdly, the NHS, and many other public services, are substantially staffed by immigrant and British born black and Asian nurses, doctors, paramedics, radiographers etc. The NHS would collapse without them and THEY PAY TAXES AND NATIONAL INSURANCE TOO which goes to fund public services.
So, enough of the BNP Dr Goebbels BIG LIE about immigrants putting a strain on services.
"
Vote Green Party to see off the BNP in the Euro elections. They are the best placed party to keep the neo-Nazis out of power. And they are untainted by the MPs expenses scandal. "
Yeah right!! The land's full of clouds and cuckoos!!
To give you an idea of the sort of warped minds and fake British patriotism of the BNP leaders have, consider the following facts:
Private Johnson Beharrya, a black British soldier, received the Victoria Cross saving the lives of 30 comrades in Iraq. The BNP dismissed him as "an immigrant" who only received his medal for doing something "routine".
Nick Griffin branded the brave Gurkhas "mercenaries" who should not be allowed to come and live in Britain.
At a recent World Cup, the BNP refused to support the England football team because it had black players. The BNP does not believe that any black or Asian person can ever be British.
The NHS survives because of the contribution of black and Asian doctors and
nurses. The BNP's racist policies would destroy the NHS.
By contrast, Joanna Lumley, who campaigned to allow ageing Gurkhas to live in Britain, is voting for the Green Party.
The Green party can't save the environment because they won't control immigration. What environment will be left with 85 and then 100 million people as now predicted. They won't punish criminals either so public transport can't be safe. The Conservatives want Turkey to come into the EU thus exposing us to even more immigration, that is their official policy. And Labour, they have people like Hazel Blears that make me want to smash the TV.
Having no wish to support any BNP activities AT ALL,I wish to address David`s flagrant rhetoric to influence voters in a democratic society ?? as a columnist working for an impartial press ??
So lets have some real democracy flowing through the Guardian Media Group which has been absent for years,and impartial and unbiased commenting by columnists is now at last essential.
Isn't it a shame that the major parties and the media are simply dismissing the BNP without any in-depth analysis of what it is about their policies that might appeal to voters. We know Britain is the most tolerant and free country in the world so what is it that is threatened and how ? Although I would never vote for the BNP, the mainstream parties must surely act on (or argue against) the legitimate concerns of the electorate in relation to immigration rather than simply banning discussion. The banning of discussion about a concern about any subject simply suggests a lack of coherent argument against that concern and strengthens it.
The media great persuader ... not me i@m voting BnP . THE COUNTRY IS FULL .
Dear MEN
Thank you for not posting my comment and proving that freedom of speech is definitely dead.
J Hall: "I wish to address David`s flagrant rhetoric to influence voters in a democratic society ?? as a columnist working for an impartial press ??"
Thankfully, we have a free press, so it doesn't have to conform to some vague concept of impartiality.
Fozz, excellent post I agree with it.
Just one point, I haven't seen any evidence that UKIP is fascist. To their credit, they have refused overtures from the BNP, and refuse to share a platform.
Hear, hear David - really well argued piece. We just have to wait and see now...
J Hall wants: "impartial and unbiased commenting by columnists is now at last essential."
Er, the whole point of an opinion column is that the columnist can tell you his/her opinion. David's entitled to his opinion and he's entitled to share it with people. And you're entitled to comment on it. As am I. And in fairness to David, he's been doing politics in Greater Manchester for a good few years now so his opinion is quite informed (unlike many who comment on this site!).
Isn't a free country great? You can count your bottom dollar that if we lived in a BNP state we wouldn't enjoy such luxuries as free and open debate. They are the heirs of Hitler and he had a rather old-school take on freedom.
Ironically, they'd want to boot out the likes of Amir Khan, Trevor McDonald, Freema Agyman, Shobna Gulati, Frank Bruno, Sol Campbell, Rusty Lee, Heather Small and Floella Benjamin but the likes of me could stay because, although I'm not British, I am white! As the americans say, go figure.