CHURCH leaders have issued a joint statement telling people not to vote for the BNP in next week’s crucial Newton by-election.
They fear that if a BNP councillor is elected it will ‘threaten the heart of the community’.
A letter signed by half-a-dozen clergy in Hyde has been sent to voters urging them not to vote for the far-right party.
The by-election on Thursday follows the death of Labour councillor Margaret Oldham last month.
In last May’s elections the BNP took second place. And with the recession biting, worries are mounting voters may turn their backs on the mainstream parties.
The Rev Richard Lamey, of St Mary’s Church, Newton said: "We are intending to deliver this letter to as many people as possible in the ward to urge people to go out and vote on 5 February — and to vote for parties which do not foster fear and hatred. We are concerned at the possibility of a BNP councillor in Newton, hence our taking this unusual step."
In the letter, the church leaders condemn the ‘racist history and policies’ of the BNP.
It states: ‘We believe that the election of a BNP councillor would threaten the heart of a community which is essentially open and welcoming, kind and hopeful. Whoever we elect in Newton next week will have a major impact on our daily lives. And when you do vote, think about the type of society you want Newton to be, and then vote for a party which does not rely on racial hatred and the fostering of division. Newton is better than that.’
The letter is signed by: Fr Philip Bennison (St Stephen’s Church, Flowery Field); The Rev Nic Bentley (Rosemount Methodist Church); The Rev Alan Bolton (Rosemount Methodist Church); The Rev Eric Breeze (Flowery Field Church); The Rev Richard Lamey (St Mary’s Church of England Church, Newton); Fr Denis Maher (St Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, Hyde).
Anthony Jones, local BNP spokesman, said: "These men speak only for themselves from an unelected position. They are cossetted against the current economic climate. They don’t have any real fears over losing their jobs. The council and the clergy are clearly worried the BNP will win that seat."
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Sir Elliott Pest , Newton Nr. Hyde. (29/01/2009 at 10:08)
Religion has been the cause of most wars and conflicts.
After reading the recent propoganda directed against the BNP, it only makes me think they must have something to offer, that the other parties haven't.
I've never voted BNP before, but this time I will be doing.
David Moon, Seaford, Sussex (29/01/2009 at 13:13)
J.Hall, Tameside (29/01/2009 at 14:45)
Do they represent their parishioners view,or are they simply taking a political stance.
I don`t see any leaflets from them telling people to send donations to the Palestinians.I see no condemnation of the Bankers.Money Lenders whoi have stripped the UK assets clean.I see no leaflets from them asking for people to write to Church Heads asking for the removal of all clergy involved in sex perversions after convicted.
You simply sit pontificating on political issues which you pretend are associated with the need for fairness for all without discrimination.
Well how about unlocking your own and seek
equatalities for the thousands ofr Pensioners in your localities who dye each year from cold,ration their food because of being the worst paid pensioners in Europe.
You make me puke clergy,and I`m glad after being closely involved in the Cof E I recognised the hypocrisy stuffed down my throat,ably supported by the Bishops and Archbishop.
How much have you sent to Palestinian Children,
Have you openly condemned Israel`s daily bombing of a race who were thrown off their own lands,after their terror gangs killed british soldiers and terrosided the region in the 30`s and 40`s in thie method to be "given" a homeland.
I feel you are not worthy of your role`s,if this is how you try and manipulate the minds of others,and you deserve condemnation.
Sir Elliott Pest , Newton Nr. Hyde. (29/01/2009 at 15:16)
Thank you for the information re:Trying to influence the outcome of an election.
Living in the area of Newton, Hyde, I will certainly be letting the authorities know if the clergy start to leaflet the area.
Like you say "they should keep there unknowledgable noses out of politics.
bertie bert (29/01/2009 at 20:43)
First, it is ridiculed.
Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
- Schopenhauer
Mike K, Longsight (29/01/2009 at 23:33)
Sir Elliott Pest , Newton Nr. Hyde. (30/01/2009 at 09:50)
Letrs see what the diocese of Chester has to say over the matter of the local chuch trying to illegally influence the outcome of a election, and for your information, the letter has already been fowarded to them.
Gorton, where's that on the map, ah, i can hear gunfire, must be due-west of Newton.
about 5 miles due-west too.
Is that in the parish of Newton in Longdendale?
I think not.
Careless Whisper (30/01/2009 at 10:34)
Voice of Sanity (30/01/2009 at 10:38)
At least the member will have been elected, not like Mr Brown.
on me 'ed, dukinfield (30/01/2009 at 10:41)
JMP, Manchester (30/01/2009 at 11:20)
The BNP asks only for fairness for the indigenous population of this country in jobs; housing and education.
With 2.000,000 or more unemployed, is it right to be importing workers from overseas?
I assume these clergymen are law abiding and will obey electoral law in submitting the expenses for these leaflets and the source of the money to pay for them, to the electoral authorities
Exted, Hyde (30/01/2009 at 13:41)
Racism is the refuge of the intellectually challenged and morally moribund. Unfortunately, when it's concealed beneath a veneer of respectability (the flag of St George; helping locals to keep or to get jobs; being proactive in the [white] community; etc.), people who would otherwise reject it as one of the evils against which our country fought in the last world war can too easily be persuaded to endorse pro-racist views.
Were the BNP to have the courage of its convictions, it would make clear its true ideals and objectives -- and would, I have no doubt, be heartily rejected individually and collectively at each turn. Certainly, it would become an illegal organisation (as it is, the Police [foir example] specifically state that membership of the party is counter to the objectives of law and order).
BNP members' individual and collective cowardice (or, some might say, deviousness) has been converted by the party into an obfuscatory tactic by which it may increase its share of votes at the forthcoming election. For all our sakes it is essential that those who promulgate what is, at core, a nasty and fundamentally misanthropic ethos, are given to understand that the only minority it is right and proper to seek to expel from public and private spheres is that to which they and the adherants of their fallacious philosophy represent.
CorneredAllTheLuck, Audenshaw (30/01/2009 at 14:24)
Sir Elliott Pest , Newton Nr. Hyde. (30/01/2009 at 16:26)
CorneredAllTheLuck, Audenshaw
A very naive and immature response to say the least.
Gone are the days of the National Front.
I don't particularly support all their views, but on this occasion they are going to get my vote, just to get these NuLab parasites out.
Dennis the Menace, Hyde (31/01/2009 at 01:30)
The BNP may not be all things to all people but it certainly offers a choice from the other equally moraly bereft Parties that claim to represent the best interests of the constituents ......
Were the BNP to be elected I think it would certainly make the other local party leaders pay a little more attention to real local issues ...... I eagerly await the outcome of this election .....
on me 'ed, dukinfield (31/01/2009 at 16:06)
Allegations, once more, totally unfounded. If this so called "racism" were the "true ideals and objectives" of the BNP, then the organisation would be illegal. Racism, whether hidden or not, is illegal, period.
Moondog, Lancs (31/01/2009 at 18:14)
Most of us know at least someone from an ethnic minority of whom we think well. Do we really want to cut these decent people adrift?
Sir Elliott Pest , Newton Nr. Hyde. (31/01/2009 at 21:30)
Exted, Hyde (01/02/2009 at 21:25)
"Under this policy, no member of the police service, whether police officer or police staff, may be a member of an organisation whose constitution, aims, objectives or pronouncements contradict the general duty to promote race equality... This specifically includes the British National Party."
Peter Fahy, ACPO lead on Workforce Development and Chief Constable for Greater Manchester Police, has said: 'Membership or promotion of the British National Party by any member of the Police Service, whether police officer or police staff, is prohibited. This is because such membership would be incompatible with our duty to promote equality under the Race Relations Amendment Act and would damage the confidence of minority communities.
"'Whilst the policy may have been controversial at the time it was enacted, in 2004, it has since been accepted by all staff and staff associations and remains unchallenged thus far.' "
Typically, the BNP and its supporters are fond of crying "persecution" in a somewhat pathetic attempt to bolster support. Were the facts not to so dangerous, it would be a matter of classic comic irony that leading members of this party continue to seek to re-invent history by claiming that such things as the holocaust never, actually, happened.
Yes, if we are to deal in facts, let us do so -- and not in less-than-half-truths half-baked in the passion of ignorance.
Darren Dale (03/02/2009 at 14:39)
Lady Foy, Herefordshire (03/02/2009 at 17:19)
Yet another attack on the BNP. The following WILL upset certain segments of the mainstream media and the likes of "Unite", "UAF", and other anti-BNP organisations, but it needs saying.
The Establishment is trying to portray the British National Party's support for striking British Workers as somehow being "Racist". WRONG! The BNP puts ALL British workers, regardless of race, colour, creed or class to the front of the queue for British jobs. The British National Party does not just speak in the support of "White" workers but also in support of all those genuine and legal "ethnic" workers who are just as concerned about their futures as their white counterparts.
No matter why they came here, they are here now and if they are now legally British Citizens, they have equal rights to work and protection also.
Who then are the real "racists", if not the globalists who seek destroy the lives and way of life of all British Citizens in their quest to create their One World build on slave labour?
Please link for further illumination on this, right here:
http://tinyurl.com/a9kd5b
Exted, Hyde (03/02/2009 at 17:38)
Actually, of course, this issue is firmly within the remit of clergy -- certainly so far as the Church's own membership is concerned. As I think I've already made plain, I'm not a fan of most of the Church's teachings; but it's an ignorant person indeed who would seek to claim that politics lies outside the sphere of Christianity.
The BNP is seeking to represent the people of Newton; those clergy who have signed the letter urging their laity not to vote BNP already represent a fair number of Newton residents. Were the Church to fail to speak out, it would be abrogating its religious, social and humanitarian duties entirely.
Mr Dale repeats the tired, unbelievable statement that the BNP is not racist. If it is not now racist, it certainly used to be. Richard Edmonds, Deputy BNP leader, was asked in 1993 if the party was racist. His reply? "We are 100 per cent racist, yes". (Quotation from the BBC Panorama programme, "BNP:Under the Skin": [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/programmes/2001/bnp_special/roots/1984.stm])
The BNP's current leader, Nick Griffin, is a former Nation Front (NF) member. He also edited the BNP publication The Rune. This is widely regarded (and is self-evidently) an anti-semitic publication. So obvious was this that, following a complaint made by the Lib Dem MP Alex Carlile QC, Griffin was charged with violating The Public Order Act 1986, Section 19 (Racial Hatred). He was found guilty and given a 9-month suspended prison sentence as well as a fine of over £2000.00.
Can a leopard change its spots? Perhaps. But not very often; and not without radical surgery first.
J.Hall, Tameside (03/02/2009 at 21:20)
Please don`t hold the Police up as the achievement in standards otherwise you will set us all up laughing.
Why dont the Police tell their members not to be members of the Freemasons,a secret organisation that seeks always to protect its members "regardless of what they do"
Using the Police/BNP as your point has no merit whatsoever,else rid the Police of its thousands of Freemasons as well.
Andrew Skerratt (03/02/2009 at 21:42)
A Trebilcock (04/02/2009 at 09:33)
Labour should give the British public a referendum on the EU and everyone will see that none of its laws and regulations is wanted. Labour are plain and simple Red Marxists that want to turn Britain into a communist state of the EUSSR