Reply regarding Hope not Hate Leaflet

In the run-up to the May elections, residents of East Goscote Ward received a distasteful leaflet impugning the BNP candidate, Cathy Duffy. Cathy duly complained about this, and received the following reply:-

Complaint from Cllr Catherine Duffy
RE the Hope not Hate campaign leaflet

"I understand that the complaint was made by Cllr Duffy regarding a leaflet and a letter which was sent to a Ms Pizer but not Cllr Duffy.

Having examined the items, my advice is that no illegal practices /offences or breach of rules have occurred as a result of the publication and circulation of the Hope not Hate leaflet. That advice is base on the following research:

Representation of the Peoples Act 1983

Sections 106 and 110 of the RPA 1983 are the appropriate sections of the act dealing with circumstances where election material contains false statements about a candidate and the prescribe rules relating to the publication of election material designed to promote candidates.
s106 – creates an offence if a person makes untrue statements about the conduct or character of a candidate for office in the elections. The Hope not Hate leaflet is not published by or on behalf of a political party standing in opposition to a candidate but by a campaign/lobby group with no political allegiance. It does not mention Cllr Duffy by name nor does it make any statements which could be said to be about her character or conduct specifically. In my view is not about Cllr Duffy but what Hope not Hate considers the BNP stands for generally. In terms of s106 therefore since it does not mention her by name nor say anything that could be said to be a statement about her character or conduct no offence has been committed under Section 106. This section refers to false statements concerning a candidate’s character or conduct and seek to protect candidates from being the subject of such statements. It does not confer any such protection on a party of which a candidate may be a member. My view is that s106 does not apply to the Hope not Hate leaflet.

In terms of s110 this focuses on publicity material designed to promote a candidate with a view to procuring their election. It sets out the prescribed information that all such material must contain. The Hope not Hate leaflet does not seek to promote any candidate at all and therefore in my view does not appear to be covered by s110.

I cannot see that there is any breach of any rules or any offence committed by those who have circulated this Hope not Hate leaflet."

Christine Taylor LLB Hons Solicitor
Deputy Returning Officer.

Cllr. Duffy's complaint was made on behalf of ladies in her ward, as they were particularly targeted; some informed Cllr. Duffy as the targetting made them feel vulnerable and upset, while others contacted Hope not Hate directly (telephone & e-mail) to express their disgust.

The result of this particular leafletting did not have the desired effect, and must have left a sour taste in the mouths of Hate not Hope. Due to this hate mail, and because the residents know and admire her, Cllr. Duffy received an increased vote and was returned to the seat.

Never underestimate the sympathy of the sisterhood!

BNP Unveils Its 2010 Campaign Issues: Afghanistan, Immigration and the Global Warming Conspiracy

The British National Party will campaign in the 2010 general election on the issues of withdrawal from Afghanistan, a halt to the immigration invasion and an end to the ‘Global Warming’ conspiracy, party leader Nick Griffin MEP has announced.

“We are proud to map out three central and core policy issues which clearly differentiate us from every other political party in Britain,” Mr Griffin said.

“Every other party, Lib Dems and UKIP included, have announced their support for continued British military presence in Afghanistan.

“Only the BNP is unequivocally opposed to this war and demands that all British troops be withdrawn immediately.

“This must be done straightaway, right now,” Mr Griffin said.

“There is not a single grain of Afghan sand that is worth the blood of a British soldier.

“It is a tragic and criminal waste of our young people’s lives and out tax money to even be there, never mind the legal issues involved which indicate that the war itself is illegal,” he said.

The BNP’s position on immigration was also well known, Mr Griffin continued.

“Once again, only the BNP has mapped out policies and solutions to the immigration invasion which are perfectly in line with voter concerns,” he continued.

“All the other parties are in favour of immigration, either through the fake ‘points-based’ nonsense, a ‘balanced migration’ con trick or some other subterfuge.

“Only the BNP demands an end to mass Third World immigration and the implementation of policies which will not only halt this colonisation of our nation by the Third World, but will indeed reverse it as well.”

The third main plank of the BNP’s campaign will be a focus on opposing and exposing the ‘man-made global warming’ conspiracy, Mr Griffin said.

“We will make voters aware that this now totally debunked theory is being used to systematically de-industrialise what is left of the British manufacturing industry and pay over billions to build up and modernise the industries of India and China,” he said.

“The global warming fraud is being used as an excuse to pile stealth taxes and undemocratic controls on the already long-suffering public.

“For example, the taxes mean an extra £18 billion on electricity bills alone,” Mr Griffin said.

“These are the issues about which voters are concerned and on which we will campaign,” Mr Griffin said, adding that the BNP’s opponents never tried to debate policy and instead resorted to attempted character assassination and baseless smears.

“The BNP will however campaign on our policies and we are confident that the voters will make their choices on that basis. The British National Party is the only party which has a coherent, logical and just policy programme which will rescue our great nation,” he concluded.

* The BNP’s manifesto is currently being finalised and will focus heavily on the economy and the need to rebuild Britain’s manufacturing industry which is the only way that real jobs and lasting prosperity can be guaranteed.

* The BBC has created a party policy comparison tool on its website which is surprisingly unbiased and gives a nearly accurate reflection of the BNP’s position on most major issues of the day.

Another fantastic turn out.

Today saw our leafleting team muster more than 16 activists. We all met at the local superstore in Glenfield at 9.30 and started putting out the leaflets shortly afterwards. Local Organiser Kevan Stafford and super-activist Peter Jarvis had all the maps and leaflets ready. We all had our own areas and when finished we met for a coffee. A combined 4000 leaflets were posted and all activists reported a great response from the local people, and even some prospective new members where found. Local residents were asking about joining and we let them have the details .

A grand day out !

Raising funds for the BNP is not easy; Many BNP members are those who lose their jobs first when corporate finance looks for cheap labour, making donations takes courage. Simple ideas are best.
Steve Denham`s idea of a sponsored walk was simple to organise. Kevan Stafford our local Coordinator soon designed and printed some sponsorship forms with his usual speed and professionalism.
Steve suggested Rutland Walk for the venue, and the car park for the meeting point.
There was just five weeks to gather sponsors and iron out the details before the big day. We soon gathered sponsors and many people were keen to help both collecting sponsors, and on the day at Rutland Water.
The big day finally arrived, 12th December. Steve drove to the starting point without any problems. Chris And Kevan could not find the right car park, "thank God for mobile phones" was one of the comments when we all finally did meet up at the car park.
4 members, 6 views, and a large collection of alternative routes - but we all set off regardless. Steve Denham led the way with Pete Jarvis struggling to keep up the pace. Steve only stopped for one cup of tea as he had an appointment later that day and time was passing by. Both Steve and Pete managed the peninsular only because they both took the wrong turning! 24 miles later Steve and Pete both finished, Steve even looked as fresh as when he had first started. Both Kevan and Chris finished about an hour later. It was a fun day and one couple who saw Steve start actually stopped and clapped as he finished.
Over £1000 pounds raised for the party and four members just that little bit fitter. A loosely organised event with little outlay turned into a good fund raising day. Charnwood has two deposits for the General Election now. Thank you to all who donated and helped to make the day possible. Thanks to Carol the fund holder for her input, but most of all, thanks to all who sponsored the walkers..

A good Days work in Birstall

The morning start was 9 30 and we were to meet at the services, "Another great turn out by local activists"Kevan Stafford was heard to say.
We picked up our candidate leaflets and set off on our routes.
Many people today were out and about and lots of positive response from the public. It was noted that the local conservatives had Failed to deliver in Birstall and at a cost of nearly £8000 pounds.(Just think of all the good that could be done with that.)
We met for dinner at the local services as we thought it only right to support local trade.
There was a couple of people today who wanted to know why the election was called a year early so I explained the Conservative councillor had abandoned his seat a year early and thus costing the local tax payers about £8000 pounds for an election. Then there would be yet another election costing the same again next year . They were disgusted and we were told of there pending support at the polling booth. We finished early today putting out just short of 3000 leaflets. so well done all involved .
Cllr Peter Cheeseman

BNP Cares for World War II Hero in East Midlands

Snowbound George, an ex Royal Naval war hero, was set to celebrate his 90th birthday with nothing more than a half empty tub of margarine in his freezer, reports East Midlands British National Party press officer John Ryde.

“However, George is a member of the British National Party and was called by the BNP call centre, as they are doing for all of our elderly members, to see if he was alright during the present winter weather,” Mr Ryde said.

“When they heard of his plight, the call centre immediately contacted East Midlands regional organiser Geoff Dickens who set the wheels in motion to bring food and company to George.

“Activist Peter Cheeseman found out what was needed on the shopping list and collected it from a nearby supermarket and took it round for George — and included a few luxuries.

“George asked how much he had to pay, but Pete said ‘Happy Birthday, this is on me, from one member to another.’

“The British National Party is more than a political party and it practises what it preaches. We have to thank all those caring people within the party who are making this an event right across snowbound Britain,” Mr Ryde said.

Dedication by local activists

British National Party activists from Leicester braved the snow on a cold Saturday morning to meet at the local services. They braved the local foot paths and drive ways in Birstall and combined put out over 2000 leaflets. Arriving later the truth truck toured Birstall and Charnwood where it was warmly received by the local residents. Local organiser Kevan Stafford commented that with the dedication that the party and members have makes us stand apart from the other parties.