FAO BNP Voters (And BNP Haters)

[James.]

Hope Not Hate - Not In My Name Petition

[Simi]

Hope Not Hate - Not In My Name Petition

When will people realise that that petitions make very little difference?

They've got seats because people voted for them. I take it the people that are signing these petitons probably didn't go out and vote and have now realised they don't like it?

I worry for the future, because as a youth myself, I see a lot of my friends already ignorantly supporting the BNP, my fear is that they will only grow as a party.

[James.]

They've got seats because people voted for them. I take it the people that are signing these petitons probably didn't go out and vote and have now realised they don't like it?

The person who I got it off certainly would have voted and simply wants to raise awareness about the consequences of the BNP being voted in to the European Parliament.

It isn't always about expecting a petition to dramatically change everything - it's more about improving understanding (check out the rest of that site and I guarantee you'll learn something) and at least getting a message to MP's that people are not happy as well as raising the profile of the Hope not Hate campaign generally.

Some petitions will have more impact than others and some will have different objectives entirely, it's not exactly black and white is it.

[Thracian]

a) Discontent with Labour is only part of the story. Why did people vote BNP rather than say, LibDem or Green, as a means of expressing their anger? The reason is because the BNP's analysis, flawed though it is, is largely endorsed by the media (and tabloids in particular) on a day-to-day basis. This makes it far easier for them to spread their message of despair and hate.

b) If Labour lost a vote of confidence this week, and a Tory government came to power in the election that followed, would a single extra job be created, or an extra house built? Would society suddenly become fairer and more tolerant? Of course not.

c) The government, like it or not, was elected on a mandate to serve for up to five years. It should use the remainder of that term in a positive way, and give reason to believe that the party can still change Britain for the better.

a) The media had damn all to do with people voting BNP rather than LibDem or Green. They voted BNP because they want an end to open door immigration and an end to the obscene levels of unemployment. And it's no use pretending anything else.

b) Would society be fairer and more tolerant under the Tories? No-one knows but they it could hardly be worse. I cannot be bothered to repeat chapter and verse but I'd say this government were "champions" went it comes to unfairness, deceipt, outright lies, corruption, fraud etc and tolerant only of the things which shouldn't be tolerated like drunks and druggies burgling houses, giving vicious murders and child molesters licence to re-offend and people who have been ordered deported to use some excuse to remain here etc, etc, etc.

c) That's like saying DJ Campbell was signed on a long term contract to lead City's forward line. The government were elected in good faith to govern well and to be a credit to this country. Do you really believe the working people of this country voted for Labour to virtually disown them except as charity cases? Labour as a government have failed miserably and worse than that they have brought shame and dishonour on the whole process of governemtn. The BNP is quite right that many of them should really be in court rather than in Parliament.

I don't mind saying that I believe you to be a dedicated and conscientous local councillor. Far too class conscious maybe, but sincere nevertheless.

But what you don't seem to see and accept is that your party and your senior politicians have scandalously dragged Labour's name through the mud and your support with it.

Almost equally badly they have not represented the so-called working class of this country which has traditionally been the reason for their existence but have instead brought a good many of them to their knees, both socially and financially.

And that's before I talk about their manipulative approach to government, their singular unwillingness to abandon their own dogmatic beliefs and do what the people want, their counter-productive and often ill-thought-through ideas and the shameless lies by which they try to achieve any aim which they believe might otherwise be unpopular.

[Samilktray]

I too am worried about the amount of people in my age range who seem to 'support' the BNP.

[Simi]

I too am worried about the amount of people in my age range who seem to 'support' the BNP.

It'll only increase, especially if they begin to get more seats and more publicity.

The problem, for me, is that no government seems to want to relate and associate with the youth of today. We're all made out to be knife carrying sex addicts and nobody seems to pay any attention to the vote that is there to be taken. A lot of kids will now just turn around and say "Yeah, BNP, get the immigrants out, that's what's wrong with this country'.

Until other parties start to reach out to the younger ones, it'll carry on that way.

[Finnegan]

a) The media had damn all to do with people voting BNP rather than LibDem or Green. They voted BNP because they want an end to open door immigration and an end to the obscene levels of unemployment. And it's no use pretending anything else.

Yes, but as figures by davieG suggested earlier in the thread - the actual statistics for immigration aren't that scary at all and compared to many other countries we're actually fairly tight on immigration.

It's tabloid sensationalism that throws fuel on the story and makes it a much bigger issue than it is. Then gullible punters like yourself who are looking for someone or something to blame for many of the issues around you latch on to it. Some take a racist stance and blame the immigrants themselves while some are more indirect in their ignorance and prejudice and choose an age-old attitude of simply blaming the government.

Either way, the common public are lead to believe that immigration is one of the single biggest threats to this country - a belief endorsed by the mass media - which sends them directly into the line of sight of the BNP's canvasers.

I'm not for one moment supporting Labour or their descent into absolutely diabolical governance but nor am I a big enough sheep that I'll ignore statistical evidence and blindly follow the whims of the Mail, the Express, the Sun or Y! news purely to find means to vent my anger. There are things to blame the government for and it's possible that other parties may solve the issue, immmigration just isn't a major one and the BNP are not the answer.

Stopping all immigration would just be throwing a drop of water on a well fuelled fire. You might put a temporary downer on a rising spike of unemployment but you're not solving the initial problem. What you want is to find the source of the fire and eliminate it which doesn't mean getting rid of "them foreigners" it means finding a way to rebalance our economy both nationally and globally.

[dandannieldanok]

What a sad state of affairs, the BNP actually managed to get two seats.

[l444ry]

Just 900 and 5000 votes for Labour could have stopped the BNP winning two seats in the European Parliament - votes wasted on the Green Party eco-liars, who say they can stop climate change, or thrown away by fake anarchist losers and self harmers who think they are so much more politically astute than everyone else for not voting. Then they moan at the result!

These anarchist parasites and green goon liars are a disaster for the honest working people of Britain whose only real protection is a Labour government.

Todays survival tip: despite the credit crunch, keeping any cats or dogs you may have is still advisable; you might need to eat them to survive in the future if the Tories take over.

[Thracian]

While I don't agree that Labour (and mainstream politics as a whole) are blameless, I don't disagree with this statement either.

The press (and people's unblinkered belief in what they read) doesn't help at all.

That sure makes me wonder what you have read and been infuenced by in your young life.

I don't imagine you voted BNP. Or for anyone on the Right.

Is that a) because you are somehow cocooned from the same media pressure that the rest of us have to cope with, b) because you only give fair consideration to certain media entities whose bias is a given c) because you are just stronger and more resilient than others when it comes to being influenced or d) because you could never go home to the Valleys if you didn't case a socialist vote (even though I'm hearing that even the Welsh have turned to the Conservatives in their frustration with Labour.?

[Finnegan]

I consider myself more intelligent than your average tabloid news reader, yes.

I am not arrogant enough to consider myself highly enlightened or well informed. I'm not arrogant enough to claim I understand the detailed workings of economics and this is something I'd like to correct in my life. I'm not arrogant enough to tell the Monks and the James' of this forum what's what in any fiscal context, that's for sure.

But nor am I stupid. Nor do I blindly believe everything I read, whether it's plastered in red and black type font and emblazoned with pictures of El Che or whether it starts out with the words: IS TONY BLAIR EATING OUR CHILDREN'S AIDS?

Whether you like it or not, Tony, it's young men and women like me you want to put your faith in for the future because it's young men and women like me that are going to stay politically conscious. It's young men and women like me who care who runs the country, who don't think it's sad or nerdy to have an opinion and who'll slap the fucking taste out of the mouth of anyone who laughs at us for going to vote. I care, passionately. It's the apathetic you want to go and preach to because whether or not you like what I believe in - they're doing infinitely more harm.

[The People's Hero]

Jesus wept.

I weep.

[Edmund]

Im just glad I didn't waste my vote.

Top marks to all the guys who spoilt there ballots. You really showed them didn't you

[Fosse Boy]

Im just glad I didn't waste my vote.

Top marks to all the guys who spoilt there ballots. You really showed them didn't you

I didn't spoil my ballot, but it's not them you should be mad at. At least they bothered to turn out and register their disapproval of all those up for election. It's the people who can't be arsed (like a mate I had a rant at on Saturday night) with the "oh, my vote won't make a difference" attitude that really let the side down...

[Daggers]

Top marks to all the guys who spoilt there ballots. You really showed them didn't you

No less effective than me voting for a party which didn't win.

[Finnegan]

I think the mere chap the BNP would "send back" this chap is reason enough not to vote for them:

[Super Arj]

Well I'll vote Tory anyway but BNP are quite appealing because:

I'm 16 who is currently taking his GCSE exams and has chosen A-levels.

When I leave full time education I will need a job.

Because of the recession unemployment is high and jobs are few and far between with dozens applying for the same job.

Because of vast immigration there are hardly no jobs available.

BNP will oppose immigration.

= More jobs available for teens like me when we need them.

mate, i'm the same age as you..

but clearly you need to read up a bit more before doing something like that,

tell me,

do you think the economy of the country will get better without "ethic groups"

and if you've studies business, the recession runs on a 7 year basis, therefore you should be fine for a job...

[Koke]

Hey Blabyfox, Mohamed Al-Fayed owns Harrods and it employs thousands of people - if you ask him nicely maybe he'll give you a job.

Just saying....

[Edmund]

I didn't spoil my ballot, but it's not them you should be mad at. At least they bothered to turn out and register their disapproval of all those up for election. It's the people who can't be arsed (like a mate I had a rant at on Saturday night) with the "oh, my vote won't make a difference" attitude that really let the side down...

Yep this also but you have to accept that not everyone will vote. At least if you turn up to a poll station make the most of it.

No less effective than me voting for a party which didn't win.

Yes but if all the people who didn't spoil there ballots did vote for the party you voted for then there would be more of a chance surely

[DJ Barry Hammond]

a) The media had damn all to do with people voting BNP rather than LibDem or Green. They voted BNP because they want an end to open door immigration and an end to the obscene levels of unemployment. And it's no use pretending anything else.

I don't know, they certainly kept the party name in the headlines. And sadly the interviews they did with the first guy that won and Nick Griffin were far too agressive in a way, as both the guys made cool, calm responses (no doubt expecting this approach) and made the BBC presenters look out of order for attacking them with so much force. (True it's difficult to preceive what others may think, but thats my take.)

There was two big suprises for me though within this election:

1.) The amount of votes fro UKIP - consider people had to search for their place on the ballet didn't they do well - I fear however these are only a matter of a few steps from being a BNP type party.

It is possibly thanks to these that the BNP didn't win more votes/seats possibly?

2.) The Conservatives - despite the Telegraph revealing that the Tory's had as many crooks in their party as Labour, the only difference being the lavish things they spent on their expenses they got out of that very well.

This is undoubtly down to the fact that Cameron looks like a young and inspiring figure and is a very good speaker - he's not quite Obama, but he's not bad.

I also noticed loads of their boards out in the South West, so fair play they did there work - compared to Labour's zero - I didn't spot one plackard!

One last worrying point about the BNP getting in though - as there are also 'far right parties' from other nations that have gained seats in the European Parliment they find they have some sway!

[Kilworthfox]

Political groups as a whole are just wrong IMO.

Individuals who decide to get involved in such activities as political activism, are either in it for themselves 99.9% of our politicians, or really keen on the idea of controlling the mass to work for their idea of a perfect society (BNP & other fringe party activists). I don't see why someone has to put it on themselves to decide what is right for millions of people.

The major parties are controlled by a few individuals who will come up with what they believe are popular vote winning policies which will run along side a common view either left, right or a watered down centred option(s).

If I was a conspiracy theorist which I am not! This BNP story has come along to take some conversations and attention away from the governments failures and inability to stop stealing the public's money with their expenses. Have the BNP become useful to our government in times of PR crisis?

Also I don't know if I am correct on this but wasn't it the people of South Yorkshire whom voted in the BNP? Not exactly a major surprise as many of the people from that area are racist and generally boneheaded idiots IMO, in comparison with the majority of people good and bad that I have met from all over England.

Extremist political parties and activists are scum bags or easily confused and, or misled individuals.

[Thracian]

I consider myself more intelligent than your average tabloid news reader, yes.

I am not arrogant enough to consider myself highly enlightened or well informed. I'm not arrogant enough to claim I understand the detailed workings of economics and this is something I'd like to correct in my life. I'm not arrogant enough to tell the Monks and the James' of this forum what's what in any fiscal context, that's for sure.

But nor am I stupid. Nor do I blindly believe everything I read, whether it's plastered in red and black type font and emblazoned with pictures of El Che or whether it starts out with the words: IS TONY BLAIR EATING OUR CHILDREN'S AIDS?

Whether you like it or not, Tony, it's young men and women like me you want to put your faith in for the future because it's young men and women like me that are going to stay politically conscious. It's young men and women like me who care who runs the country, who don't think it's sad or nerdy to have an opinion and who'll slap the fucking taste out of the mouth of anyone who laughs at us for going to vote. I care, passionately. It's the apathetic you want to go and preach to because whether or not you like what I believe in - they're doing infinitely more harm.

Sadly, the future for young people like you can so easily be ruined by people of my age doing the wrong things, no matter how passionate you are.

And, in my view, Gordon Brown and the current Labour Party have been about as naive, unseeing, unworthy and careless for the future of our country as it is possible to be.

I've been called about many things but I don't think anyone has ever criticised me for lacking faith in young people. But it might be worth remembering that a champion fighter can be passionate yet still get badly hurt for failing to think properly and keep his eyes open.

Being arrogant or not doesn't really matter. Being right is what counts. And that means keeping an open mind and analysing everything you read, see and hear in a critical manner rather than simply under the handicap of what you want to believe, what your background has encouraged you to believe and whatever slant the media or your influences offer.

That is not easy for anyone.

[ASH17LCFC]

So anyone on here vote for the BNP ?

[Matt]

Yep this also but you have to accept that not everyone will vote. At least if you turn up to a poll station make the most of it.

Yes but if all the people who didn't spoil there ballots did vote for the party you voted for then there would be more of a chance surely

Force everyone who spoilt their ballot to have to pick a party they wouldn't all pick the same, no doubt it would be fairly even across the board.

[Edmund]

Force everyone who spoilt their ballot to have to pick a party they wouldn't all pick the same,

Well of course im only speculating because "I like to think" that bnp supporters are in the minority and if those who spoilt there ballot voted then it would have been in favour of party's opposed to extreme right wing policies.