Friday 14 December 2007

Ten weeks on and still no result from Burnley


Will it be today - the decision that we are all waiting for?

A judge at the Royal Courts of Justice has now been deliberating for TEN WEEKS over the recount by court officials of the disputed Rosegrove with Lowerhouse Ward election result for Burnley Council last May. You may remember that our excellent candidate John Rowe, won the contest by two votes before two previously rejected ballots were added to the Labour vote to make it a tie. Labour then won the seat on the drawing of straws.

John and his fellow councillors in Burnley were outraged by the decision and took their case to the High Court where they won a landmark decision that another count should take place and the rejected ballot papers be re-scrutinised. Since then silence.

I fielded nearly fifty telephone calls in a three hour stint in the Membership Office yesterday and I am delighted to report that Gold Membership is much in demand this year so I hope the Party has ordered enough gold badges. It was good to talk to so many enthusiastic nationalists as they renewed their membership and there is a real sense among people that 2008 is going to be our year. Everyone is talking about the London Assembly Elections and the opportunity it provides the British National Party.

There was one especially poignant call I took yesterday from Peggy Wolton from Devon. Now Peggy used to live in Brighton back in the early 1970s and her husband Ralph was the Brighton organiser. In fact, Ralph was the first ever nationalist I actually spoke to. I had filled in the coupon at the bottom of a Stop Immigration leaflet I had found on a train coming home from work one day and in the information pack that was sent to me were the details of my nearest contact, who happened to be Ralph Wolton. He was a former Battle of Britain pilot with 152 squadron and was the finest ambassador possible for the nationalist cause. Sadly Ralph passed away many years ago, but Peggy is still in good health as she approaches her 90th birthday. We had a nice chat and it's good to know that she is still in touch from many of those from the 'old days'.

Anyone waiting up last night for the council by-election result from Harrow . . . are still waiting! That's because I'm told that the count is being held this morning. London organiser Nick Ericksen is hoping for 3% of the total vote in Canon's ward which must be one of our most difficult areas in the capital. We need to contest elections like this one to squeeze out every last vote we can in preparation for the GLA elections next May. While we will hopefully be polling 30% plus in Barking, Dagenham and some other areas of East London, we will still need that 3% in less favourable areas so we can reach that magic figure of 9% to get our two BNP representatives elected.

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