Sutton-in-Ashfield, Wah-Wah and Betfair

It's a pleasure to be able to start yet another Friday morning posting with the words . . . and the quiet revolution continues!

Yesterday, despite all the anti-BNP bile in the media, despite thousands of anti-BNP leaflets - paid for by Trade Union bosses misappropriating their members' dues - being delivered to every home in the ward, and despite yet another opinion pollster claiming there was no support for the BNP in the country, 321 people in Sutton-in-Ashfield voted for the British National Party.

That's over 13% and more votes than the high-flying Tories could muster. Just think about this. All week the Tories have had a huge profile in the media and on the very issue that is meant to be behind any support for the BNP. Our Party hasn't had a mention, unless it was something derogatory. Conservative Party spokesmen haven't been off our TV screens banging on about immigration, while there hasn't been a BNP representative on the box for months. Yet despite all of this, 321 people bucked all the political trends and made the effort to get down to a polling station and register their vote for the very political party that they are constantly being told not to vote for.

That's something that has to give us all hope.

The full details from yesterday's poll were:
Ashfield District Council
Sutton-in-Ashfield West Ward
Thursday 1st November 2007
Fiona Asbury (Lib-Dems) 873
Kier Barsby (Lab) 560
Michael Clarke (BNP) 321
John Ross (Ind) 275
Michael Halls (Con) 257
Mark Harrison (Green) 72
BNP Percentage 13.6%

Of course, there have been a spate of emails this week from people worried that the Tories are playing the immigration card and will steal some of our thunder.

My response to them has been "Wah-Wah".

"Wah-Wah" was a film I saw on Tuesday night. It was directed by Richard E Grant and was the story of his early years in Swaziland just before the country's independence. His father's second wife was an American who could never understand the ex-pat colloquialisms of the colonial community there. When others were talking in such a manner, she expressed her frustration at being unable to comprehend what she called "meaningless nonsense" by walking around shouting "Wah-Wah".

"Meaningless nonsense" sums up what the Tories have been talking about all week. Desperately trying to take on the mantle of a Party that will tackle immigration, yet at the same time trying to avoid upsetting immigrant voters. What the Tories have been saying on immigration is 'Wah-Wah' - meaningless nonsense. I certainly don't believe anyone is going to be taken in by it. People know that immigration is the nettle that the other Party's can't grasp because it is a much too controversial subject, so if people like race equality boss Trevor Phillips, are able to praise David Cameron for having the courage to take on the this issue, everyone will know that what the Conservative leader is saying is just 'Wah-Wah'.

There was a little bit of excitement in Maryport last night but you will have to read about it on Clive Jefferson's blog at cumbrianpatriotbnp.blogspot.com as further developments are expected this morning. Suffice to say over 1,000 Maryport Patriot leaflets were delivered last and they certainly had an impact in some quarters!

As I'm just back in front on Betfair I shall be having an interest in this afternoon's meeting at Uttoxeter.
In the first race I'm laying Bathwick Breeze. The sire Sugarfoot has yet to have a winner over jumps and the dam's progeny have a low rating. In the second race I want Coe out of the first three. Trainer Sue Smith, has yet to have a novice hurdle winner this season and Coe's rating is only fifth best in the race. In the 2.30 I have laid Gaelic Gift because trainer Brendan Powell, has a poor strike-rate in handicap hurdles. In the 2.40 I've laid both The Package and Shore Thing. The latter's sire Docksider, has only a 2% strike-rate over jumps and the former has a 20 point inferior rating to the favourite Ouzbeck.

Labour split in Maryport

Steve Harris with me in Maryport back in May and Nigel Williamson.

There's an interesting little drama unfolding in Maryport in West Cumbria. I'll give you some background.

Maryport is the second largest population centre in the Workington constituency where I am the British National Party's prospective parliamentary candidate. In May my wife Tina, and I stood as BNP candidates in two of the town's three wards polling over 600 votes between us which was over 30% of the vote. Maryport was once solid Labour with no elections for 12 years prior to this year because there were never any other candidates to stand against them.

The man behind our successful campaign was our agent Steve Harris. Now he is a Maryport lad, born and bred, and has a high local profile. He was with us every day of the four week campaign and when we were out doing the rounds he seemed to know everyone. We often saw Labour campaigning and it quickly became clear that there were two different groups within that Party. One group would stop and chat and we would exchange leaflets while the other put their heads down and totally ignored us. In fact, we heard that they had a meeting where all the helpers were told not to speak to the BNP under any circumstances. The group that broke the rules was the Old Labour one. Traditional Labour councillors and campaigners who admitted that they were dismayed at the changes in their Party of the past ten years and who read our leaflets and said they couldn't argue against any of our policies.

Steve Harris has done a great job for us in the town setting up a substantial Freedom newspaper round and securing a variety of venues for our meetings. He's got together a smashing team of helpers, all estate based, so that when someone gets a BNP leaflet through their door, they can look out their window and in most cases will know or at least recognise the leafleter.

Well that's the background, now here's the story. After the May elections Steve was asked whether he would like to be co-opted on to Maryport town council. One-in-three people at the May elections had voted BNP so it seemed only right that they should be represented, even though the council was non-political. Steve was delighted and agreed but when he turned up for the meeting he suddenly found that the Labour Party had four of their own up for co-option to the four places on offer. I'll let the West Cumberland Times & Star tell you the rest of the story.

Sex-surf councillor gets his seat back

A MAN forced to resign from Allerdale and Maryport councils for using council computers to surf sex sites has been co-opted back on to Maryport Town Council.

It has been alleged by a former town mayor that Kevin Smith was voted back by councillors trying to keep out a BNP candidate. As a result, ex-mayor Tony Johnstone has resigned from the Labour group in protest and is now sitting as an Independent councillor.

Mr Smith, of Camp Road, Maryport, quit Allerdale after being confronted with a list of adult website pages he had visited. He had signed a code of conduct which stipulated that the council’s computers were not for personal use. Mr Smith, 42 at the time, had represented Maryport on Allerdale’s Netherhall Ward for 10 years and had been a councillor for 18 years. He quit both positions and also resigned as secretary of Labour’s Solway branch. Mr Smith could not be contacted this week but at the time of the incident he said he had gone on to the websites to see what the internet was all about. He said: “It was just the curiosity of a red-blooded male.”

Keith Little, leader of Maryport’s Labour group, said: “He had been looking up sites with material you can see on television after 9pm any day of the week.” Coun Little denied that Mr Smith had been readmitted to council to keep out a BNP candidate. He said: “We had four vacancies to fill on the council. We advertised them and we received nominations, including one from a BNP candidate. When the council voted on the nominations, Mr Smith was among the winners. “It is a long time since he broke council rules. He was a good councillor and, from what I understand, he still gets people approaching him on council business.”

But Coun Johnstone said he believed that Labour members had chosen Mr Smith over Stephen Harris, a BNP candidate, because they were concerned about having a BNP councillor. He said: “Stephen is a local lad. He was not standing for council because of any interest in national politics but because he wanted to serve Maryport.”


I have just this minute spoken to Steve Harris, catching him before he was off to sell poppies for the British Legion in Maryport town centre. He told me:

"I have been told that there is disquiet within the ranks of the Labour Party over what is going on. The split between the councillors and activists who are just for New Labour and those who are more interested in looking after the interests of Maryport is growing bigger by the day. Yesterday I was stopped in the street by another former Labour councillor who said that for the next elections he would be campaigning for the BNP."


A disgraced Labour councillor suddenly rehabilitated. A Labour Party councillor and mayor crossing the floor to become an Independent. Old Labour Party activists letting Steve Harris know they are unhappy with the treatment he has received. Former Labour councillors offering to campaign for the BNP at election time. This drama is set to run and run.


Congratulations to Nigel Williamson, another one of our dedicated band of BNP activists here in Cumbria, who has been co-opted on to Broughton Moor Parish Council. Nigel has been a tireless campaigner for the BNP over the past 12 months and he will be a great asset to the local community.


And finally to football. The FA Cup dream for Workington Reds lives on. Yesterday we beat Boston United 1-0 at Borough Park and have been drawn away to Division Two side Bury, in the First Round Proper. Reds received a very welcome £10,000 for the victory yesterday, and it was a good job they did, because Boston presented us with a massive 'transport' bill. The home side in the FA Cup competition pay the transport costs of the away side. Now a coach for the four hour trip from Boston to Workington and back again, I'm told would be around £800. Yet Boston claimed the trip was five and a half hours and too much to do in one day so they stayed overnight in one of the most expensive hotels in the area. Looking after their entourage cost the Reds £3,200. With gate receipts of around £5,000 and half of this too going to Boston, Reds would have made a loss on the day if they had not won the game. OK, Boston have got their money worries too, but that sort of behaviour is not in the spirit of the FA Cup.

Ready and Waiting in Workington

Five miles on the exercise bike listening to Brian Matthew's Sounds of the Sixties, always starts a Saturday morning. Crossroads theme tune brought back a flood of memories today.

The exercise bike will hopefully get me in shape for the huge leafleting task we have here in the Workington Parliamentary Constituency if or when a General Election is announced.

We are certainly ready for the off with an introductory leaflet all prepared, costed and ready for the printers. 20,000 of these will go out in the towns of Workington, Cockermouth, Maryport, Aspatria and Silloth. There are teams in place in each town to get them out.

Workington has real potential for the British National Party. In the May elections this year, one-third of those who voted within the boundaries of the parliamentary consituency didn't support any of the three main parties. The BNP fought three wards polling 30% in two wards in Maryport and 10% in rural Broughton.

In Maryport there hadn't been an election for 12 years such was Labour's dominance. One Labour campaigner told me the BNP wouldn't get 50 votes in the two seats and were wasting our time and money. On polling day we received over 600 votes and provided a mini earthquake under the local Labour Party.

In the third Maryport seat, Labour were returned unopposed and Steve Harris, the local BNP representative, received a lot of stick from voters there for not fielding a BNP candidate . From feedback it seems the BNP would have received around 30% in this ward as well.

I think the same thing could happen in Workington, which means the BNP could be a real wild card in this election in West Cumbria.

On the money side we are struggling. There is a strong groundswell amongst local activists to contest FOUR Cumbrian seats - we couldn't fight any in 2005. Fighting Carlisle, Workington, Copeland and Barrow would mean 160,000 homes down the West Cumbrian coast receiving a BNP leaflet and getting the chance to vote for one of our candidates.

It does seem to make sense as we averaged 18% in six wards fought in Carlisle in May and scored 23% in a Whitehaven (Copeland) by-election the other week. Even in Barrow we managed 10% in one ward. But it will mean the funds will be spread thinly and just an A5 election address looks on the cards when an A4 one would put us on a par with the three main parties.

If anyone can help with vital funds please contact me. It's not vast sums that are needed -around £400 per constituency to upgrade the Royal Mail delivered leaflet from A5 to A4 size.