Stunned

WEST Cumbria is in a state of shock this morning after the events of the last 48 hours.

The tragic loss of Bill Barker on the bridge in Workington, just by the Reds football gound, has left everyone stunned.

Clive Jefferson reports that Cockermouth is virtually under seige from rising water and there's the worry that the renewed onslaught from the weather, which is forecast for today, could have further devastating effect.

On Thursday when the storm hit us, at one point it seemed as though the roof of our constituency office might blow off. I was crawling around in the eaves with buckets trying to catch the leaks as the rain came down in sheets.

There are floods everywhere but thankfully the office has survived so far and Tina and I live on a hill so we should be OK.

Today's FA Trophy tie against Solihull has quite correctly been postponed - not because the pitch is waterlogged - apparently it's quite playable - but because of the tragedy at the bridge.

I spoke with Nick Griffin at length yesterday as he wanted a complete briefing on the situation in Workington and Cockermouth. He wants to help but said that we must wait until the emergency services have done their work and the media circus has left the area. Then we will see how we can be of use by utilising Nick's English Fair Fund to support any local projects helping the stricken community.

Tina's off the Carlisle this morning to do a bit of shopping by has strict instructions to be back by mid-day when the next round of weather is due to hit. At the moment the sun is shining and there's not a breath of wind . . . . the lull before the storm?

Is there a daily newspaper with our name on it?

THE establishment are scoring some huge own goals and the repercussions will reverberate throughout the body politic of Britain.

I can't say too much at the moment as all these issues are ongoing, but suffice to say that the Labour Government and its cronies might have been able to deny the British National Party its legal rights before we had our two MEPs elected, but since June 4th it is now a very different ballgame.

There are six specific issues currently under scrutiny where the representatives of the British National Party have been deliberately discriminated against, when trying to fulfill their duties as members of the European Parliament. Legal advice states that it is against the "spirit of constitutional law" what is being done, while a political correspondent, one who has no sympathy with the BNP, has described the actions as "outrageous" and "sure to enhance the BNP's victim status in the eyes of the public."

Watch this space!

I was particularly pleased to note a comment made by one Nick Durst in the Sunday Times after the report on the British National Party's growing support in Blackburn, Stoke and Leicester. He wrote:

"If the BNP are growing then the first media outlet to give them a fair hearing will grow too. The public are interested in the British National Party and want more honest and unbiased reporting about their policies, rather than the lies printed in most newspapers which is designed to discredit the BNP. "

I'm hoping to see many more of these types of comment in the future. It will take a brave newspaper to make such a stand, but as support and the media profile of the British National Party continues to grow, such a move might become a distinct possibility.

Nick's a celeb!

OK and Hello magazines had better get their skates on if they want to have a Nick and Jackie exclusive because the other celebrity publications are already asking for features on the British National Party chairman and his lovely wife.


Before Question Time we would have regarded such string of requests for non-political and just personal and family interviews as highly suspicious. But now they have become a regular occurrence and our internet research shows that the journalists are who they say they are and that their previous work has been reporting on political 'celebrities'.

I don't know what Nick and Jackie will make of all this personal attention. I expect they will be rather reluctant to say anything, after their recent experience with the seriously physiologically damaged Dominic Carmen.

Nick's MEP mailbag is massive as is his European Parliament workload. How he manages all his British National Party work as well is a testament to his 24 hour, 7 days a week commitment to both jobs.

THE FRENCH DEFEATED: America should have heeded history before getting involved in Vietnam. Britain should have done the same before getting involved in Afghanistan.

Re-reading The Quicksand War by Lucien Bodard and it is a brilliant book. It's the best one to read if you want to understand the Vietnam War. The book covers the period after the Second World War to the defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. If the Americans had known what Bodard did about the commitment of the Vietminh, they would never have got involved.

Workington Reds are away at Telford tomorrow so I shall be glued to Radio Cumbria all afternoon listening for the latest updates. In the morning it will be putting the garden to bed for the winter. I had been hoping to do this on Sunday, but the forecast for Cumbria is gale force winds and torrential rain with the possibility of storm damage and flooding so I shall probably pop into the office and do a bit of work.

The Stormfront Times

Well can you believe it?

The Times, once the newspaper of record, is using a so-called neo-nazi website that has more anti-nazi contributors than those who worship Hitler, as a source for its information.

This once proud newspaper is sinking to new depths at a rapid rate of knots and you just wonder why the current editor allows Fiona Hamilton's ridiculous anti-BNP tirades to appear day after day.

I see the 'fish killer' Matthew Collins was also contacted for a quote, but I have to admit that he is very knowledgeable on the subject of the Stormfront website. That's because he posts on it himself under three different names and often starts the anti-BNP threads before calling The Times to tell them about it.

You will see plenty more of this 'over-the-top' reporting on the British National Party in the run-up to next month's all important Annual Conference when the preliminary discussion on the possibility of changing our membership criteria will take place. Our opponents are desperate to whip up a storm of opposition to the proposed change in a last ditch effort to get our Party banned, and today's promotion of the Stormfront website in The Times is the opening shot of this campaign.

The flood of support for Nick Griffin after his performance on Question Time is unrelenting. There's telephone call after telephone call at all the British National Party offices from people contacting the Party for the first time to voice their support and express their disgust at the tactics of the BBC.

The British people don't like to see unfairness or victimisation. Their eyes have now been opened and, as I said yesterday, all these new attacks on Nick and the BNP only go to confirm our victim status.

Of course I'm delighted that The Times also boosted my 'street cred' within Party as mooting me as a new fuhrer. However this boost will be short lived if Colin Goodgroves' photo of me allegedly dropping off during the Trafalgar Club dinner at the weekend get circulated amongst the membership.



Colin calls the photo, "tired but happy" and I think that just about sums up how I was feeling.

But the genie is out of the bottle

AFTER Saturday's brief respite in the media, the attacks on the BNP are back with a vengeance with the newspapers of the last two days full of the same old hate stories designed to whip up a campaign against the British National Party and its membership.

But I firmly believe that the public will now have a different slant on those stories to what they would have had before the Question Time programme.

The bullying of Nick Griffin on that programme and the gloating about that bullying that appeared in Friday's newspapers have certainly propelled the British National Party into the limelight with a considerable victim status, and any further nasty media attacks on the Party just go to elevate that victim status in the mind of the public even further.

I think the Genie is certainly out of the bottle

The higher profile of the British National Party increases the workload of those employed by the Party and who work for our two MEPs and the telephone in our North West Office has been been constantly ringing over the past few days with callers wanting to become involved or to offer support.


It was an excellent night on Saturday and contrary to what was said in today issue of The SUN, the dinner was a thank you to those who have supported the Trafalgar Club over the past 12 months. The only collection taken at the event was for the staff at the hotel for providing a brilliant evening with superb food.

We stayed at a stunning hotel on the outskirts of Ross-on-Wye and thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend, although we didn't stay for Sunday's boat trip but made an early start for our long trip back home to Cumbria.

"EVENING": Hardworking NW Regional Organiser Clive Jefferson.
STOP PRESS:

Ooops . . . . The Sun scores an own goal!. Our call centre reports donations flooding in after The Sun had claimed today that a "fund-raising" dinner in Ross-on-Wye was a flop.

Fund-raiser Jim Dowson is delighted:

"The Trafalgar Club dinner wasn't a fund-raiser, but thanks to The Sun it has now become one as the public, sympathetic to the BNP after the lion's den of Question Time, want to show their support."

I think it's called a win/win situation

IT'S nearly three o'clock. Tina and Alistair are fielding telephone calls and Clive is next door monitoring the huge amount of media coverage.

I'm trying to post reports on "this morning in Parliament" on our MEP's websites but both sites, along with the main website, are down under a prolonged attack.

In the past hours our victim status has risen to an all time high with the public, in phone-ins and on the internet, rallying behind the Party and against the unfair bullies in the media, the Labour Party and the Tory Party with their over the top attacks on us.

I have just spoken with Nick in Strasbourg and he says that this morning has been "quite incredible". Not only did both he and Andrew get to make statements on climate change in the European Parliament but then they have been besieged by the media ever since.

The political move by 'the generals' who despite being retired have still used their position to lobby for Labour and the Tories against the BNP (make no mistake that is what this is all about), has backfired into giving us a massive media coup with the opening scenes of our brilliant European Election Broadcast being played over and over again on every news channel.

With regard to the list, this is not a membership list as such but just a collection of segments comprising of some members, enquirers, lapsed members, subscribers and supporters. It was cobbled together by yet another former member of staff who was sacked. I understand that the police have already paid her a visit.

And please call the police if you get any grief from our opponents telephoning late at night. Don't let these cowards get away with it. It is easy to track calls nowadays so they will find the culprits.

Peter Hain is going to the BBC Trust in his last ditch attempt to get Nick barred from Question Time. But it doesn't matter now.

If Question Time goes ahead - it will provide great publicity for the British National Party.

If Peter Hain manages to stop Nick appearing - it will provide great publicity for the British National Party.

If our opponents physically stop Nick from attending the recording of the programme - it will provide great publicity for the British National Party.

I think it's called a win/win situation.

Regional council Meeting in Wigan

THERE was a very good regional council meeting yesterday in Wigan.

It was a day long affair run by North West Regional officials Clive Jefferson, Alistair Barbour and Susan Mather.

Security training, working a Risograph printer, designing a leaflet, preparing local accounts and other essential aspects of running a local British National Party branch were covered.


After the training, the meeting itself took place with top of the agenda our motions for the Annual Conference. Discussions on these went on for a couple of hours, and two of the resolutions were struck out because they were deemed already to be BNP policy.

In the end our two resolutions to go forward to the Advisory Council from which one will be selected, concerned there being no exemptions from British law on religious grounds and the over-turning of the smoking ban in pubs.

Big week coming up with Nick in the North West for his constituency week and then an important AC committee meeting on Thursday. Thursday evening I am speaking in Liverpool and then on Sunday it's a meeting of the full Advisory Council in the West Midlands.

Conspiracy theory that has some basis

SOME interesting thoughts from Clive Wakley this morning.

He's a long-time nationalist colleague and I wouldn't argue with his 'trojan horse' take on the so-called English Defence League.

Clive wrote:

"I have been chatting to a friend, a long-term nationalist, who has made an interesting point.

"Labour's John Denham MP compared the BNP to Mosley's Blackshirts whilst commenting on the disturbances in Harrow on Friday. There is, of course, no direct connection between the BNP, Harrow or Mosley's Blackshirts. So perhaps the reference was a slip of the tongue. I'll explain what I mean.

"In 1936, as you will know, Mosley intended to march through the East End. Although Mosley's chaps were not directly involved the resulting massive disturbances the events gave the government of the day the excuse to introduce the Public Order Act, something directed specifically at curbing the rights of Mosley and his followers.

"I suspect that the so-called English Defence League is a state run Trojan Horse whose purpose is to directly or indirectly, spark a serious riot leading, perhaps, to serious injury or even fatality (police, innocent bystanders?)

"A death, deaths, serious rioting etc - would give the Labour government, supported by the Tories, media etc, the justification to significantly strengthen the Public Order/Race Relations Acts - perhaps to the extent of outlawing political criticism of Islam, perhaps even banning candidates representing Islam-hostile parties from seeking election in "sensitive areas" such as London, the West Midlands, the North West and Yorkshire.

"So perhaps John Denham's reference to Mosley was a slip of the tongue, one revealing the intentions of his party following a "Cable Street" style eruption in a sensitive area.

"An event being orchestrated between the security agencies and the government?"

INFLUENCING NO ONE: Just alienating the vast numbers of those British people who are concerned at the increasing influence of the Muslim lobby.

Now I'm not normally one for conspiracy theories - in fact I have upset people because I tend to ridicule them. But the sudden emergence of the English Defence League with its articulate website urging street action is rather bizarre.

Does anyone believe that opposing the growth of Islam in such a manner can do anything other than alienate the vast numbers of those British people who are concerned at the increasing influence of the Muslim lobby within our society.

The Question Time snowball continues to grow and will probably provide us with the biggest propaganda coup since Nick spoke at the Oxford Union. We just have to sit back and let the opposition do their worst.

There are already splits in the Cabinet and amongst trade unionists, and with various organisations urging demonstrations outside the BBC, it looks like that evening October will provide us with all the necessary headlines to ensure that we our place in the political mainstream.

The British people don't like being told who they can and who they can't listen to. This campaign to try to silence Nick Griffin will only go to make the British National Party message all the more interesting.

Normal service to be resumed

ALL the decorating and refurbishment has been completed so normal service can now resume.

It's been a long hard slog which has meant that my website work for Nick and Andrew has had to take a back seat as preparing the North West Constituency Office was the priority.

"With all your Euro money why not get professionals in to do the job?" I can sense you asking.

The simple answer is that we haven't had any funds from the European Parliament yet. Everything has been done thanks to the goodwill of our members and the money that the North West Euro team could scrape together from our already well-overdrawn bank accounts.

This morning I was hoping to get some reports on our MEP's websites but after posting one on Nick's, all the BNP-related sites seem to have gone offline.

Hopefully it's just for some site maintenance.

Back to the work on the office, and our thanks must go to Councillor Tony Carvell, David Fraser and Paul Stafford for all their expertise over the past week and a half in helping everything to take shape. Without their plastering, joinery and electrical skills it would never have happened.

It goes without saying that the North West team of Tina, Clive, Alistair and yours truly have also been on duty every day, with Clive and Alistair also finding time to shoot down the M6 to campaign in Penrith for the forthcoming council by-election.

There are some interesting European Parliament related trips coming up for BNP members so watch out for the details.

Trips for BNP members to meet Nick and Andrew in Brussels are being organised.

Nearly there

Nearly finished the office refurbishment. I'm shattered and don't want to see a paint brush ever again.

The result from Daventry was ok:

Daventry District Council
Drayton Ward
Chris Eddon (Conservative) 314
Wendy Randall (Labour) 158
John Latham (Liberal Democrat) 138
David Jones (British National Party) 133
Steve Tubb (Independent) 129
Meg Price (Socialist) 55
BNP Percentage: 14.3%

Our election results since June are well below those in the run-up to the county council and European elections. The tidal wave of negative media coverage has certainly taken its toll but now it seems to be running out of steam and better coverage is coming in which should in the months to come be reflected in our vote.

This in The Independent this morning is worth a read.

Worth his salt

WHEN the first item on Radio 4's Today Programme this morning was about Britain's burgeoning population, I was expecting the usual 'smoke and mirrors' from the BBC.

Jon Humphrys first question gave no indication of what was to follow when he said: "Isn't our growing population down to us all living longer and having more babies?'

But enter Professor John Salt, of the migration research unit at University College London, who laid it out in no uncertain terms why the UK population grew by 408,000 in 2008 - the biggest increase for almost 50 years.

"No it isn't", was his no-nonsense reply. He then went on to explain that it was down to immigration, the birthrate of second and third generation immigrants and the birthrate of immigrants newly arrived in this country behind Britain's population explosion.

It seems that the only way the British population will stabilise is if native Brits emigrate to Spain and France at the same rate as immigrants give birth.

You can hear the report here.

The Guardian have latched on to the story of the Three Owls Bird Sanctuary with the expected jibe by Esther Addley in her Diary column. But we can live with that. It's more publicity for a very good cause and there's even a cartoon of Nick to accompany the report.

You can read the report here and the cartoon's below.

UAF being investigated over College Green demonstration

THERE'S an interesting local council by-election in Blackpool today. Here are the details:

Blackpool Borough Council
Stanley Ward
Thursday 20th August 2009
Michael Hodkinson (Lib-Dem)
John Jones (Lab)
Les Joy (BNP)
Jean Kendrick (Con)
Colin Porter (UKIP)

I'm hoping for a vote of over 10% and to run UKIP very close for 4th place. I understand that the local team, ably led by candidate Les Joy, has worked very hard and made an impact with a series of topical leaflets. Unfortunately Les has been struck down with swine flu in recent days, but thankfully the campaigning was mostly completed before he was sidelined.

Probably the biggest compliment for our campaign has come from the anti-BNP brigade. They have deemed it necessary to put out two leaflets this week ordering voters not to vote for the British National Party.

On the subject over local council elections, I must report a very promising result from Norfolk last Thursday. Here it is:

King's Lynn and West Norfolk
Gaywood Chase Ward
John DOBSON (Conservative) 202
John COLLOP (Labour) 194
Ian SWINTON (Liberal Democrat) 167
David FLEMING (British National Party) 90
Viv MANNING (Green) 52
BNP Percentage: 12.8%

What's especially pleasing about this one is that's it's Norfolk and a considerable improvement on the 2.5% we received in the Norwich North parliamentary by-election which was our last outing in the county.

I received an interesting update yesterday from Michael Barnbrook, the Party's Law and Order spokesman. He wrote:

"On 12th June, 2009 you emailed me with regard to the law prohibiting demonstrations in Parliament Square without authorisation.
"As a result of your information, I made a Freedom of Information request to the Metropolitan Police asking them whether UAF had obtained authorisation from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to hold a demonstration. They hadn't and are now being investigated for holding an illegal demonstration."

UAF supporters are facing prosecution over their attack on Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons outside the Houses of Parliament.

I've just seen the nearly completed September issue of the Voice of Freedom and it looks very good. Mark Collett has asked me for a final few filler stories this morning, so that's what I'm off to do now.

And finally a quote from a Denby resident in the Derby Times this morning which sums up the commonsense approach.

"It's been very disruptive, we couldn't go shopping this morning. I think if the protesters just left the BNP alone it would be ok. The amount of money which has been spent on this is ridiculous."

You can read the full report here.

'Riot Act' read to the new EU staff

NICK Griffin MEP pulled no punches at a meeting of all new EU staff held in South Yorkshire on Monday.

The staff were told in no uncertain terms of what was expected of them and any not pulling their weight would be off the team 'before their feet could touch the ground'.

We were told that we must "take responsibility", "use our initiative", "look the part" and be the "very best ambassador" for our two MEPs.

Nick also warned those present that they must be meticulous in their recording of the work they do to ensure that there is no "crossover" between work for the MEP and work for the British National Party. To this end each member of staff will have a journal which must be filled in on a daily basis to record the work done.

He reported that the European Parliament was looking at the constituency operation of two BNP MEPs with a magnifying glass and were being "assisted" by TWO freelance investigators paid for by the Labour Party. Their sole full time job is to monitor the BNP's European Parliament operation.

"They want to catch us crossing the line between EP work and BNP work. If this were to happen we will then be suspended and all are allowances stopped and you will be out of a job," he said.

Nick then recounted the details of MEPs who in the past have fallen foul of this not only using their EP money to fund their Party's political activities, but in one case to pay the wages of workers in a factory one owned!

But as well as laying down very strict terms of employment there was also a good briefing of what was expected of everyone politically. We must be proactive in all our investigations to show the constituents that come to us for assistance that we will do all we can to help them with their problems.

"We have to show them that we are different from the representatives of the Old Gang parties and that if there is a way to help them we will find it," he said.

"If we perform well as MEPs within our constituency, this will be the greatest advert that the British National Party can possibly have. Word will spread within the communities of the North West and Yorkshire that the BNP cares and will do its best on their behalf."

Andrew Brons MEP went into more detail of how the two MEPs could help their constituents.

"We can make a speech in the European Parliament. We can make a speech in our parliamentary committee. We can ask questions which will receive a written answer and we can make a written declaration," he said.

Both MEPs need expert advice for the committees that they are on and staff were asked to try to locate these people with the Party or within their constituencies. Experts on the environment, and industry, research and energy for Nick, and experts on constitutional matters and civil liberties for Andrew.

Staff were told not to expect any all expenses paid jaunts to swan around Brussels, their work was expected to be done within the constituency starting from day one working towards getting the two BNP MEPs re-elected in five years time.

It was a good constructive meeting which left us knowing what was expected of us for the next six months if we wanted to have our short term contracts renewed.

Nick Griffin's Commemoration Card

SO here's Nick Griffin's Commemoration Card and below it the sign that will hang on our tent to advertise what we are selling.

This morning I'm trying to source some paper bags to put the card in to keep it in pristine condition once it has been inscribed.


Meetings for the rest of the day and then it's Saturday!!!

Any football fan will know what this means - three months of barren Saturday afternoons finally come to an end and I shall be hotfooting it down to Borough Park to see Workington Reds take on Hinckley United.

OK . . . I over reacted!

Mr Angry yesterday - all quite unnecessary really.
I HAVE been criticised in some quarters for my blog yesterday and I'll take that on the chin.

I would like to say here and now that our BNP website team does a brilliant job. But you don't need me to tell you that, the figures for the number of hits it receives each day shows just how popular it is.

Of course, the BNP website team has lifted articles from my blog before and I didn't say anything so they are surprised and understandably upset that I should suddenly get on my high horse.

This is a strange time. Wholesale changes across the Party and those of us who have been in our comfort zones for nearly a decade now face new challenges. It is a sensitive time and everyone is feeling a little vulnerable.

What upset me was that it looked as though I had posted the article on the BNP website myself. If it had had an introduction saying that this report has been taken off Martin Wingfield's blog, it would have been much more acceptable.

When something appears on this blog it's up for discussion when it appears on the main website it seems more like policy.

Now I hadn't run my thoughts past either Nick or Andrew who are my new bosses and who have entrusted me with publicising their work as MEPs. What must they have thought seeing a quite clear policy direction dictated by their communications officer posted on the main BNP website without any consultation. It would appear very presumptuous and that's what upset me.

Hopefully the outcome of this affair will be that the BNP website team think . . . . "that Wingfield's a prickly old sod, better check it's OK before we lift anything from his blog in future."

Disappointment in Northern France last night when an unholy alliance of mainstream and far-left political parties grabbed a narrow victory over the Front National in Hénin-Beaumont.

Voters apparently responded to appeals from high-profile politicians and celebrities to elect a leftwing mayor, defeating the candidate of Jean-Marie Le Pen's party by 52% to 48%.

Daniel Duquenne, who scored just 20% in the first round of the election against the FN's Steeve Briois's 39%, was elected only after the political opposition joined forces to prevent the FN taking control of the former mining town.

My colleagues Clive Jefferson and Alistair Barbour are speeding (not literally I hope) down the M6 as I speak to a demonstration in support of Robin Evans and the Lancashire Four - details on the main website.

Tina and I are still on the office search here in the North West while Chris Beverley is doing the same in Yorkshire.

I spoke with Nick Griffin MEP last night and he says he definitely favours a campaigning office in the centre of a community rather than a remote prestige office. I'm hopeful that we can combine the two - prestige AND in the centre of the community - and I might just have something up my sleeve.

Busy week ahead with a branch meeting in Copeland, regional meeting in Manchester and then a staff meeting at the weekend.

I had been hoping to get to Workington Reds vs Carlisle United on Saturday, a 'friendly' that always has a lot of passion associated with it, but now, for me, that first football match of the 2009-10 season will be at a later date.