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.

The best BNP publicity material ever produced

This is 'The Londoner' leaflet that is currently being distributed across the capital. It is receiving an excellent response with enquiries and new members from London at the highest level in the history of the British National Party.

I spoke at length with London BNP organiser Nick Eriksen, last night and he is very bullish about the BNP's chances of gaining two seats on the GLA in May. Nick's view was supported by the Conservative's London Mayor candidate Boris Johnson, who was warning of the funding and influence that two BNP GLA representatives would have. Nick does the excellent London BNP website which helps get our message over specifically to Londoners. It is well worth a visit and can be found from a link on the BNP's new website.

The Londoner leaflet is another example of the professional election material coming from the BNP's Publicity Department headed by Mark Collett. The leaflets now being produced by the Party are the best ever produced by a British nationalist party and are proving hugely successful - as our record membership proves. All this is down to the work of one man - Mark Collett. Now he might not win a popularity contest amongst his colleagues but that doesn't bother me one iota. Mark is in the team to produce the Party's propaganda and he is doing a superb job.

The media just loves the BNP ballerina Simone Clarke. Yesterday another report appeared on her, this time in the The Times. Reporter Helen Rose informs her readers that . . .

"Simone Clarke was born in Leeds, the daughter of a maths teacher and a secretary. Educated first at the local Catholic school, at the age of 10 she beat 4,500 others to win one of 23 places at the Royal Ballet School in London. In 1988, after a stint at Birmingham Royal Ballet, she joined English National Ballet, and rose seamlessly through the ranks to become senior soloist in 2000 and principal dancer in 2004. Her stellar CV is every little girl’s dream: Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and the Sugar Plum Fairy. Her career high-light, she has said, was a guest appearance in China as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake.

"When a newspaper “outed” her as a BNP member in 2005 there were calls from some quarters for her to be sacked, and vocal protests at one of her performances. But then, as one observer pointed out, the BNP might be distasteful, but it is a legal organisation.

“Last year a newspaper ‘exposed’ my BNP membership,” Clarke is reported as saying on the Solidarity website. “Some politically motivated malcontents tried to have me sacked, hence my interest in a British workers’ union.”

"Now 37 and expected to retire soon, Simone Clarke will dance this week in the Snow Queen at the London Coliseum. “I will be known as the BNP ballerina,” she has said. “I think that will stick with me for life. But I don’t regret anything. I will stay a member.”

What a great asset Simone is for the Party and what a help she will be for our GLA campaign next year. I hope she takes the highest profile because Simone is a real vote winner.

Allerdale BNP organiser Paul Stafford, was on the telephone again yesterday enthusing over Sunday's Colin Auty concert in Maryport. Paul says it was the biggest ever BNP gathering in Cumbria and what delighted him most was that it was openly advertised in Maryport as a BNP function and there's wasn't a sniff of opposition or any problems for the whole afternoon. Needless to say the landlord and his good lady were delighted and donated the superb buffet provided for the event. Paul would like to have Colin up again soon, this time for a concert in Workington where the venue can accommodate double Sunday's audience.

There's an important North West regional meeting tonight and I know our officials from Cumbria will be travelling down. It seems hard to believe that Christmas is just two weeks away with so much political activity going on. With the Members' Bulletin now being delivered, the phones didn't stop ringing yesterday. I'm also delighted to report that the December issue of Freedom has been very well received. I must admit that initially I didn't want to do one as I always believe people have other things on their mind in December, but now I'm glad I did and it's especially rewarding to get such a positive feedback. Hopefully the online version of the newspaper will be linked on the website today.

Make sure you listen to the Colin Auty and Joey Smith Christmas record - you can download it from the BNP website - it's a corker and a must have for any Christmas party.