I don't believe in conspiracy theories but . . .

FRIDAY has always been the best day of the working week, but over the last few months waking up to a string of excellent BNP election results, has given the day an extra shine.

Make no mistake, that was a massive result in Tameside last night. The Old Gang Parties had a specific agenda for this election campaign and that was to reduce the vote share of the British National Party. While both Labour and the Tories were of course "in it to win it", all the anti-BNP campaigning that went on was specifically orchestrated with only the one goal in mind - to reduce the BNP vote so that they could all claim, whoever won the seat, that support for the BNP was in decline.

Now I know this is the case because I was tipped off by a disgruntled Tory that an all-party meeting had taken place and that this strategy has been put into place.

As I said on this blog earlier in the week, our experienced elections manager for Tameside, Mike Lester, said that he had never witnessed an anti-BNP campaign of such intensity before and that he was worried that our vote might indeed suffer under the constant barrage of anti-BNP publicity.

But thankfully the British people of Hyde Newton weren't about to be bullied and our vote not only held firm, but actually rose by 2% and that is something that we should be shouting from the rooftops about. We withstood all that the Old Gang parties and their agents in the establishment and media could throw at us and came through not just unscathed but even stronger.

Years ago I would have felt uneasy writing something like this. I hate conspiracy theories and talk of secret meetings and hidden agendas. Back in the seventies and eighties, the Nationalist movement seemed to attract the conspiracy theorist by the busload and to coin a phrase, it used to do my head in. I'm afraid I used give them short shrift and made a number of enemies because of my lack of tolerance in listening as they expounded on their convoluted theories.

But something now is going on behind the scenes - the whole of the political establishment organising against the British National Party.

I don't think this is wishful thinking and an exaggeration our importance just to make us feel we are something that we are not. I seriously believe that there is an OFFICIAL hidden agenda against the BNP.

On this very subject there's a little snippet in The Guardian this morning with Martin Kettle writing in support of a Government of National Unity to tackle the economic crisis. But there's another reason why he is advocating a coalition Government . . . "for the BNP to be resisted"! You can read the full article here.

And finally the Church is bragging that its intervention in the Hyde Newton by-election stopped the BNP from winning the seat - talk about turkeys voting for an early Christmas. You can read that story here.

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Doing our job for us

THERE are 5,500 homes in Hyde Newton ward and according to my information there have been five anti-BNP leaflets put out. That's a total of 27,500 leaflets distributed attacking the British National Party.

Now put yourself in the position of an ordinary voter. You are well aware that there's an election going on because you have already had leaflets from the main parties. Yet that letterbox keeps on banging. If you are home when the letterbox goes, you can't help but jump, especially if you hadn't heard the gate open. You stop what you are doing and go and see what it is.

OK, so the first 'Don't Vote BNP' leaflet might be of interest if you have an open mind and haven't decided where yet to cast your vote.
Then the letterbox goes again, so once more you stop what you're doing and go to see what it is.
"What! another anti-BNP leaflet." You're a bit mystified at this.
Letterbox again - slightly irritated.
Letterbox again - quite angry now.
Letterbox again - getting really cross and want to do something about it.

On top of this, then there's the doorbell.
It's a Labour canvasser and the conversation goes something like this . . .
LAB: "Can we count on your vote on Thursday?"
VOTER: I don't know, I haven't decided yet.
LAB: "Well can I ask you to vote for any of the candidates but not for the BNP."
VOTER: Why's that then?
LAB: "Because they are nazis, fascists and racists."
VOTER: "Yes I know, I've already had five leaflet telling me that."

Once Labour has gone, it's the turn of the Tories and Lib-Dems and virtually the same conversation takes place.

Now one thing is certain if you live in Hyde Newton, whether you are interested in politics or not, you know that the British National Party is standing in the election, because this has been embedded in your mind, not by leaflets that the BNP has put out, but thanks to the campaign of our opponents.

Best of luck to Ros today.

According to a local website in Tameside, both Labour and the BNP were out early this morning putting out their last minute leaflets. Election experts are in agreement that this is the best local campaign fought by Labour for many years and if they don't win the seat then they are in very big trouble.

My information is almost a carbon copy of last week's polling day report from Newcastle, and that is that anyone of three parties (Lab, BNP and this time the Tories) could win it and everything depends on who can get its vote out today. On the postal ballots, Labour have a slight lead but on the votes in so far, the BNP has done better that it did last year when we finished up 278 votes behind Labour.

As I said on the main website on Tuesday, unlike with Labour, winning or losing is not a matter of life or death to us, it is vote share that is all important.

Freedom should be busy rolling off the presses this afternoon, so with the newspaper out of the way I have been seconded to the Membership Office to help open another big post. This afternoon I will hopefully get the chance to answer correspondence and then tomorrow the cycle starts all over again with work beginning on Freedom 103 - the March issue.

If I hear anything from Hyde Newton during the day, I'll update this blog.

BNP braves the snow

IT takes more than a bit of snow to deter intrepid BNP councillor Cathy Duffy from going about her council duties.

The representative for East Goscote ward on Charnwood Council was out and about in the bitterly cold weather to deliver leaflets advising her constituents of her forthcoming surgery dates. Husband Maurice, is very much part of her campaign team and he was on hand to help deliver the leaflets and take the photographs.

While doing the rounds, Cathy was stopped by a gentleman (above, right) who had just been made redundant and he had a number of questions about what the BNP 's policies were to get people back into work.

"He went away reasonably happy with what I told him and I said I would get a BNP information pack sent to him. Over the last few months people that you meet are becoming more and more interested in politics. I think that they are beginning to realise that it's time to make their voice heard," she told me.

And talking about the weather, I understand that the BNP campaign teams in the Hyde Newton by-election were the only ones to brave the weather on Sunday and that is something that didn't go unnoticed by the electorate. Time and time again those out and about in the ward remarked on the fortitude of the BNP leafleters and praised their determination to get the BNP message across whatever the weather.

There's a rumour doing the rounds that Labour is in front on the postal vote but not by the margin that they would have hoped for or with the sort of lead on the postal ballots that they have had in previous contests. Whether this is good news for us or not, remains to be seen, but if it is true then of course it gives a boost to the campaigns of ourselves and the Tories who are the only challengers.

Now a photo from York where the BNP's ongoing leaflet campaign in North Yorkshire has already made headlines in York and Harrogate.

Freedom is off to the printers this afternoon, and then it's straight on to the next issue as this month is a short one. Everything is going to be very intense in the run-up to the Euro Elections in June and with an increasing number of local by-elections being fought and activities taking place, there is going to be plenty to report in the pages of the newspaper as the BNP strides on to take centre stage on the British political scene.