mmm, swastikky

June 8, 2004 8:14 AM

The British National Party discover Flash. Britons: remember to vote on Thursday to stop these guys getting their first European MP.
posted by Pretty_Generic (32 comments total)

what? no sound?
posted by Stynxno at 8:34 AM on June 8, 2004

Unsubtle buggers, aren't they.
posted by Orange Goblin at 8:35 AM on June 8, 2004

I like their generic, fits all constituencies leaflet. They couldn't be bothered/afford to print individual leaflets for each area. Such attention to the voters particular needs!
Also, their claim that the labour party is building 'five new cities the size of Birmingham to house asylum seekers'. Those labour bastards! As if the one Birmingham isn't enough trouble. Brummies note that was sarcasm.

I am presently posting my postal vote. Mmm... A3 voting paper. This thing's bigger than the both of us.
posted by asok at 8:36 AM on June 8, 2004

That Flash was terrible.

Don't the BNP recognise Ireland? What's with Ireland sinking in to the sea at the end? They don't think its part of the UK do they?

Idiots.

As for voting, I posted my ballot last week. The ward I live in is predominantly Asian/African/Afro-Caribean (I have the best local shops EVA), so the BNP shouldn't get a seat here locally.

I do worry about them getting a Euro seat though. Hopefully more people will vote this time, so that the majority speaks. If they do, I find it difficult to see how the BNP can get a significant enough proportion of the vote.

I really think its time that the vote was made mandatory in this country.
posted by davehat at 8:39 AM on June 8, 2004

I shall be casting my vote to keep those nasty buggers out. I mean frank maloneys' dress sense is just appalling.
posted by johnnyboy at 8:40 AM on June 8, 2004

The European Election is PR, so every vote not for the extreme right is equally effective in stopping them.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 8:41 AM on June 8, 2004

It might be a hidden blessing for the BNP to get a little success-- that usually portends the death of an extremist party. Of course, they'd be back in a few years with different initials, and a Euro seat would be very bad PR for the UK.
posted by Mayor Curley at 8:47 AM on June 8, 2004

Already sent my postal vote in - can't see them getting a Euro seat down here (South West), I think the right wing vote's going to UKIP judging by the posters I see everywhere.
Apparently when Derek Beacon won their first (council) seat he was on some radio phone-in and was asked a question involving percentages. He didn't know what the caller was talking about. So a little exposure might demonstrate their true nature.
posted by etc at 8:51 AM on June 8, 2004

Mayday-mayday, stemming from m'aider, m'aider, but god forbid the BNP from recognising anything foreign.

I don't have the words for how abundantly juvenile and idiotic this flash anim is. I mean, ffs.

ffs.
posted by armoured-ant at 9:03 AM on June 8, 2004

ant - I never knew mayday was from m'aider, that was unexpectedly enlightening - thanks
posted by cmicali at 9:17 AM on June 8, 2004

Already sent my postal vote in

Me too. Here's what you want.
posted by ed\26h at 9:27 AM on June 8, 2004

The European Election is PR

Ha! I read that as public relations not proportional representation the first time.

Unfortunately, both are actually correct. With the department of the EU that holds all the power (the Commission) being unelectable by us, our idea that the Europe is democratic is, in effect, just PR.
posted by derbs at 9:29 AM on June 8, 2004

Actually from m'aidez, but close enough.


posted by daveg at 9:31 AM on June 8, 2004

Don't the BNP recognise Ireland?

Ireland seems to be able to "protect" it's self!
Without a single verified statisic to back up the trend of citizen tourism , we are probably going to carry a constitutional amendment with a referendum on the same day as the european election to limit the rights of children born in the state to non-nationals.

In Ireland I am guessing that more text votes were cast to nominate a Eurovision Song Contest entrant who came second last in the competition, that will be cast in the upcoming Euro elections.

Maybe people should be allowed vote by text, it might be a runner and I heard that it was proposed in the UK.
Here in Ireland, the gov spent millions on software and hardware and advertising for electronic voting only for it to be abandoned.

Ireland is a bit of a fuck-up at times!
posted by kenaman at 9:36 AM on June 8, 2004

ye gods... if it's not bad enough living here in brussels, it's the fact that the bnp and the loathsome robert kilroy-silk may be heading here......

poor england, they just can't decide which racist party to vote for.... either the UKIP or BNP are equally bad.

the UKIP has had two MEP's here already, and they did what exactly? they just claimed the expenses and did no work.

funny, that's what they accuse everyone else of doing....
posted by quarsan at 9:59 AM on June 8, 2004

Why is Tony Blair giving out US passports? Stupid BNP fucks don't even know what colour a passport is these days. Or maybe they're being extra subtle by showing the old pre-EU passport colour? (Even tho' it was darker blue.) Not that subtlety seems to be part of their general plan.

If that 'movie' leaves a bad taste I'd recommend a look at Searchlight magazine's site which includes an article on the gangsters running the BNP.
posted by i_cola at 10:03 AM on June 8, 2004

My favourite part takes place in the longshot after the ship has pulled away from the dock. The ship name is reversed. That's quality work right there. Beautiful.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 10:10 AM on June 8, 2004

poor england, they just can't decide which racist party to vote for

Huh? Do you not remember Le Pen in the last French election? In fact, the UK has one of the lowest supports for the far-right of any European country. In 2001, the BNP gained a massive 0.22% of the vote.

http://www.election.demon.co.uk/ge2001.html

Compare that to the over 17% Le Pen got in 2002...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1942612.stm
posted by derbs at 10:13 AM on June 8, 2004

I love the BNP showing their supporters as rats leaving a sinking ship!

A few checkable statistics, rather than the web equivalent of a cross between Viz graphics and Leni Riefenstal (sp?) wouyld be more persuasive.

I mean, there is a case to be made about how we ensure that British militant Islam is challenged.

This ad, and this party, are not it.
posted by dash_slot- at 10:23 AM on June 8, 2004

Come on guys, it's better quality than the G8 cartoons... :)
posted by Pretty_Generic at 10:33 AM on June 8, 2004

Whilst we are on the subject, I am taking part in some of the events organised locally for Refugee Week, 13th - 20th June.

http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk/
Sadly, the website is not the easiest to use, or most pleasing on the eye. Ooh, thanks dotcog, thanks alot. What a waste of money.

My advice - go to any food related events you can, good scran and usually free!
posted by asok at 10:48 AM on June 8, 2004

derbs, i wrote that because it seems that there is a surge in support for far-right/xenophobic parties in this election.

it is a cause for concern. or should i relax and not worry untill they get 17% or more?
posted by quarsan at 11:04 AM on June 8, 2004

Interestingly, the far-far left and the far-far right have pretty much exactly similar views of the EU in every country. Both communists and fascists want to leave the EU. There are exceptions, of course.

Derbs: actually, the council of ministers is the most powerful body, the commission only comes second, although their powers are quite different.
posted by lazy-ville at 11:54 AM on June 8, 2004

Unfortunately the right is having a minor resurgence in the UK. There are three reasons for this: asylum seekers, the Euro and the EU in general and finally the effect of New Labour.

In fact because New Labour is a party aimed at a small number of middle-class floating voters, they've managed to disenfranchise most left wingers too. Now we have parties like Respect standing too, which as far as I can tell are an anti-war party and not much besides.

As for asylum seekers and the Euro, these are just issues that sell papers but don't really affect the majority of people in the UK. We have an education crisis, a health crisis, a pension crisis, a transport crisis and these fuckers are more concerned about wether the queen's head is on a coin or if the guy sweeping their streets is eastern-european. Unbelievable
posted by dodgygeezer at 12:04 PM on June 8, 2004

This is funnier.
posted by tapeguy at 12:10 PM on June 8, 2004

Hopefully the loss of some ground in the European and local elections will wake up the Labour Party in time for the General Election. I think for local councils it is nice to see parties other than the main three get in (Greens, Respect, IWCA, etc.) particularly if they have a strong presence in their wards. That said, in my hometown of Halifax, the BNP getting on the local council was not very nice!

Who are the English Democrats? They were on the European election ballot for Yorkshire, but I've never heard of them. Sounds like a UKIP/BNP crossover. (Good, because it waters down the vote for the other two).
posted by xpermanentx at 12:25 PM on June 8, 2004

They're like the BNP, only they hate the Welsh, Scots and Irish too. :)
posted by Pretty_Generic at 12:35 PM on June 8, 2004

The depressing thing is that we've already got two BNP members on the council here. It's a number which is likely to go up. Everybody reckons that the BNP are getting seats because nobody's voting, but that's not the case. The BNP are tapping into and feeding a general air of racism here. I see people getting more and more racist, and all the liberal left can do is wank on about how the BNP are only getting power because nobody can be bothered to vote.

The Flash animation showed the country sinking under the weight of asylum seekers. This is the sort of dogma I've been constantly leafleted with for the last year. Even our Conservative hopeful says that they'll do something about reducing the number of Asylum seekers in Calderdale. What makes me sick is that in the whole of Calderdale there are only about 130 Asylum seekers. People are going mental about an issue which doesn't exist.

I'm sick of the BNP threatening my friends. I'm sick of the undercurrent of Anti-Islamic sentiment which pervades every inch of my town and the UK's media. I'm sick of people thinking that we live in the sort of happy country that couldn't have a majority of people voting for the BNP.
posted by seanyboy at 2:28 PM on June 8, 2004

Thankfully the BNP are no threat in Oxford.

It looks like the big losers are going to be the Tories, who are going to see maybe a third of their votes going to the far right (either UKIP or BNP). So it's not all bad news...
posted by salmacis at 3:11 PM on June 8, 2004

Striving for a better Britian for people just like you

Jesus. That was pretty funny, in a horrific way.
posted by Tlogmer at 5:16 PM on June 8, 2004

seanyboy: I don't want to sound complacent about racism, and I agree with much of what you say. But the fact remains that BNP electoral success is closely connected with low turnout, and one of the most effective ways of defeating the BNP has been to encourage more people to vote. When the odious Derek Beackon was elected a local councillor in a by-election in Tower Hamlets in 1993, local churches and community organisations mounted a campaign to 'get out the vote' (focusing particularly on Asian women who were reluctant to vote for fear of BNP intimidation at the polling stations). At the council elections the following year, the BNP vote remained steady, but the increased turnout (67%, up from 42%) meant that the BNP were soundly defeated.

The trouble with saying that the BNP are "tapping into a general air of racism" is that, paradoxically, it can play into the BNP's hands, by suggesting that there is a solid basis of electorial support for the BNP which is not going to go away -- which, of course, is exactly what they want you to believe. In reality, there is a very low ceiling of BNP support which they have never been able to break through. It is also the case that many people treat a vote for the BNP as a 'protest vote' when they want to express dissatisfaction with their local council on issues such as housing or council tax.

I may be proved wrong, but I would be very surprised if the BNP scored a big success in the elections this week. The UKIP is a different matter, as they appear to be making big inroads into the Conservative vote. Nationally, the far right tends to do well when the Conservative party is doing badly, and vice versa. (The 1979 general election which brought Margaret Thatcher to power also saw the collapse of the National Front.) Arguably the best hope of defeating the far right is if the Tories manage to rebuild themselves as an electable party. I say this not as a Conservative supporter, but as someone who believes that a healthy democracy needs a healthy opposition party -- something which we don't have at present.

zpermanentx: the English Democrats are a bunch of clowns who threatened to sue this guy when he described them on his blog as "some sort of quasi-fascist mob".
posted by verstegan at 12:40 AM on June 9, 2004

I live in very, very Afro-Caribbean Battersea and we got leafleted by these fucks today; hardcore Labour seat (even if it is in Wandsworth.)

What I wouldn’t have given to have been at home when they popped by. Words would have been had, words.
posted by dmt at 3:51 PM on June 9, 2004