Candidate calls for unity against BNP

LABOUR'S Parliamentary hopeful for Burton has called on the mainstream political parties to take the fight to the British National Party (BNP) to stop it gaining a foothold in the town.

In an article for left-leaning magazine Progress, Ruth Smeeth appealed to the Tories, Liberal Democrats and members of her own party to combat the BNP in the constituency by addressing voters' genuine and legitimate concerns about immigration, crime and anti-social behaviour.

The author, bidding to succeed party colleague Janet Dean as Burton's MP at the next General Election, said the mainstream parties had to combat 'exploitation' of the issues and the 'growing atmosphere of fear' by working with community groups and explaining 'why immigration was positive and community cohesion a noble goal'.

Mrs Smeeth explained her message in a column analysing 'why Stretton ward's voters flirted with the BNP on Valentine's Day', a reference to the result of the recent East Staffordshire Borough Council by-election.

She said the result - the Tories held the seat comfortably - was not a surprise, but that the 'story of the night' was that the BNP came a close third, with candidate Clive Jones notching 327 votes to Labour's 366.

That was the latest in a series of steadily improving local and European election results in the area for the BNP in recent years, although at the last General Election, in 2005, its candidate Julie Russell polled only 1,840 votes – just 3.8 per cent of the total votes cast.

However, Mrs Smeeth said the two main parties had 'failed to anticipate' the recent council by-election result, which saw their share of the vote fall while that of their right-wing opponents climb to 18.2 per cent.

However, canvassing proved electors were 'genuinely concerned, and in some cases scared, about the impact of anti-social behaviour and immigration' - factors she claimed the BNP was exploiting.

Both main parties had been attacked for failing to deal effectively with the issues.

Mrs Smeeth said: "We need to engage in the debate and acknowledge the concerns of the community, explaining why immigration is positive and community cohesion is a noble goal.

"If we don't take on this fight, we are letting the BNP exploit our communities and win an argument that is already starting to have a detrimental impact on our society."

The challenge was to ensure people were not scared and felt they were being listened to, Mrs Smeeth said.

She said: "In Burton, we will keep fighting the good fight and work with all local community groups to combat the growing atmosphere of fear."

The candidate, who is spearheading a campaign aimed at increasing turnout at the forthcoming local elections to defeat the BNP, said parties needed to listen to their activists and ensure campaigns reflected their knowledge.

"Only this can help defeat the BNP," she said.

Ends

Home news | credit: Adrian Jenkins
Friday, 28 March 2008 | Source: Burton Mail