This week the BNP became to the first anglo-fascist party to win seats at the European. Yet they won their two seats only by virtue of the ludicrous electoral system used in European elections. The North West and Yorkshire and Humber, which two BNP members now represent, are vast constituencies which return up to eight MEPs. In such a ridiculous system it is possible to finish fifth with 8% of the vote and still gain a seat, as the BNP have done. Furthermore less than 30% of the electorate turned out to vote; in the North West and Yorkshire this meant a collapse in the traditional Labour vote, which allowed fringe parties in by the back door. Furthermore at a time of economic uncertainty and general disillusionment with mainstream politics, populist parties were always likely to able to benefit from the public’s discontent. For example the Green party won 400,000 more seats than the BNP, increasing its vote by twice as much in percentage terms as the far-right party. Outside the white working class mill towns of the North, the BNP vote barely registered, and in the first-past-the-post General Election, BNP participation will largely be relegated to a footnote. There is then a danger of over-emphasising the importance of election of two BNP candidates, after all far-right parties have been prevalent in continental European politics for some years without affecting the status quo.
Yet the fact remains that almost a million adults voted for the BNP in the European Elections. No doubt BNP supporters are in a minority and the party will never achieve any real power, but it is disconcerting that a sizable minority of voters feel attracted to a party with such a repugnant ideology. It is unthinkable that close to a million voters share the BNP’s core ideology indeed the BNP has been at pains not to run on a racist platform. However the party has found fertile ground by exploiting discontent over immigration, the European Union, Iraq, and political corruption. The BNP won its votes in the old mill towns, divided between white and Muslim ghettos and the largely white working class towns of the M62 corridor. Unfortunately society will always have to deal with a minority that hold repugnant views; but the way to arguments and to offer their supporters an alternative path. The question is why is Labour losing votes it is industrial heartlands and has multiculturalism been a total failure in the racially segregated mill towns?
Hopefully I will be able to write about this I more detail, but first I’m going on a holiday for a week.
