Labour will fight BNP threat - Harman

Harriet Harman, Deputy Leader and Chair of the Labour Party, signalled in a speech on Saturday (24 January) that Labour are determined to fight the British National Party.

In a keynote address at the Progressive London conference at Congress House, Harriet said:

“The 4 June election is the moment that Labour will draw a line in the sand against the advance of the BNP.

“The BNP are a party of racial hatred and spread division and despair.

“It is even more important when times are hard that we have unity and everyone works together to stand against racial hatred and community tensions.

“All mainstream parties who support our democracy need to take a stand against the BNP who would deny the rights of citizens of African, Caribbean and Asian origin in our democracy

“This country is built on the work not just of British people but generations of migrants.  They are the key to our success in the future as well as the foundation of our prosperity in the past.

“As the world becomes ever more global in its interconnections, the countries that will face the future with confidence are those who understand and work with the rest of the world.  The BNP’s narrow nationalism and xenophobia would undermine our economic future as well as the peace of our communities.

“The BNP threat cannot be ignored.  A new Labour analysis of council elections shows that even where they are not winning they are coming second in areas which are Labour, Lib/Dem and Tory-held.  Their poison is spreading. They are winning and coming second in the North West, the North East, the Midlands and London…from Yorkshire to Essex.

“Labour will, with a vigorous door to door campaign, not allow the BNP to peddle their pernicious lies that people have been ‘abandoned by Labour’.  It is Labour on the doorstep which will show this to be false and the run-up to elections on June 4 will be seized as an important opportunity to do this.”

Labour’s Chair highlighted that the European voting system means that “every vote will count in these elections”. She went on to say:

“In the North West, where Nick Griffin, the BNP chairman, is standing, Searchlight estimates they only need about 8% of the vote to break through into the European Parliament.  That would be shameful for Britain just as the US shows the way forward by electing an inclusive, progressive President.

“This is a time for ‘black and white to unite’ to fight the BNP. This is the work for the whole of ‘Team Labour’ from trade unionists, to students, from retired members to councillors, MPs and MEPs.

“We will draw on the work of Jon Cruddas and Margaret Hodge who have been fighting the BNP in Barking and Dagenham.  Our anti-BNP election work will be co-ordinated by Party Vice Chair Martin Salter and he will draw on the experience of anti-BNP strategists - Frank Dobson among others.”