Racist British National Party Wins Seat on London Assembly
On May 1, the racist British National Party (BNP) on the 25-member London Assembly, which has the power to amend the London mayor鈥檚 budget and investigate and publish findings on matters of interest to Londoners. Richard Barnbrook, who will take the BNP seat after coming in fifth in the mayoral race and winning 5% of the overall vote, became the extreme right鈥檚 most visible elected politician in Britain as a result. All major parties had denounced the BNP in the run-up to the city elections, saying that it represented 鈥渉atred, violence and stupidity.鈥�
In 2001, BNP head Nick Griffin, a Holocaust denier, told reporters that his party did not admit anyone not descended from European whites or 鈥渒indred鈥� peoples. (The BNP has since accepted a tiny handful of people of color in order to bolster its battle against Muslims.) The party is particularly well known for its hardline anti-immigrant views. Its officials have proposed deporting all illegal immigrants and even paying legal immigrants to leave England, promising 鈥渧oluntary resettlement whereby those immigrants who are legally here will be afforded the opportunity to return to their lands of ethnic origin.鈥�
Despite his party鈥檚 affiliation with white nationalism, Barnbrook tried to reassure foreign-born Londoners after his election. 鈥淒o not be nervous. As long as you abide by our identity and laws of this land, come to me and I will see where we can help,鈥� Barnbrook told the BBC.
Barnbrook was the best known of several BNP councillors 鈥� the rough equivalent of local City Council members in the United States 鈥� before his May election to the higher-ranking post. He was well known to most Londoners, in part because in 2006 he was accused of making a film 17 years earlier that was widely described as gay pornography. (The BNP opposes the "promotion" of homosexuality.) He angrily disputed the charge, saying it was simply an art film about 鈥渟exuality.鈥�
Just days after Barnbrook鈥檚 election, Scotland鈥檚 new counter-terrorism chief Allan Burnett said that neo-Nazis to the United Kingdom. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a number of right-wing issues recently in the U.K. that again have raised their head in Scotland,鈥� Burnett said. Referring to the arrest of an alleged neo-Nazi in Scotland last fall for making nail-bombs, he added: 鈥淭here鈥檚 no point promoting positive race relations if, in claiming to be everyone鈥檚 coordinator of counter terrorism, you take your eye off the right-wing.鈥�
