British National Party

The British National Party (BNP) is a British political party, which promotes racism and anti-semitism. The BNP's current leader is Nick Griffin.^[1] Though it is often described as being on the extreme right wing of politics by the liberal media, it espouses a number of fiscally left-wing policies. For example, although it is in favor of deporting non-white people from the UK,^[2] it also favors substantial government involvement in the economy.

The BNP has ties to Neo-Nazi and anti-semitic groups, and on one occasion Nick Griffin attended a meeting of white nationalists in Texas with former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.^[3] The party claims it protects Christians. In 2009, Lord Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, told Christians to "reject" the BNP and their "squalid racism".^[4]

It has no representatives in Parliament. In May 2008 the first BNP member was be elected to the London Assembly. Opponents said a victory for the party meant "hatred, violence and stupidity".^[5] Mayor-elect Boris Johnson and outgoing Mayor Ken Livingstone "walked off the stage when fifth-placed Richard Barnbrook made his speech following the announcement of the City Hall results."^[6] In June 2009, two members of the BNP were elected to the European parliament.^[7]

Membership leak[edit]

In November 2008, the entire membership list of the BNP was posted on to the internet, detailing the names, addresses, occupations, email addresses, telephone numbers and ages of 12,801 members of the party. The list included serving police officers, lawyers, a Church of England vicar, doctors, teachers and members of the Armed Forces, along with leading businessmen and civil servants.^[8] One is the American chief executive of a City investment corporation, while another is a servant of the Queen, living at Buckingham Palace. The membership list was inadequately password protected and the file's encryption was broken.

Further reading[edit]

• Barton, Dale. Will The BNP Go Away If Christians Just Ignore Them?. Originally published in Searchlight Magazine April 2004. Full version online at stopthebnp.org.uk

References[edit]

1. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8088381.stm
2. ↑ http://www.bnp.org.uk/policies/immigration
3. ↑ BNP Nick Griffin + KKK terrorist
4. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8324455.stm
5. ↑ Brady, Brian BNP wins first seat in assembly "The Independent On Sunday" 4 May 2008.
6. ↑ BNP wins first seat in assembly op cit
7. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8088381.stm
8. ↑ Police officers among BNP members listed on web Ian Cobain and Esther Addley The Guardian, 19 November 2008. Accessed 19 November 2008.