Blears sounds warning about BNP
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has said white working-class voters
turn to the British National Party because they feel ignored by
mainstream parties.
Writing in the Guardian newspaper, Ms Blears accuses the BNP of playing
on people's apprehensions and peddling "pernicious but plausible lies".
She says other parties had to work to win back voters on "ignored"
estates.
The minister made similar comments in 2006 after the far-right party
made gains in the local elections.
'Tiny' membership
This latest article follows the publication of a BNP members' list on
the internet.
In the article, Ms Blears says politicians from all parties must work
hard to win back the trust and confidence of disaffected voters by
proving that mainstream politics has the answers they seek.
This required a revival of local political culture, a significant shift
of power from the centre to the community and politicians who look and
sound like the people they represent, she writes.
She points out how the repositioning of the BNP under Nick Griffin had
allowed the party to reach all kinds of voters.
The BNP steps in with offers of grass-cutting, a listening ear and easy
answers to complex problems
Hazel Blears, Communities Secretary
It had employed a "cunning strategy" of "detoxification"
hit the streets with newsletters and petitions, and reached out to
thousands via their website and blogs.
In the article, she calls on politicians to continue to "campaign
vigorously against the BNP: demonstrate, picket, leaflet and argue" but
warns that shouting "Nazi" at BNP activists is not the answer.
"We must recognise that where the BNP wins votes, it is often a result
of local political failure," she says.
"Estates that have been ignored for decades; voters taken for granted;
local services that have failed; white working-class voters who feel
politicians live on a different planet. In such a political vacuum, the
BNP steps in with offers of grass-cutting, a listening ear and easy
answers to complex problems."
She also writes that the leaked list published earlier this week,
containing the names, home addresses, phone numbers and professions of
some 10,000 members, revealed support for the BNP was "tiny".
"It is focused on a small number of specific areas such as Leicester and
east London.
"And unlike during the 30s, modern British fascism does not enjoy any
sympathy in the civil service, chattering classes or the media," she
writes.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.
Published: 2008/11/22 05:03:33 GMT
Saturday 22 November 2008
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