BNP aims to land Labour MP's seat
THE BNP is sending its deputy leader to try to snatch a key Parliamentary seat from Labour in the General Election.
Simon Darby has announced that he has been selected to stand for the far-right party in the Stoke-on-Trent Central constituency.
His aim is to take the seat from Labour's Mark Fisher, who has held it since 1983 and has a sturdy majority of about 9,000.
Mr Darby has been the right-hand man to party leader Nick Griffin since 1998, and previously served as a councillor in Dudley for one year, before losing his seat.
This will be his fourth General Election campaign, and comes after his unsuccessful attempt to join his leader in the European Parliament last year.
However, Mr Darby said he is optimistic that he can exploit voters' lingering anger with mainstream MPs over the expenses fiasco.
And he has also voiced contempt for Tory hopeful Norsheen Bhatti, who was selected to contest the Stoke-on-Trent Central seat last month.
He said: "This was agreed some time ago, but we have kept it under wraps for a while.
"On paper there is a real chance of a BNP victory here, with the Conservatives having decided to insult the electorate with a joke candidate – a Pakistani belly-dancer and former member of the Liberal Democrats.
"The incumbent Labour MP, Mark Fisher has also recently been exposed as receiving some £67,000 a year for attending just three board meetings as an adviser to a Middle East museum.
"Despite this he still claimed from his MP's expenses a 34p Kit Kat and for a bottle of Toilet Duck."
He added: "The next few months should be rather interesting."
Thirty-three-year-old Miss Bhatti, unveiled her manifesto just a week after she was exposed in a national newspaper for working as a £260-an-hour belly-dancer in London clubs and restaurants.
Miss Bhatti said that, if elected, her top priorities would be supporting the regeneration of Stoke-on-Trent, getting residents off benefits and back into work and helping workers and businesses affected by the recession.
Councillor Alby Walker, who had led the BNP group on Stoke-on-Trent City Council, has been mentioned as a possible election agent to oversee Mr Darby's campaign in the city, but Mr Walker said he has not yet taken up the post. He said: "I think the party feels that Labour is very vulnerable at the moment and there is a feeling that we could take at least one seat.
"We are standing in all three Parliamentary seats in the city, but Simon is clearly targeting Mark Fisher."
Mr Walker told his nine-strong group last month that he was standing down as leader with immediate effect.
And he said he is also unlikely to stand for re-election to the council in May, saying he wanted to devote more of his time to family and work commitments.
Mr Walker declined to comment on reports that senior BNP officials, including Mr Griffin, will be visiting Stoke-on-Trent before the end of the week to officially launch the election campaign.
Mr Griffin has previously described the city as the jewel in the BNP's crown after successfully getting nine members elected to the city council.
The Stoke-on-Trent Central constituency takes in the council wards of Abbey Green, Bentilee and Townsend, Berryhill and Hanley East, Hanley West and Shelton, Hartshill and Penkhull, Northwood and Birches Head, and Stoke and Trent Vale.
The far-right party currently holds all six seats in Abbey Green, and Bentilee and Townsend.
The BNP is still waiting to find out how the party will react to a recent ruling that it must alter its constitution to admit non-white members. The party is currently considering an application from keen supporter and Pakistani-born anti-Muslim Sikh, Rajinder Singh, of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.
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by alan, Grimsby
Monday, February 08 2010, 9:01PM
“Good luck to the BNP in the forthcoming election. The tide is turning”
by Johntoe, Human from Earth
Thursday, January 14 2010, 3:30PM
“John Stoke on Trent, "reverse coconut" eh? turncoat eh? and...... you "dont why I dont go and join them on Waterloo road"??????
well, thanks for the insight into the "mind" of a typical BNP supporter.
so because I dont support fascism I am a turncoat? I will not lower myself to respond to the coconut jibe, only to say I am suprised the moderators allowed it.
And Jim, how do you know I dont live in sharrons area?
as a matter of fact untill less than a year ago I lived just Hanley side of Cobridge lights, I have also lived in, Abbey Hulton, Bentilee, and Fegg Hayes,
and the ONLY "trouble" I ever had was from WHITE youths, thats who stole my motorbike, burgled my flat, beat me up in the street, WHITE youths whose parents no doubt support the BNP and sit at home in front of their big tvs moaning about the state of this country,
isnt one of the BNPs promises to "get people back to work"?
bet they dont shout THAT very loudly around most of their supporters eh?”
by Bob Estes, Manchester
Thursday, January 14 2010, 1:03PM
“Good luck Simon.....The general public are getting wise to the usual drivel of 'Nazi' and 'Racist'.
The days of the limp- wristed ,no backbone liberal luvvies are thankfully drawing to a close.”
by Leanne, Stoke
Thursday, January 14 2010, 10:45AM
“Oh please,Sharon,Cobridge,there were 7 people protesting for Islam4uk - I don't agree with them,they are as bigoted as the BNP, but I don't think 7 people on one day is that bad. I got shouted at by members of the BNP in Hanley - they asked me to sign a petition against rooms at Staffordshire University being given to asylum seekers. I refused to sign because I was working at the university at the time and there were NO PLANS to give any rooms to asylum seekers! The BNP LIE! I even rung the university to check and they confirmed this, this is why the BNP members started shouting at me and threatening to call the police! Is that the behaviour of a legitimate political party? I should not have to put up with that when trying to peacefully shop in Hanley! As a previous comment said, the Nazis started like this and look what happened then - the time may come when calling the BNP on a lie could result in me being arrested and the police would not be on my side. This is what happened in Nazi Germany. As for Muslims not getting tickets on their cars,who is watching and checking every car all the time,you saddos? I am certain some of them have had tickets,they just haven't shared this information with you,and why should they? What people fail to realise is many people from ethnic backgrounds were born here and are british citizens,they have the right to be here but the BNP would like to get rid of them too,just because of the colour of their skin - NO OTHER REASON! That is racism! Luckily, unlike a lot of posters, I actually have a vote in the area mentioned in the article and it won't be for the BNP.”
by mikefire, neckend
Thursday, January 14 2010, 9:44AM
“Show me someone who says he isn't a racist and I'll show you a liar. Unless of course you are like Tony and live in a mansion, and never encounter an "alien" that you haven't knighted or otherwise ennobled
When it comes down to it, for the ordinary people, we are concerned, first and foremost for our home and our family. When our concerns widen, it's our street that we defend, more than this ,it is then our district that is important, then in the case of someone local, it is Stoke-on-Trent, (Although, fewer are prepared to even admit to coming from Joke-on-Trent nowadays) Then it is our county, and after our country. We don't like any of these being affected adversely , and usually in proportion our vehemence is higher in reverse, (from the last back to the first) This applies to our immigrants also, and to their progeny who claim for tax and welfare reasons to be British. But who support a country many of them have yet to visit. Ever likely the natural order of things are breaking down.
multiculturalism is the ruination , in the main, of many a society . We have ,as many will say, have always had such a situation in major cities, like London.That we can cope with, but when it spreads ( I realise I make it sound like a disease ) we begin to have problems. Integration is impossible with some cultures. Who would want a tribe of cannibals living.in close proximity, who wished to maintain their culture? Hope this bloke "gets in" we may already have past the tipping point, to redress the problem.”