Spiteful attempt to blight the prospects of a young band: Tennysons made to recant

Starting up a band and securing gigs on the circuit can be a tough business, and many obstacles present themselves to aspirant musicians without the interposition of individuals or groups of people who take a perverse delight in stymieing creativity in the name of cant of one form or another. A young indie group from Leicester named The Tennysons appears to have fallen foul of the self-appointed ‘moral’ guardians of our post-national era – UAF – specifically its Leicester branch, for its scowling arbiters of what may and may not be said or thought have pronounced an anathema upon the group, designating it as possessing dubious and implicitly ‘racist’ sympathies. Why? Quite simply because one of the group’s members once attended an EDL event some 16 months ago. For the UAF inquisitors of course, this constitutes grounds enough to damn someone for eternity.

The band has not been accused of employing ‘racist’ lyrics; no members of the band have been accused of making ‘racist’ statements either verbally or in print, and yet members of Leicester UAF have taken it upon themselves to try and humiliate members of this band and force them to make a public recantation of any sympathies with the EDL or the latter’s position. In order to do so, Leicester UAF have not employed reason, but a dirty underhand campaign, alleging that its members are ‘racist’ and spreading rumours around Leicester’s music scene thereby ensuring that venues have cancelled Tennysons gigs and thereby threatening to ruin the band. The Leicester Mercury states that ‘A number of the band's shows have been cancelled in the past few weeks as venues became aware of the allegations against the band.’ Moreover, it quoted Joel Lavender of the Soundhouse as saying "All of the venues are pulling them from their bills because of these allegations.”

Quite clearly, the members of Leicester UAF have some explaining to do and some apologies to issue. By making defamatory allegations about The Tennysons, they have after all inflicted significant damage upon the band, and the latter would be justified in seeking financial redress for the snide and baseless insinuations of Leicester UAF, whose spokesman Tom Mycroft told the Leicester Mercury: 

"Everyone is entitled to make mistakes when they're young and they have made a statement against the EDL. I hope they are sincere about it."

Mycroft’s statement suggests that he is no longer of such tender years, and given this fact, he must know that the tactics that he and his confederates have employed against this young band were dirty and underhand. The manner in which members of Leicester UAF have behaved has proven to be far more revealing about them than the targets of their smear campaign, for the former have displayed a totalitarian mindset that is willing to brook no dissent, and to crush any who seek to display a different perspective or take on social questions. What this story proves beyond any doubt is that Leicester UAF does not support the concept of a free and open society where we may enjoy the right of free speech and artistic expression, whereas it proves nothing about the moral integrity of The Tennysons or any one of their members. Evidently, UAF will not approve of Tennysons song titles such as ‘England belongs to me’ as all members of the band are English. For UAF to give its approval to such a song, those singing it would have to be non-indigenous, preferably of non-European and Muslim stock.

Sikh Protest in Luton

News is breaking of a Sikh protest in Luton, apparently prompted by the release of a man accused of sexually assaulting a Sikh girl. Given that Stephen Lennon of the EDL has stated that they will be joining the protest, the assumption must be that the alleged perpetrator of the assault was from a Muslim background. Some 250 Sikhs are reported as having gathered to protest outside of Luton Police Station. One Tweet also claims that some roads in the town have also been blocked off as a consequence. According to a brief report on the East Anglia EDL Division page, the man charged with the assault is of Pakistani origin. A report on a Sikh forum claims that the girl was dragged into some woodland and raped. The BBC reports that the alleged assault took place on Monday, and that a sit-down protest is taking place outside of Luton's Buxton Road police station. Although it mentioned "members of the Sikh community", the report contained no reference to the EDL.

An ITV news report noted that Sikhs had travelled to Luton from as far away as Birmingham, and that local Sikh residents were keen for the situation to be resolved peacefully and were liaising with the police to this effect, despite their initial lack of satisfaction with what they perceived to be an inadequate police response to this crime.

An EDL Facebook report claims that Stephen Lennon/Tommy Robinson and Kevin Carroll visited Luton Gurdwara this evening, and that rather than numbering 250, the demonstration was some 500 strong. According to The Daily Telegraph, the protest occurred because the "community . . . feels the police could do more with regards to the investigation and current situation". Moreover, police were said to be "in talks" with protesters because of 'fears of rising tensions'. Relations between Sikhs and Muslims have often been strained, and on 18 May a group of Pakistanis attacked a young Sikh man in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, leaving him with a fractured eye socket and cuts and bruises.

The protest was completely peaceful and concluded at 11:00pm. The video below is said to show Sikhs and EDL protesting together in Luton this evening.

Sikhs Protest in Luton

Thilo Sarrazin: Germany’s Voice of Reason?

Thilo Sarrazin has already caused controversy in his native Germany with the publication of his book ‘Germany abolishes Itself’, and his latest book - Europa braucht den Euro nicht ('Europe doesn’t need the Euro') - appears set to ruffle yet more feathers, for in this he calls for Germany to leave the Euro and reintroduce the Deutschmark. Moreover, he thinks that the Euro itself was a flawed concept. Quite rightly, he also calls for an end to Germans’ obsessive soul-searching over Auschwitz and the Holocaust; those responsible for these crimes are long dead, and Germans today have no reason to feel guilt for these atrocities which have cast a pall over their nation. It is this, to a considerable extent argues Sarrazin, that has driven Germany’s quest for European economic and political union, but this has been misguided and should end. Germany has no moral obligation to carry the rest of Europe upon its shoulders.  

Owing to Sarrazin’s position as a senior and respected mainstream political figure, he has been able to make politically incorrect yet factually objective statements about Islam, mass immigration and the EU, which others may have been afraid to make for fear of damaging their careers and attracting a degree of official opprobrium. Unfortunately, Sarrazin’s political home – the SPD – generally finds his views on these themes unpalatable, and he has already been described as 'nationalist and reactionary', but the Germans find themselves in a lucky position to possess such a figure, for in Britain we do not have any politician of his stature willing to acknowledge or to speak the truth on these matters.  

At a time when the national contradictions within the Eurozone are beginning to threaten the long-term viability of the currency, two major responses have emerged: one being a call for tighter fiscal and political integration versus the demand for the exit of a number of states from the Eurozone presaging its potential dissolution. As in the former Soviet Union where differences in regional economic development, culture and national sentiment eventually manifested themselves in the fragmentation of the state, it would seem that the days of the EU could be numbered as the same centrifugal forces come into play. The terminal crisis of the USSR was precipitated by the collapse of its economic model, and a similar crisis could now be underway for the EU as its existing economic and political structures prove maladapted to the welfare of the continent’s different peoples and the functioning of its distinctive economies.  

The fall of the Soviet Union was confirmed when Gorbachev’s reformism precipitated a backlash from hardliners within the CPSU who launched an attempted coup in August 1991. It was Boris Yeltsin’s decisive action as President of the RSFSR, drawing upon a growing undercurrent of democratic Russian nationalism that led to the coup’s defeat, and at the end of the year to the dissolution of the USSR itself with the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Defenders of the EU and its tightly intertwined projects for economic and political union appear, as was the case with the Soviet hardliners, determined to use almost any means to preserve their cherished political dream. Much of their legitimating discourse is reliant upon invoking the demons of the continent’s past and claims that opposition to the EU project threatens a “return to the extremism of the 1930s”.  This is a disingenuous deeply nasty slur upon the integrity of those of an anti-globalist democratic nationalist disposition in all European nations, who crave not the jackboot, as the proponents of the EU project claim, but national self-determination and its attendant values of genuine freedom, democracy and liberty. 

The new anti-globalism growing across the constituent nations of the EU today shares more in common with the late- and post-Soviet nationalisms of peoples wishing to break free from the shackles of an anti-democratic supranational state, than with the ugly authoritarian and inhuman fascistic perversions of nationalist sentiment of the 1930s. Sarrazin is but one figure, albeit a highly prominent one, willing to give voice to this new mood today. Globalisation and globalism have reached their apogee, and from hereon, the future will belong to the proponents of a new popular, progressive and democratic anti-globalism. Let all nations flourish in a state of amity and concord, and a celebration of global cultural pluralism replace the corrosive anti-European concept of multiculturalism.  

Thilo Sarrazin

EDL Redditch Demo

Yesterday, a small EDL demonstration took place in Redditch, prompted it seems by recent high profile cases of the Pakistani Muslim grooming of English girls. According to the West Mercia Police, only 40 EDL supporters turned out, whereas the Redditch Standard places the number at somewhere between 100 and 150. Predictably, there was a counterdemonstration involving about 200 people, and almost as predictably, the only violence that flared on the day originated with a small number of the counterdemonstrators, three of whom were arrested - ‘one for a breach of the peace and two on suspicion of assault’. It would be foolish to say that no violence ever emanates from amongst EDL supporters at demonstrations, but to date, the arrest statistics bear testimony to the fact that it is counterdemonstrators who are more likely to incite or engage in violence, and yesterday conformed to this pattern.

It would appear that the EDL chose to demonstrate in Redditch not because of any specific allegations or proven cases of such abuse in the town, but to raise public awareness of the issue of Muslim grooming. As Ed Stevens of the EDL put it:

"It's an awareness campaign, more than anything particularly connected to Redditch. There have been one or two minor incidents around this town but the main thing is we are coming to town and cities everywhere to say take notice of what's going on in your country."

Whilst of course acknowledging that it would certainly be wrong to tar all Muslims with the same brush and state that all condone paedophilia, at the same time it would behove parents to keep a close eye on their daughters and ensure that they don’t hang around Muslim takeaways, use Muslim taxi services or speak to Muslims lurking at the school gate and so forth. These are straightforward precautionary measures that any responsible parent should take, given the existence of a significant dangerous predatory element within the resident Muslim population.  

EDL Redditch Demo

Christlam: Iran’s latest Weapon

Welcome to the ‘Gospel’ of St Barnabas, an apocryphal text written in Syriac and claimed to date to the Fifth or Sixth Century. This particular text, written in gold upon dark animal hide, for some reason remained hidden until 2000 when it was seized during an anti-smuggling operation in Turkey, which does not in itself explain why it causes some excitement within the Iranian policy establishment. What the latter find appealing about the text is that it is said to contain passages denying that Jesus died on the cross and that it mentions Mohammed by name as God’s prophet. This, they believe, amounts to ‘proof’ of Islam’s legitimacy, with the dissemination of the content of the gospel leading to the fall of Christianity and mass conversions to Islam.

This sort of millennial expectation is to be expected from certain religiously inclined Iranians, for after all, President Ahmadinejad himself believes in the imminent arrival of the Twelfth Imam, of the Mahdi, to usher in Armageddon. With Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme well underway, he certainly seems intent upon lending a helping hand to making the end times a practical reality, underscoring the idiocy, folly and cruelty of the dogmatic literalistic interpretation of certain religious texts.

Will the ‘revelations’ regarding Mohammed contained within the Barnabas text have the impact that the Iranians would desire? It is highly unlikely. It is odd that this text remained unknown until 2000, lending weight to the argument that it is a forgery, and after all, this is not the first time that copies of the gospel have come to light, for at least two other versions – written in Italian and Spanish – have previously been ‘discovered’, and proved to be sixteenth-century forgeries. Quite how old the current text proves to be remains to be seen, but it is likely to be as genuine as ‘The Hitler Diaries’. Given the provenance of the known examples of the Gospel of St Barnabas and the nature of its content, it seems clear that it was written by a Muslim or Muslims with a view to facilitating the conversion of Christians to Islam.

If it were not for the history of carnage and persecution that faith has left in its path, whether that faith happens to have been embodied in dogma either of a religious or a purely political nature, many of the ‘sacred’ texts that have moved humans to barbarity could be considered as risible and, often, badly written curiosities; but instead they frequently possess a potency stronger and more harmful than any narcotic. Let’s hope that the Gospel of St Barnabas proves to lack such an intoxicating allure, and remains instead little but a scholarly curiosity, a document testifying to the desire of one monotheism to displace another, its closest rival.

Gospel of St Barnabas

BBC hides anti-white Race Murder

We have come to expect the BBC to systematically distort the news to fit its narrative of an essentially anti-black, anti-Muslim ‘racist’ British, particularly English, society, and no effort is seemingly spared to highlight examples of white ‘racism’ whenever it occurs and often when it doesn’t. The BBC is eager to construe more or less any innocuous remark as ‘racist’ if it deems such a remark to be anything less than celebratory of multiethnic multicultural ‘diversity’. However, over the past three days its reporting has hit a new low in its coverage of the brutal stabbing and subsequent death of a young man named Luke Fitzpatrick in a Dollis Hill pub – the Ox and Gate – last Saturday.

Reading the BBC reports on its website and listening to its accompanying video, you could be forgiven for thinking that this fatality was the consequence of things turning “nasty” and “rowdy” amongst a group of drunken football fans – white football fans – in a London pub. The only interviewees chosen for the video were white, and the reporter stated:

“Police have arrested three people so far. Two teenage boys and a man in his thirties.” He continued: “A night of celebration, turned to tragedy.”

There was no mention of the ethnicity of those arrested or what form the violence took. All three reports from Sunday, Monday and today were tailored in such a way as to make this tragic death look like a ‘typical’ consequence of the innate violence associated with a certain type of English football fan. As can be seen from the following extract, this bias in its report is undeniable:

The victims were found close to The Ox and Gate pub, where several people had gathered to watch the Champions League final on TV.

An eyewitness who was inside the pub told BBC London that as fans celebrated Chelsea's win things turned "rowdy and nasty", resulting in some damage both inside and outside the pub.

It is believed the victims were father and son and the stabbing took place after trouble started in the pub.

We turn to The Daily Mail on the other hand and discover what really happened. This was no brawl between tanked up football hooligans, this was a mass anti-white race attack perpetrated by a gang of 20 hooded blacks who burst into the pub, killed Luke Fitzpatrick and stabbed his father. The Mail writes:

The pair were attacked when a gang armed with bats and knives stormed the north London pub after father and son had watched Chelsea win the cup together at on Saturday.

'I was there on Saturday and it was like something out of a horror film.

'There were about 20 young black guys all with their hoods up armed with sticks and bats and knives. They just ran in the pub and started trying to attack people.

'It was really frightening. But it should not have happened to Luke, it shouldn’t have happened to anyone, but he was a complete innocent.'

Why did the BBC omit all of this terrifying and highly salient detail? For what reason could it have ignored the identity of the attackers and the fact that they stormed the pub en masse armed with lethal weapons? This was no brawl between drunken football fans; this was an organised anti-white race attack. The BBC has some explaining to do, for its treatment of this crime, as in its willingness to claim that organised Pakistani Muslim paedophilia has nothing to do with the cultural background of the perpetrators, illustrates its intrinsic anti-white anti-indigenous bias. The BBC is institutionally racist: it is anti-white, but more specifically, anti-English. Have you had enough of this? A video of the biased BBC report is shown below, in which a completely distorted politically correct vision of this brutal murder is presented for public consumption. The BBC should be held to account for such wilful misrepresentation.

Heckmondwike Race Attack

The Dewsbury Reporter yesterday ran a story about a race attack in Heckmondwike which took place on Batley Road at 8.25pm on Friday 18 May. The victim was a 20-year-old man who was abused in Urdu by a gang of four men who then attacked, fracturing one of his eye sockets and inflicting cuts and bruises to both face and hands. Neither the race nor the ethnicity of the victim was initially stated, and contrary to the assumption in the intitial version of this piece, the victim was not white, but a Sikh, as reported in today's Spenborough Guardian. Quite why the West Yorkshire Police did not include this information in their appeal is odd, for when appealing for witnesses surely what people look like is a salient factor in helping to track down the culprits.

This was a very brutal and nasty attack upon this young Sikh man, his background explaining how he understood that he was being abused in Urdu. The public appeal issued by West Yorkshire Police is reproduced below.  If you were in the vicinity last Friday and witnessed this attack, or if you have any other information which may help to apprehend the culprits, please contact the police.

Appeal: Aggravated Assault, Batley Road, Heckmondwike

Monday, 21 May, 2012

Police are appealing for information following a racially aggravated assault on Batley Road in Heckmondwike.

The incident happened at 8.25pm on Friday 18 May, when the victim, a 20 year old man was walking to his local shop, Junction Superstores.

It is reported the victim was subjected to racially abusive remarks before being assaulted by a group of four men.

They are described as aged in their early 20's wearing hooded jackets and one wearing a cap. 

The victim sustained cuts and bruises to his face and hands and a fracture to his eye socket. 

The victim states the racial remarks were made in 'Urdu'.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact DC Julie Holloway at Dewsbury Police Station on 101.

Uncomfortable in their own Skin

Friday’s attempt to break the world record for mass participation dance should have been spectacle enough in itself, yet the sight that beheld Plymothians proved to be jaw-dropping for quite another reason. According to The Plymouth Herald, children from a number of local schools took part in The Big Dance overseen by Plymouth Dance, with more than 200 participating in the city’s Piazza, whilst a further thousand danced elsewhere across the city. This therefore was no ordinary Saturday, but what was it that proved to be so visually arresting and unusual about the group of dancers in the city centre?

For some bizarre reason, three of the boys leading the group had been made to don black masks. Why? It was not, to the best of my knowledge, some homage to The Black and White Minstrel Show, so just what was going on here? Why were these children compelled to black up? Who made them do this? What underpinning rationale was offered? Does anybody know? Do you know?

Unlike many of our cities, Plymouth possesses a generally relaxed atmosphere and remains essentially English. Like anywhere, it has its problems of course, and Union Street at night can get a little unruly, but the sense of edgy unease that is palpable in many of our ethnically fragmented urban areas is lacking here. It would seem perhaps that the decision to compel the boys to black up was taken precisely because Plymouth, and Devon more widely, are English. The English, like other closely-related northern European peoples, are of course white. Why this should be perceived to be in any way problematic or contentious is beyond me, but for some people of a globalist inclination it clearly is. Were the black masks supposed to embody the racially dubious assertion that blacks possess natural rhythm whereas whites do not? Were they supposed to make the crowd of dancers look, to borrow Greg Dyke’s dreadful phrase, less ‘hideously white’? Whatever the reason underpinning the use of these peculiar props, what impact must they have had upon the psychology of the boys wearing them, upon their fellow dancers and those who saw them? Were they not used to make them feel, quite literally, uncomfortable in their own skins? Was it any more legitimate than forcing young Nigerians in Lagos to dance ballet wearing white masks, or for Zulus studying science to white up? Such would seem to be the absurd message implicit in yesterday’s display.

Devon is a beautiful county which largely retains its distinctive character, yet it would seem that for some this distinctiveness and the rootedness of its population is in itself something to feel ashamed of, as exemplified in Emma Thompson’s ugly outburst at Exeter University in 2010, when she stated that the city and Devon were too white. How strange. How insulting. Has anyone ever heard this woman aver that Nigeria is too black; Japan too yellow, or Pakistan too brown? I have not heard her call for these countries to be made more white, or state that she finds it odd that their populations are drawn predominantly from their native ethnic and racial groups. The ethnic and racial masochism displayed by Thompson would appear to have been what bubbled to the surface and found expression once again on Friday in Plymouth. The propagation of this misplaced sense of white racial guilt and self-loathing must be stopped. My message to those children who took part would be this: ignore what your teachers tell you about race; there is no reason to feel guilty about being white. Feel comfortable in your own skin, and don’t feel that you have to wear a black one to be able to dance. 

Plymouth Boys forced to black up 

Reform Section 5 Campaign

After many years of increasing restrictions having been placed upon freedom of thought and expression in the UK, it seems that at long last there are perhaps some indications that not only the public, but that also some prominent figures in the political and media worlds, are beginning to rail against this anti-rational stifling orthodoxy. It may be overly optimistic to state this, but there does seem to be a mood of change in the air with respect to these matters, which holds out hope for the overdue return of our right to think, write and debate unhindered by politically correct diktat.  

The recent disturbing Rochdale paedophile grooming case, in which nine men from a Pakistani Muslim background were sentenced for the systematic abuse of indigenous English girls, appears to have forced some individuals to wake up to reality, and to acknowledge that there is a genuine problem pertaining to this type of crime within this particular subset of the population. That it has hitherto been ignored because of fears relating to accusations of ‘racism’ or its so-called ‘institutional’ variant, demonstrates amply just how corrosive this enforced system of putatively ‘anti-racist’ thought and legislation has become. To have turned a blind eye to such crimes, for there have been many others of this type, is rather worse than negligent. At a bare minimum, the victims of these sadistic sexual assaults deserve to see the law changed, so that never again will concerns relating to the ostensible sensitivities of certain minorities permit crimes to go uninvestigated. It is time to show the concept of ‘institutional racism’ the red card, and to allow the forces of law and order to go about their daily work unconstrained by ideology.

Against this backdrop, it was encouraging to see a new campaign emerge this week aimed at reforming Section 5 of the 1986 Public Order Act. Moreover, it made a refreshing change to see a number of unnatural bedfellows combining to demand that this restriction upon free speech be ditched, for it cannot be said that The National Secular Society (NSS) and The Christian Institute are natural allies. Alongside them are ranged Conservative MP David Davis, Big Brother Watch, The Freedom Association and The Peter Tatchell Foundation. Little of course unites this disparate range of individuals and organisations, but it is heartening to see such a widespread support for free speech. The question is though, will Home Secretary Theresa May listen?

The offending element, if I may be forgiven the pun, of Section 5 outlaws “insulting words or behaviour”, the snag being of course that this is such a nebulous concept that it is wide open to abuse, and abused it has been, and very badly at that. For example, the NSS reports that ‘In 2008 a sixteen-year-old boy was arrested for peacefully holding a placard that read “Scientology is a dangerous cult”.’ David Davis has cited the example of an Oxford student arrested in 2005 for saying to a policeman “Excuse me, do you realise your horse is gay?” Peter Tatchell was arrested too whilst campaigning against Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir for holding a placard reading ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir = clerical fascism’ which police deemed to be “insulting”. Evidently, the police on this occasion displayed more sensitivity towards a group that calls for the killing of ‘unchaste women’, Jews and homosexuals than for somebody highlighting the obscenity of this stance. Whilst not agreeing with Tatchell on a number of issues, he has made the right choice here. All of these cases highlight the absurdity and danger of Section 5 in its current form.

Insults should not be criminalized, and what is acceptable or even positive to one person is unacceptable and anathema to another. Section 5 must be reformed so that its stifling impact upon free speech is removed. I wish the campaigners well. Its site can be accessed here. David Davis gives his thoughts on Section 5 in the video below.

Space X Falcon Mission Aborts

Following the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet, NASA has decided that it wishes to outsource its supply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) to the private sector in a bid to cut costs. Space X was selected as the private company most likely to be able to perform this task, and this morning it was due to launch a demonstration mission to the ISS. Unfortunately for Space X, the launch was aborted owing to an engine problem, so its Falcon rocket and cargo-carrying Dragon capsule remain on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral. Rocket science never has been easy or cheap.

Although the Space X system, providing that it can prove its capability, will be cheaper than other launch systems, ultimately it must be viewed as a stopgap technology that needs to be superseded if the costs of exploring and utilising space are to be made somewhat less than astrononomically expensive. With the recent successful testing of the Skylon spaceplane's SABRE engine system, such a new era could be just around the corner, with British engineering and manufacturing leading the way.

Space X Dragon Capsule

Will Self on Pakistani Muslim Misogyny

The following exchange between Will Self and Louise Mensch is rather interesting, for Self carefully outlines why he thinks that there is a particular Pakistani Muslim problem with paedophilia and the systematic grooming of English girls, and that whereas it has formerly been glossed over, it should be no longer. He identifies this pattern of abuse as being specifically rooted in the misogyny of part of the male Pakistani Muslim population. His approach is altogether measured and reasonable, whereas Mensch's interjection can be interpreted as little more than the recitation of PC 'anti-racist' shibboleths designed to curry favour with the Muslim electorate, describing the Islam that Self correctly identifies as fostering an intense misogyny and specific contempt for non-Muslim English girls as "a particularly warped extremist version of Islam that no mainstream British Muslim would recognise for a second." In uttering such a statement Mensch either betrays her intense ignorance, or a cynical propensity to elevate the interests of Pakistani Muslims over English working class girls for whom I imagine she has little respect. Of course, Self quite correctly never said that it was all men from such a background who possess such views and who condone this type of behaviour, but it proved convenient for Mensch to pretend that this is what he did say.

Mensch doesn't have a clue. She is as out of touch as Cameron, Osborne and the other habitués of the cocktail set. She ought to quit politics and return to judging the local gymkhana. Her profoundly ignorant and stigmatising attitudes are precisely those which have permitted the systematic Muslim paedophile abuse of English girls to continue unchallenged for years, and if these attitudes are not ditched and the problem recognised for what it is, then many more girls will fall victim to this dreadful crime. Is Louise Mensch your MP? If so, why not write to her and ask her why she is so complacent about the fate of underage English girls, and more concerned with the welfare of Pakistani Muslim paedophiles.

Cairngorm Slopes enjoy late spring Snows

After two bumper winter seasons in 2009/2010 and 2010/2011, the Cairngorm Ski Resort experienced a poor 2011/2012, with the unseasonal warmth of March leading to an early closure of the slopes. However, a much colder April and an unusually chilly May have resulted in a late season bonanza, with skiers flocking to Aviemore to enjoy an unexpected late spring treat on the pistes. With the weekend outlook for the Cairngorms forecasting further light snow on Friday and wintry showers on Saturday, the resort can look forward to at least another good weekend of skiing. The cold weather should last until Monday or Tuesday next week, but thereafter the forecast becomes uncertain. There has however even been some speculation that the season could last until late June, but owing to the vagaries of the weather, not too much store should be set upon such an expectation.

Currently, five of Cairngorm’s eleven ski lifts are open, placing it in a far more fortunate position than Scotland’s other resorts, with only one lift apiece being open at Glencoe and Nevis whilst none are operating at Glenshee and Lecht. The Winterhighland site reported this evening that between four and five inches of snow have fallen at the resort since Wednesday morning, with ‘near blanket cover above 3000ft with extensive cover stretching down to around 2800ft’.

The Scottish skiing industry has always operated on the margins of viability, so the people of Aviemore for one must be glad of the miserable May weather which has given a boost to their local economy. Piers Corbyn claimed that this May stood an ‘80% chance’ of being the coldest in 100 years in parts of Britain, but whilst this month has thus far been much colder than average (with the CET currently tracking 1.53ºC below the 1971-2000 average at 9.77ºC), there is almost a fortnight to run, and as past experience has repeatedly shown, at this time of year we can experience frost one weekend and a heatwave the next.

Skylon's Potential

Recent news concerning the testing of the SABRE engine demonstrated the exciting potential of  this revolutionary piece of British developed (although ESA funded) technology. Although it is as yet still in its experimental stages, should tests go to plan the Skylon spaceplane for which it is designed could fundamentally transform the launching of satellites and other cargoes into low-Earth orbit. Coming as it did during the same week as the announcement that a private consortium is to take the first steps towards the exploitation of near-Earth asteroids for their raw materials, the era of space exploration could be revitalised, with the economic potential of space beyond low-Earth orbit being explored for the first time. Unlike asteroid mining however, Skylon holds out the prospect of providing a faster return on economic investment.

The real potential of the Skylon concept derives from its prospective ability to repeatedly loft cargoes into space for a mere fraction of the current cost owing to the fact that it requires neither booster rockets nor massive amounts of liquid fuel, instead taking much of the fuel that it needs direct from the atmosphere. Estimates suggest that it could cut the cost of satellite launches from £15,000/kg to £650/kg. Moreover, this ability to transport heavy cargo to low-Earth orbit also allows for the possibility of the orbital assembly of spacecraft designed for deep space flight, thereby dramatically reducing the cost both of human and robotic exploration of the Solar System. Skylon could be adapted to transport up to 24 passengers into low-Earth orbit, dwarfing the capability of other existing launch systems as well as the now-retired space shuttle fleet.

After the excitement of the Space Race of the 1960s culminating in the Apollo Programme, there has been something of a lull in manned spaceflight, with human missions instead concentrating upon orbits a few hundred miles above our heads in Soyuz capsules, Skylab, Mir and most recently the International Space Station. Although the Obama administration has set the objective of sending a manned space mission way beyond the orbit of the Moon to explore an asteroid, no firm date has been set, and it will not take place until the 2020s at the earliest.

Russia and China are currently the only nations capable of sending humans into space. If the investment for Skylon can be found, the UK should be joining them within the next decade or so. It is important that this opportunity to make the country a leading spacefaring nation should not be lost, for it holds significant economic promise. This is the type of project that ought to be supported by funds from the proposed National Investment Bank, thereby providing our people with the opportunity to benefit from supporting productive capital investment in hi-tech industry at home. Our engineering and manufacturing sector needs to be revitalised to secure our long-term economic recovery. It would be a tragedy were the primary beneficiaries to the development of this technology prove to be investors from the Arab petro-states.

Below is a concept video of the Skylon spaceplane in action.

The True Enemy of Nationalism

Guest Article by Mr Brigantian

Anyone who has supported/followed/voted for or had a cursory interest in the British nationalist movement will know that it has supposedly always been held back by a combination of the Left-Wing media, the 'all powerful Jews', Marxist troublemakers and state infiltrators.

If you take on board what is written on certain nationalist websites and blogs they have foiled our attempts to be seen as a respectable and credible electoral force time and time again. They combine their dark forces to split our ranks, denigrate and demonise decent law abiding members and publish lies about us. They have created an environment where it is almost impossible for a nationalist party to have its voice heard without having its words twisted beyond their original meaning.

Well, I believe that the main problem we have is far closer to home and I realise that what I am about to suggest isn't going to be popular but I believe it needs to be said.

The biggest enemy that nationalism has in this country is nationalists. Let me explain.

Whilst I accept that some of the aforementioned elements have had an effect on the progression of nationalist ideology, I think its own blindness to what is palatable to the general public and a burning need to always have a bogeyman on which to blame its shortcomings has been far more damaging.

A brief glance at the comments section on any site (or at least the ones that are willing to publish the opinions of those that disagree) reveals that there are almost as many definitions of nationalism as there are nationalists, and people fiercely and vociferously defend their position. 

While I think that debate is healthy, the sad fact is that all too often this descends into a pointless and damaging free for all where insults and accusations are the norm. Add to this the hateful minority who actively seek to undermine and destroy the efforts of those they consider 'soft' or too liberal then its a wonder that the other perceived 'malign forces' ever get a look-in.

It’s a sad fact of life that, in general, people are more vocal and passionate about things they dislike than things they do like, but instead of spending an inordinate amount of time and effort attacking those you disagree with, isn't it more productive to be constructive?

The harsh reality is that it is unlikely that any single party will be a perfect fit for everyone in every way. We all have to find one that is the best fit for us as individuals, and the one that we believe has the potential to grow into something that can affect a change for the better. We can't simply sit on the sidelines and grumble any more because time is running out. The current social and economic climate should be fertile ground for the growth of a moderate and sensible Nationalist party, yet we're doing a sterling job of ensuring that doesn't happen.

As far as the public perception is concerned, nationalists are still Nazi-obsessed anti-Semites, obsessed with outlandish conspiracy theories. This is why, despite the majority sharing some of our ideals, we make little to no headway in elections. We are constantly preaching to an ever decreasing number of converts and seem to have no idea how the rest of the population perceives us.

Times have changed yet we are resolutely standing still. We need to look at ourselves from the outside in, assess where we have gone wrong and be brutally honest with ourselves about our mistakes.

The cranks need to be sidelined and starved of the oxygen of publicity. We need to grow up and stop spending all our time arguing over the minutiae of policy, find some common ground and agree to work together.

We cannot be perceived as being obsessed with a single issue. What true nationalism offers us is the opportunity to make headway with the public based on sound economic policy. We need to focus on this.

We should be making hay while the sun shines yet we are treading water.

This is why I believe that the time has never been better for the emergence of a brand new, credible and electable nationalist political party. The current crop are never going to get us out of the mess we are in. Time is wasting, we need to make a move.

Rochdale Muslim Grooming: More Arrests

The Manchester Evening News has reported that more arrests have been made following the sentencing of nine Muslim paedophile residents of Rochdale and Oldham earlier this week in Liverpool. It is stated that all ‘have been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing the same girl’ and that all of the arrestees were ‘from Asian and Afro-Caribbean backgrounds’. The scene of the arrests has once again been Rochdale. The girl of course, was English. According to a BBC News 24 report delivered just after 3pm, a total of nine men have been arrested. One question that naturally arises is this: were they, as previously, all Muslim? This strikes me as being highly probable.

It has been written elsewhere that there could be up to 50 other men involved in the grooming ring to which the nine sentenced in Liverpool belonged, so there will hopefully be many more arrests to come. The Manchester Evening News states that: 

Judge Gerald Clifton, jailing the nine, suggested they had targeted their victims because they were ‘not of your community or religion’. But police and political leaders denied the crimes were about race – saying the men had targeted their victims simply because they were vulnerable.

Quite clearly, the corrosive influence of the Macpherson Report is both what has allowed these crimes to go untackled for so long (it is thought that 47 girls were probably victims of the gang sentenced in Liverpool), and what has hindered recognition of them for what they are. The concept of ‘institutional racism’ which Macpherson fabricated must be ditched, as must all of the policy and legislation that rests upon it. It will be a top policy priority of the new party to ensure that such legislation is repealed, and that police are encouraged to investigate and tackle Muslim paedophile grooming without feeling inhibited. Those who ushered in the Macpherson Report should feel a sense of shame for allowing this factually incorrect document to have exerted such a malign influence over the criminal justice system in this country over the past 13 years, for it has undoubtedly facilitated the actions of brutal Muslim paedophile gangs across the country. In 2005 for example, The Daily Telegraph reports that social workers in Rochdale deliberately ignored evidence of an underage girl being kidnapped and repeatedly gang-raped ‘because they were frightened of being accused of racism.’

The Macpherson Report has proven to be a great facilitator of multiple rape and torture. Moreover, it has created a general culture of fear amongst the indigenous population in this country, in which anyone’s career or reputation may be destroyed by a mere allegation of ‘racism’, and the resultant ‘diversity’ legislation has sought to inculcate a misplaced sense of ‘guilt’ for a non-existent ‘collective racism’ that all native Britons are supposed to harbour. It is time for the authors, supporters and champions of Macpherson to offer us an apology, and to admit that they got it terribly wrong. It is time to bid adieu to the corrosive concept of ‘institutional racism’ and to the ‘diversity’ dogma.

BBC’s racist Reporting: 'Asians'

Yesterday’s conviction of nine Muslim male residents of Rochdale for the systematic grooming and repeated multiple rape of young English girls has now rightly been covered by the mass media. However, the manner in which this has been done is striking, insofar as the BBC in particular, and even The Daily Telegraph, have decided to describe the perpetrators of these crimes as ‘Asians’, whereas if they were to be accurate they would have described them as ‘Muslims’ or eight Pakistanis and one Afghan, for it is the Muslim identity of these men that is salient in this instance, it being a common denominator in the many other cases of systematic grooming of native English girls by these so-called ‘Asian’ gangs. It was not Hindus in Keighley who carried out the notorious mass grooming of girls in the town; it was not Thais in Blackpool, Sikhs in Blackburn, Chinese in Rotherham, Japanese in Derby, Burmese in Burnley or Vietnamese in Bradford. No. So, what was the identity of the men involved in the serious cases of systematic grooming in all of these towns and cities? Muslim males of predominantly Pakistani background.

Given the clear pattern displayed in these cases, why do the BBC and other media outlets choose to employ the language of race, casting a slur upon all ‘Asians’? It is quite straightforward really: these criminals are described as ‘Asians’ to render any criticism of this specifically Muslim, usually Pakistani phenomenon, ‘racist’. In doing so, the BBC it could be argued, is being ‘racist’. If I were a Sikh or a Hindu, my blood would be boiling with respect to this linguistic usage. 

At least Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation has had the decency to condemn this type of crime. Today’s Daily Mail states:

The leader of the Ramadhan Foundation has accused Pakistani community elders of 'burying their heads in the sand' on the issue of on-street grooming.

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the group, said police should not let the 'issue of race' stop them from addressing the issue.

The Ramadhan Foundation is a Manchester-based moderate Muslim youth group that works for 'peaceful co-existence and dialogue for all communities'.

Mr Shafiq said: 'There is a significant problem for the British Pakistani community, there is an over-representation amongst recent convictions in the crime of on-street grooming, there should be no silence in addressing the issue of race as this is central to the actions of these criminals.

'They think that white teenage girls are worthless and can be abused without a second thought; it is this sort of behaviour that is bringing shame on our community.

'I urge the police and the councils not to be frightened to address this issue, there is a strong lesson that you cannot ignore race or be over sensitive.'

Mr Shafiq’s intervention is welcome, and he acknowledges that insofar as the perpetrators of these crimes are concerned, the ‘racial’ element comes into play in the selection of their victims: non-Muslim indigenous girls. The Rochdale case led to a protest in the Heywood district of the town in February, which was unfortunately infiltrated by a number of troublemakers who attacked a local takeaway and the police.

Despite the BBC's innate bias and reluctance to identify the ethno-religious specificity of the majority of crimes of this type, an interview with criminologist Mark Williams-Thomas on this evening's BBC News 24 was quite remarkable, for in spite of the interviewer trying to imply otherwise, Williams-Thomas was startlingly and refreshingly forthright in his insistence that this systematic grooming of English girls was carried out in the overwhelming majority of cases by males of Pakistani and Afghan origin. He emphatically reiterated this point several times, much to the discomfiture of his BBC interviewer. Could it be that this dreadful case from the streets of Rochdale will finally help to bring about a sea change, and force, albeit highly reluctantly, official recognition of the reality of this type of crime and its widespread nature? If so, the EDL should be accorded some credit for tirelessly seeking to highlight the issue of organised Muslim paedophilia. 

For the time being however, neither the mass media nor the mainstream political parties are truly willing to allow members of the public to give vent to their thoughts and feelings on this matter, as demonstrated by the fact that the comments facility on Brendan O'Neill's blog piece entitled 'Muslims, 'sex gangs' and white working-class women' in The Daily Telegraph this evening has been switched off. Likewise, whereas it is normally possible to comment upon Ed West's blog postings, his piece entitled 'Why liberals turned a blind eye to the 'grooming' of girls' also featured a disabled comments facility. Real debate about this issue evidently remains off-limits, and for as long as it does so, those who keep this a taboo subject aid the abusers and betray existing and potential victims.

Beyond the Fringe: Conclusion and Announcement

Now that the local elections are behind us, it is an appropriate time to reply to Andrew Brons’s article which critically tackled my three-part ‘Beyond the Fringe’ (BTF) series of articles, as well as to make an announcement about the formation of a new party that is in the process of being set up (its name and further details will be announced within the next six weeks). The individuals involved have backgrounds in politics, marketing and academia.

It was encouraging to see that the BTF series was reproduced in its entirety on the Nationalist Unity Forum, and that the articles elicited a range of reactions and lively debate. Most of the commentary was prompted by Andrew Brons’s considered response which took the form of an article entitled ‘Musing Analysed – Parts of Them are Good!’ This in itself suggests that some merit was perceived in their content, although not unnaturally, the reception that they have received has not been uncritical. That the articles have stirred up a certain amount of debate is to be welcomed, as is the fact that this debate is helping to differentiate those who wish to make a positive fresh start in politics from those who do not. Amongst the latter are those who belong to what could be dubbed the ‘Reichest Tendency’, a small but vocal minority who have long bedevilled nationalism in this country through their bizarre obsession with an imported ideology spawned in the last century.

In his response, Brons made a number of specific criticisms, with those in his conclusion being of a pertinent and practical nature. Others however, perhaps arose from a lack of clarity on my part. For example, one criticism related to his conclusion that I had asserted that the BNP’s collapse had not been attributable to the media, with some specific examples being provided of how media hostility had been detrimental to the party’s fortunes. Whilst recognising that media hostility did play a role in its demise (I have written about this previously), even without this stance, the BNP would have failed for the serious reasons that were outlined in part I of the series. The decision was taken not to focus upon the attitude of the media, for there was little or nothing that could have been done to change this.

Although Brons can be said to have made a credible case against the formation of another nationalist party, I did not and do not find his case persuasive; to be credible is not necessarily to be convincing. My opinion with respect to the necessity of forming a new political party has only been reinforced by the recent local election results. As to the details of how that should be achieved, it was not the intent of the BTF series to provide this information. Such practical matters will become self-evident through the party’s creation and subsequent growth. This does not signify an absence of thought regarding this matter or a lack of planning, but rather a desire not to give too much away to prospective opponents of the concept.

Brons placed great store upon the failure of breakaway parties. This assumes a somewhat proprietorial attitude towards nationalism and nationalist politics. Having never belonged to any political party myself, my reflections have not been addressed exclusively to former and existing members of the BNP, but rather to all in this country who think and feel that the first and foremost duty of the state should be to advance the welfare, prosperity and security of the members of the national community as a whole, rather than the particularistic interests that promote globalism, globalisation and our attendant loss of sovereignty and identity. It is therefore addressed to a wide readership including members of other parties such as the English Democrats, the Democratic Nationalists, UKIP and the BFP, individuals who have traditionally supported the mainstream parties, and those of no political affiliation whatsoever. The new party concept is not supposed to appeal only to those who have been involved in the nationalist movement, but to those who whilst sharing its core values have up until this point been repelled by some of its fringe obsessions and the less savoury behaviour and opinions of a number of its prominent spokesmen (Clive Wakley has grasped this point perfectly). Thus the title of ‘Beyond the Fringe’. The goal may seem grandiose, but the ultimate aim is to create a mass party. 

What has been proposed therefore, is not a ‘breakaway party’, but a new party altogether; an exercise that could be deemed to be even harder than establishing a breakaway party, but one that is nonetheless necessary owing to the manifest serious shortcomings of existing parties.

The criticism was also levelled that I had made the assumption that a certain percentage of the vote would somehow fall into the lap of a new party. Whilst I did identify a potential baseline of electoral support by aggregating votes cast for particular parties, it was stressed that this was a potential share rather than being automatically available. As shown by the election of the BNP’s two MEPs, it is far from necessary to obtain 30% of the vote to succeed in EU elections.

Brons implied that I assumed that candidates from competing nationalist parties would stand aside to allow a new party to fight elections without them hindering its prospects, yet this is something that I neither stated nor believe would be the case. A central objective of a new party, as was reiterated throughout the ‘Beyond the Fringe’ series, would be to establish recognition as a credible and moderate nationalist party, as well as being such a party rather than just appearing to be. As such, it ought to render the challenges of the existing small parties irrelevant, although of course competing with UKIP in EU elections would be a serious business.

With respect to the five specific practical questions posed by Brons in his conclusion, my responses are as outlined below.

1. How do we overcome the dilemma that breakaway parties always fail if the parent party is still operative?

Response: I am not proposing a breakaway party. This will not be ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ of the BNP, but it will contain former BNP members, as well as people who would never have considered joining the BNP.

2. How do we prepare a party to win seats in the European Parliament against all of the competition that will undoubtedly be there?

Response: The answer to this question depends very much upon how large and how strong the party has become by the spring of 2014. Whatever the case, the concentration of resources will play a crucial role.

3. How do we make this Westminster breakthrough in 2015?

Response: Once again, a perfectly legitimate question, and a very tough one to answer. The same observations apply as in the preceding answer.

4. When we have recovered the serious small party status that we had in 2010, how do we progress to become a large party? How many of the factors that determine that are within our gift and how many are beyond our control?

Response: If our message, and indeed our policy, is what the public wants and the party is rational, credible and moderate, that question will answer itself. It will grow.

5. Is it possible to change the political culture of a party without changing the type of people we recruit?

Response: As stated in the answer to the first question, this will not be BNP Mark II, thus the type of people recruited will be more varied. ManxmanGreenhaugh was correct in his observation that ‘There needs to be a split between the ‘old school’ nationalists and the modernisers.’

Forthcoming articles dealing with the question of perception in the media and within the nationalist movement will provide further clarification with respect to some of these issues.

Conclusion

I welcome Andrew Brons’s qualified positive response and also the pertinent set of practical questions that he raises in his conclusion. I fully acknowledge that it will be no easy task to take this concept, realise it and make it succeed, but if we do not try, only one outcome is certain: failure. Without an animating desire to initiate and realise the positive changes required to protect and advance the well-being, freedom and security of our people, there will be no action and success. Ultimately, the success of this endeavour will rest upon the motivation and dedication of those who share the goals outlined in the BTF series, and who find the forthcoming detailed party concept to their taste. That detailed exposition will however have to wait until another day.

In closing, I would also like to take the opportunity to thank all for their feedback, particularly those of you who have responded positively. Given your favourable comments, further suggestions would be welcome from (names in alphabetical order, those with real names first followed by pseudonyms): Lewis Allsebrook, Geoff Crompton, David Hamilton, Bert Leech, Peter Mills, Kevin Scott, Clive Wakley, Ivan Winters, ‘Adrian’, ‘Barry’, Bilbo, British Activism, Cygnus, For England, Goldenmerlin, Lanky Patriot, A Man from Brum, ManxmanGreenaugh, Mo, North-West Nationalist, Quiet Man, SerpentSlayer, Salford Nationalist and Silly Kuffar. Apologies are in order for anyone that I have omitted from this list. Mention of these individuals does not of course imply that they have necessarily endorsed this concept. 

Appendix
For those of you who are perhaps mystified as to why this decision has been taken and think that the concept of a new party is a waste of time, then please refer to the three constituent articles of 'Beyond the Fringe' by following the links below:

• Part 1 dealt with the electoral failure of nationalist politics in general and nationalist parties in particular, highlighting the weaknesses of each of the visible small parties.

• Part 2 tackled the issue of which policies should form the bedrock of a new party.

• Part 3 examined the potential baseline of support for a new party, as well as: electoral strategy, tactics, linguistic usage and general principles of party organisation.

 

English Democrats' Performance in Doncaster: May 2012

It should perhaps come as a relief to the English Democrats that the electors of Doncaster voted in favour of retaining its mayoral system last Thursday, for following the local elections English Democrat Mayor Peter Davies remains the sole individual from that party to hold office in the borough. He himself was not up for re-election on this occasion, but the electors chose to retain the system by a margin of 61.7% to 37.8%. Just quite how far this is indicative of his personal popularity is difficult to gauge, but this result does seem to provide a clear popular endorsement of the system itself.

In the 2011 May local elections the English Democrats chose to contest twelve wards in Doncaster, whereas this year they fielded candidates in only seven. This tactic seems to have paid off, by perhaps enabling them to better concentrate their modest resources. Although on this occasion the party failed to secure elected representation, it did make tangible progress in the borough, with the average number of votes per candidate increasing from 642 to 754 despite a decline in turnout, and the average share increasing from 16.2% to 22.3%. Last year, the best share obtained was 23.3% in the Bentley Ward, whereas this time the highest proportion was obtained in Wheatley with 28.3%. The positions of the candidates improved too, for in 2011 the party achieved three second places, whereas this year it took five, with one third (just a few votes behind second place) and one fourth.

Although the English Democrats failed to make a breakthrough, these figures would seem to indicate that the presence of the mayor has accorded the party considerable public visibility and thereby generated a certain level of popular support, although this has yet to translate itself into councillors in this Labour stronghold. The future of the party however appears to be in question, as there is some dissent within the English Democrats regarding the leadership largely arising from the admission of a number of ex-BNP members, and there have been expressions of disappointment with the party's results this time around, for nationally it has not made any real headway. Moreover, the party is said to be in considerable debt.

The results below contrast this year's performance with last.

Bentley            681 (25.1%) / 739 (23.3%)

Bessacarr and Cantley        535 (12.9%) / 756 (15.9%)

Central            533 (17.7%) / didn't stand

Edenthorpe, Kirk Sandall & Barnby Dun        731 (19.9%) / 655 (14.8%)

Finningley        1163 (26%) / 1137 (21.2%)

Hatfield            827 (26%) / 673 (17.5%)

Wheatley          806 (28.3%) / 786 (22.9%)

'Go away Galloway!' Anti-Galloway Protest in Bradford

A report has reached me of an unusual protest that took place in Bradford this afternoon. An eyewitness stated that she had seen a group of Muslims bearing placards emblazoned with the slogan 'Go away Galloway!' in the city centre. The men, dressed in traditional Muslim clothing, were also handing out literature to shoppers next to the escalators entering Kirkgate Shopping Centre opposite McDonalds, and using loudspeakers to get their message across. Clearly, George Galloway is not welcomed by all Muslims in Bradford. There is speculation that the protestors disapprove of Galloway's distinctive opportunistic brand of divisive politics, and that they believe he is serving to further alienate the city's Muslim population from the rest of its inhabitants. Do you have any additional information about this protest and the motivations of the protestors? If so, please feel free to leave a comment.

UPDATE: Blogger 'Tales from Bradistan' states that he saw yesterday's protest and that it was being led by Anjem Choudary. This explanation would make sense, as Choudary has apparently been urging Muslims not to vote in elections, and given Galloway's recent victory and Respect's success in Bradford, it would make perfect 'sense' for him and his unwelcome band to descend upon the city to seek to make their point and generally stir up trouble. 

EDL Luton March Coverage: Lennon and Carroll join BFP

Today the EDL is holding a demonstration in Luton to mark the third anniversary of its foundation. Unsurprisingly, UAF and the SWP are holding a counterdemonstration (badged as 'We are Luton'), as has become traditional upon such occasions. According to the Casuals United blog (hat tip for the picture below), some 2,000 supporters have taken to the streets of Luton. This also coincides with the long-anticipated official announcement regarding Stephen Lennon/Tommy Robinson joining the British Freedom Party (BFP) as Deputy Chairman. It has been announced that he will be sharing this role with Kevin Carroll. Quite how effective that arrangement proves to be remains to be seen.

Yesterday witnessed the first electoral test for the BFP, and as can be seen from the results at this link, it fared spectacularly badly. Although those who head both the BFP and the EDL hope that today's announcement will provide a boost for the former, it has already prompted the departure of a number of BFP members. However, what is beyond dispute is the fact that Stephen Lennon's decision to join the BFP will generate headlines and afford the party far more coverage than it has hitherto enjoyed. Although Matthew Goodwin correctly observed in The Guardian yesterday that the BNP was spent as an electoral force and should now be considered a political irrelevance, he perhaps places rather too much store upon the potential success of an EDL/BFP tie-up, owing to the numerous reasons outlined in previous articles highlighting the weaknesses both of this strategic approach and of the BFP's policies and presentation (a detailed criticism of its 20 Point Plan can be found here).

Luton of course has acquired a reputation for radical Islamism, with the most recent arrest for terrorist-related offences taking place towards the end of last month when five men in the town were detained in police swoops. It is therefore not surprising that Luton was the town that gave birth to the EDL, and this fact has in recent months drawn considerable media coverage, most notably in two documentaries looking at ethno-confessional polarisation in the town: Stacey Dooley's lightweight 'My Hometown Fanatics' and the rather more serious but partial episode of Despatches 'Proud and Prejudiced'. Both of these came after a special Radio 4 report on the town last September, featuring interviews conducted by John Humphrys with Stephen Lennon and Sayful Islam amongst others.

The following video gives a flavour of the EDL demo today.

 

EDL Luton Demo: Saturday 5th May 2012