Norwich “Hope not Hate” Campaign advance notice of meeting

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men (or women) do nothing.

Norwich is being targeted by the British National Party (BNP) who want to stir up hatred and violence on the basis of race, ethnicity and religion.

The British National Party should be of concern to all decent people. It is not a matter solely for politicians. The threat of racism and fascism needs to be addressed before it is too late and that means all good people doing something.

The Norwich “Hope not Hate” campaign will be calling a meeting of representatives of community, faith and other interested groups to bring together people who want to play their part in solving issues fairly and honestly. Together we can bring Hope and defeat those who promote hate. Look out for details of our meeting to be announced soon.

“Hope not Hate” was set up to counter racism and fascism in elections and beyond. Over the past few years the British National Party has seriously contested council elections all over the country and achieved 55 councillors at district/borough level after the May 2008 local elections, though this has since fallen to 54. The BNP is now concentrating all its resources on the European elections, in the hope of getting Nick Griffin elected to the European Parliament. Once there, he would link up with other European fascist parties, to gain international influence and, above all, funding beyond the BNP's dreams.

What We Believe: The Norwich “Hope not Hate” campaign believes that everyone who lives and works in Norwich should be able to do so with dignity, free from prejudice and discrimination. We are sure that the vast majority of people in Norwich share this view.

In particular, the British National Party has hoodwinked a number of people into thinking that it is the only party which understands their concerns about migration, jobs, housing, religion and what it is to be British. They have done this by spreading lies, rumours and myths in communities with particular social problems, hoping and waiting for the powder keg to explode.

Norwich “Hope not Hate” recognises that people across Norwich are concerned about these issues but we also believe that those concerns should be addressed on the basis of facts not fiction, truth not lies, and in ways which bring people together for the good of the whole community - not tearing people apart to the benefit of cynical and dangerous extremists.

‘For further information and interviews please contact: Sid Frisby at sf@sidfrisby.com
Or Phone 07785 575648

Norfolk no-show for BNP - NF's Old Tom drops out

For as long as we can remember the BNP has been promising to stand candidates in Norwich and Great Yarmouth. Always keen to tell us how fast their membership is growing, we've been told again and again that they've been out leafletting and canvassing and all the signs are good!

The fact is, Norfolk BNP is next to useless. Try as we might, we can't find evidence of public activity of any description by them. They must be taking their monthly leaflet quota and storing them in the garage next to the unsold copies of Freedom.

At close of nominations in Norwich and Great Yarmouth (the only Norfolk districts where elections are being held) it became clear that - yet again - not one BNP member had the courage of his/her convictions, since the BNP have failed to nominate candidates in either place.

Last year the BNP did stand two candidates in West Norfolk's North Lynn ward (King's Lynn). Neither candidate was well-supported by the local BNP, but one came close to being elected, and we understand there were bitter internal recriminations as a result.

Norfolk BNP, though, has always been long (and loud) on promise and short on delivery.

The National Front's chairman Tom Holmes has failed to appear on this year's ballot for Great Yarmouth Nelson ward. In 2006 Holmes scored a respectable 25.9%, which fell back to 22.85% last May. A by-election for the Nelson seat in October saw his vote take a catastrophic tumble, Caister man Holmes coming away with a paltry 6.31%.

Perhaps that rejection finished Holmes, or perhaps he's just too old to want to bother. Either way, we're pleased that Yarmouth's most vulnerable seat will again be represented by a non-racist mainstream candidate this year.

Norfolk BNP's failure to nominate isn't particularly surprising to us here at Norfolk Unity. Like most of its membership we've always recognised that it's badly led and next to useless - but what's new there?