Practical Steps For Countering the BNP

[clovehitched]

As many will know, I'm a member of the Liberal Democrat Party. As a party activist, last week was rather hectic for me. On Monday, I had three rounds of leaflet deliveries to do, and on Tuesday I had four rounds of hand-delivered letters to drop off. On Wednesday night, there were another 4 rounds of leaflets (this time targetted at non-voting households, asking them to vote for anyone but the BNP), and on Thursday morning I was up at 5:30 to deliver more leaflets to party supporters, encouraging them to get out and vote. This was followed by breakfast, voting, "knocking-up" our own voters, as well as voters for a couple of other parties (partially in the hope of picking up protest votes, partially in the hope of countering the BNP vote), two hours of election-telling, more knocking up, a nap, another hour of election-telling, one final round of knocking up, and then to the pub with the other party activists and local counsellors for a celebratory drink after the polls closed. On Friday I spent the day at the count, working as an oversser, and thus knew the results in Cambridge hours before most people did. Zoe and Sylvia helped with much of this, for which I am very grateful.

Anyway, that was a busy week, but not all party activists do the "work flat out in election week" thing. Some just deliver leaflets a few times a year, and maybe help with the occasional bit of canvassing, and perhaps envelope stuffing.

And that brings me to the BNP. snakey asked me, in chat, what one can do personally to help counter the BNP. Beyond making sure one votes, and always votes, in every election, for anyone other than the BNP, there is another practical step that most people can take.

So if you want to help counter fascism in British politics, and are able to get out and deliver a few leaflets, or stuff envelopes, or hand-write addresses, or canvass people, or tell at an election, or whatever, then get in touch with the local branch of the Liberal Democrats, or the Labour Party, or the Conservatives, or the Green Party, and tell them you want to help. Quite apart from headlines about expenses, at local level most activity is done by volunteers who receive no pay at all for their work. It can be good exercise though, getting one out of the house, and you can meet some interesting people (and have your photo taken hugging a Westminster front-bencher, if that's your thing) and get to know bits of your local area you never knew about. Furthermore, you can make a definite, positive contribution to local democracy, and you can help fight the tide of racism and fascism infecting British politics.

Comments

[biascut.livejournal.com]

But one does have to settle on a party to volunteer for! I would actually like to be a member of a party, but WHICH ONE? I am about equally split between Labour and Green, and have been this way for the past six years or so. Every now and then I experience a definite swing one way, and then a couple of weeks later before I've got around to doing anything about it, I've swung back the other.

Have you always been definitively LibDem, no questions asked, or did you make a decision and stick with it?

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Have you always been definitively LibDem, no questions asked, or did you make a decision and stick with it?

I have, at times, voted for each of the three main parties.

I'd also make the point that you don't have to be a party member to volunteer.

[biascut.livejournal.com]

That I actually didn't know - I always assumed volunteers were members. Thank you!

[phonemonkey.livejournal.com]

Nope, they want as many warm bodies as they can lay hands on.

[zoeimogen.livejournal.com]

Although I've never quite understood why one woudln't be a party member if one is working for them.

[geekette8.livejournal.com]

See my comment below. I'm a volunteer because I believe in increasing voter choice and information, rather than because I strongly support a particular party.

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Most volunteers, as far as I can tell, just deliver some leaflets as a way of getting out of the house every so often and getting involved a bit. One doesn't need to go as far as party membership, or even voting for the party for whom one is delivering leaflets (as geekette8 points out).

[the-local-echo.livejournal.com]

Another reason is if you think the person you're leafletting for would make the best local councillor, but their party has some national policy or somesuch that you're irrevocably opposed to, and you don't want your money going towards.

[geekette8.livejournal.com]

At one point when I lived in a safe Labour ward where the other parties didn't even bother to leaflet, I volunteered for both the Conservatives and the LibDems and delivered the two sets of leaflets together.

I was far more bothered about there effectively being no choice (the ward was both predominantly elderly and one of the most deprived in the area, so you wouldn't expect people to be researching the alternatives on the Internet, and many would just vote for the one who'd leafletted them) than about who in particular was voted in.

[Although I don't live there any more, in last week's local elections the Labour councillor in that ward (who was also leader of the County Council) was ousted by the Greens! Ha!]

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Although I don't live there any more, in last week's local elections the Labour councillor in that ward (who was also leader of the County Council) was ousted by the Greens! Ha!

The Labour people at the County Council count on Friday looked a bit miserable.

This compares with the Conservatives, who turned up in suits, looking exactly like you'd expect a stereotypical "Tory at election count" to look like (mind you, they probably thought the same about us - mostly 30ish-50ish year old women, middle class, casually dressed, plus a bunch of men with beards), and left in exasperation after failing to win the one ward they thought they'd take from Labour, muttering, "What do we have to do?" on the way out.

By the end, of the political parties, Lib Dem activists were pretty much the only ones there, and each time the results (which we already knew) were announced, the cheers got louder. It was our best ever result in Cambridge, and we were really very happy!

[tea-cantata.livejournal.com]

:-) Yes, indeed! Also, men in beards - or, in one case, beard and sandals and socks. :-D I was so very pleased locally.

[notinventedhere.livejournal.com]

a bunch of men with beards

...including a nice man named Max, by any chance?

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Awesome!

[rjw76]

I saw you on the list of people who'd produced various of the Petersfield leaflets we got (and Sylvia was on one of them as a Local Resident too)

As for party activism, I'm planning to volunteer as soon as I've finished with my PhD- I'll see you then :-)

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

I saw you on the list of people who'd produced various of the Petersfield leaflets we got (and Sylvia was on one of them as a Local Resident too)

There are stories behind that, which I may tell you one day over beer, especially if you end up doing activism stuff :-D

[mirabehn.livejournal.com]

Well said, and thank you. :-)

I recently left the Lib Dems (I think they're great, and will probably still vote for them sometimes, but I just don't agree with them on enough to feel I can wholeheartedly support them with membership), but have joined the Green Party as of late last week, and fully intend to help them as much as I can, allowing for ill-health etc.

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Excellent!

[paulathomas.livejournal.com]

There are a couple of other things, first know the enemy! Read as much as you can about them. Get to know how to counter these arguments, you will meet them!

The second is to talk to your friends and work colleagues. Simple I know but this is how most politics is done. Make absolutely sure you challenge anyone who puts the kind of arguments the BNP are currently trotting out.

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Great suggestions, thank you!

[mirabehn.livejournal.com]

Also: I am about to recommend this entry on my own LJ. I hope that's okay?

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes! That would be fine. Please do!

[snakey.livejournal.com]

Another idea, which I just saw on debunkingwhite, is to find out about and spread information about anti-fascist and anti-racist organisations in your area.

[taraxoxo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for trying to ward off the BNP. Even me in Australia can feel its impact.

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

If you have a local Lib Dem councillor, drop them an email or phone them!