BNP - first euro seat

[Whynniard]

Just wondered what people thought about this ? it seems the right and centre right parties have done well across Europe.

[Sherwick]

Well, I doubt we're all singing and dancing and shouting "hurrah".

[Whynniard]

They just won another.

[Tony.London Suburbs]

Labour Party decimated tonight to such an extent that they came 5th/6th in some Regions.

For the first time ever in Wales they did not receive the most votes. They have enjoyed that privilege since 1918.

Nick Griffin has just become the second BNP M.E.P.

The UKIP Party has, easily, beat The Labour Party in many Regions.

The Liberal Democrats have not increased their vote at all, despite the appalling loss of Labour Votes.

I believe Labour lost 240,000 out of 600,000 North West votes, cataclysmic by any standards.

Stll Gordon will plough on regardless as there are no credible alternatives as Messrs Johnson/Miliband are hemmed in to the new Cabinet.

[taper]

An odd subject for your first post. By "right", you mean the facist BNP presumably ("they just won another")?

I think everyone that voted for them should hang their heads in shame this morning.

What do you think?

[Whynniard]

No I meant the right and centre right parties across Europe did well, and the left , except in poland i hear, did really badly. Not sure that it is an odd subject , i thought about posting about the new pizza place but felt that this seismic political event should be my first. What i think is, if parliment gets disolved, if thhe ruling party are forced to call a general election then the country will really be turning a corner, for the worse.

[????]

Labour has ignored its traditional core support (white workibg class) for years- that has been exploited by the BNP and this is the sad result

[Sherwick]

BNP received 7% of the vote. Almost everyone is saying "ah, those people didn't really know all the racist policies of the BNP and it was a protest vote" but I heard one commentator on the BBC last night get it right when he said "There are, and always have been, racist undertones in the UK (just as there are in all other Western countries)". Around 7% sounds about right. This means that 93% are not racist by the way.

[????]

er not really Sherwick......93% of the less thsn 40% of the electorate who bothered to vote didn't vote for a racist party, is more like it

[Sherwick]

true ????. However, it could be that 93% are not racist and 7% are racist, i.e. that the votes in last week's election reflect the political leanings, with respect to racism, of the whole country.

[charliecharlie]

What an 'odd' comment for your 110th post, Taper...

Whynniard, thanks for opening up the debate, and welcome to the forum. I wholeheartedly agree, the increase in popularity of the extreme right, both here in the UK and across Europe, is worrying to say the least.

UKip, who are hardly liberal in their policies, have also done well. The fact that Lib Dem did not scoop up most of Labour's losses seems both surprising and worrying, they seem to have some pretty sound policies and appear to be a solid alternative to those who no longer feel able to vote Labour.

Hopeful things will balance out a bit by the general elections. I wonder if political disenchantment and disillusionment meant that many of the 'middle ground' voters did not bother to turn out last week, and ony those with more extreme views bothered!

For those who did not vote last week... next time may be even more critical...

http://www.pcs.org.uk/objects_store/make_your_vote_count.gif

your vote counts

[Sherwick]

I read that in the North West, the numbes voting for the BNP actually went down since the last election. The only reason they won a seat there was because the other parties' votes collapsed even more.

[Marmora Man]

The only vote that collapsed was Labour's. The majority of other main parties were either static or slightly up /down by a few % points.

Smaller parties benefited - but at a General Election will lose out again.

Also demonstrates that PR as a voting system makes it hard to actually change the make up of the top dogs in the political system. Labour's vote declined by 7% but no siesmic change in the overall make up of the parties representing UK in Europe. Remains dominated by Conservatives, Labour, UUKIP and Lib Dems.

[Asset]

Sherwick Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I read that in the North West, the numbes voting

> for the BNP actually went down since the last

> election. The only reason they won a seat there

> was because the other parties' votes collapsed

> even more.

That's what was being said on R4 this morning, only a 1% increase in the BNP vote overall or summat.

[woofmarkthedog]

We are all in the sh*t holding the stick, what is a change of government going to do now at this precise point

Oh yes we will be holding a different stick but in same sh*t that's all. I am not a great fan of G.B ,however the fiscal measures he has put in place are taking shape , there are shifts in mood. We will have to sit it out a while yet , the next 12 months are going to be rough no matter who takes the helm. Euro and council elections are used as 'tools' to beat the ruling parties with.

Will labour win the next election,mmm ask me in 12 months a lot can happen in a year

W**F

[blah]

look at the responses to the Neww X murder thread and then ask yourself if the BNP getting an seat is really that much of a surprise

[matthew123]

blah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> look at the responses to the Neww X murder thread

> and then ask yourself if the BNP getting an seat

> is really that much of a surprise

Am I missing something, I do not see the connection?

[blah]

missing the connetion.

[Marmora Man]

Woof said

"I am not a great fan of G.B ,however the fiscal measures he has put in place are taking shape , there are shifts in mood. We will have to sit it out a while yet".

The problem is not the next 12 months and whether Labour can hang on or even win the next election. It is the actions that have to be taken to ensure economic stability over the next ten years. The debt mountain that this government has created is huge. Unless we are all prepared to see taxes increasing by 10% or more then we have to accept real cuts in the cost of public services.

I emphasise this is cutting the cost - not necessarily the actual services. No matter what political party wins the next election this will have to be done - and GB is fudging the issue by trying to create a dividing line between "Tory Cuts" and "Labour Investment" (previously known as "Public Spending).

In Canada 10 years ago, when in a similar deep financial hole they managed to reduce costs of public services by almost 20% without significant impact on frontline public services.

[taper]

Charliecharlie

Sorry if I jumped the gun. I've seen a lot of BNP supporting trolls hijacking other internet fora and thought it was odd that someone's first post, on what is a local forum, was about the BNP. But apologies to Whynniard if I misread your intentions.

[bigbadwolf]

I'm with Taper on this since John Whynniard was one of the gunpowder plotters seeking to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

[Tony.London Suburbs]

taper:

You seem a decent person and I hope you saw the reference to yourgoodself at 10.30 AM in the final paragraph on the "French Students" thread.

Don't take it personally but after engaging in endless thousands of conversations, both in "real" life (lol) and on various internet fora with Non-White Guys, I did have to laugh when you made a comment to me a while ago on an emotive Racial Subject, which I've long forgotten.;-)

[SeanMacGabhann]

prediction: Canada's previously enviable record on crime will start to look ever-more-like the US

[taper]

Bigbad

Yes, the name made me suspicious too. But I'm happy to take Whynniard's word that his/her intention is not as I first painted it.

Tony

I've replied to that reference on the other thread. I thought initially your preoccupation with race related issues was similarly suspicious. But you have long since shown yourself to be a sagacious and creative commentator on a range of issues.

[bon3yard]

Hmm, 7% of the vote went to The BNP you say? Correct me if I'm wrong but didnt The Nazi Parties first showing at a General Election only result in 3% of the popular vote(1924 I think). I realise that these are regional/European elections but its still a worry.