According to the BNP themselves, 3,000 people have registered to be signed up as members following Question Time. Unsurprisingly, their site is getting way more hits than those of any other political party at the moment – Alexa rankings are proudly displayed at the bottom of it. A poll carried out since the programme found that 22% of those surveyed would ’seriously consider’ voting for the BNP.
Some of that may be Brits siding with the underdog, as we traditionally do, but there’s nothing to be gained by simply dismissing these figures. As the BBC report puts it “more than half of those polled said they agreed or thought the party had a point in speaking up for the interests of indigenous, white British people.” Baroness Warsi made the point during the debate that there was more to the BNP vote than disillusionment over expenses: “there are people who feel the pace of change is too fast.”
A Christian Country?
Nick Griffin referred to the UK as a ‘Christian country’ several times during the debate. Do a search for ‘Christian’ on the BNP site, and most of it is articles against Islam and political correctness where that impinges on the church. It’s a defensive statement of cultural identity (’we don’t want Islam’) mre than a positive one of religious identity. ‘Christian country’ is a piece of branding, the language of resistance, looking back to where Britain has come from, and trying to hold on to it. Christian groups have made it clear that Griffin speaks only for the BNP when he seeks to portray them as defenders of the faith.
Britain is in a transition phase: post-Christian without being non-Christian. We still have many of the institutions, but culture and personal ethics have slipped their Christian moorings for the open sea. ‘Life of Brian’ would scarcely raise a murmer now – witness recent attempts to create ‘outrage’ stories over religious imagery which, 40 years ago, wouldn’t have needed any media help in causing a storm.
But it’s not a clean break: recently two councils added 3 other religious holidays to the normal closures for Christmas and Easter. Despite relatively small numbers of Sikhs in Newham and Waltham Forest, Guru Nanaks birthday joins Eid and Diwali on the holiday list. The ensuing lively debate has caused a review of the policy.
The stated aim is, you guessed it, ‘community cohesion’. The result is often the opposite: there will no doubt be another row over ‘Winterval’ some time in the next 2 months, as Christmas is rebranded, and ‘we don’t want to offend people of other faiths’ is cited as the rationale. Result: people of other faiths are blamed for the decision. Winners: nobody. Except perhaps the BNP.
Given the use the BNP makes of ‘Christian Britain’ language, Jonathan Bartley questions whether the church should give up the ghost on trying to preserve the remnants and rhetoric of Christian identity in the UK, but I’m not sure the church should give the BNP the right of veto over the terms of debate. If the opposition starts to colonise our language, do we abandon it, or try to redeem it?
Aside from a reference to freedom of worship, there is no statement about religion or Christianity in the BNP Constitution. However a BNP leaflet from May/June this year, calls for a ‘Day of Prayer’ and attacks the Church of England for selling out. It’s since been taken offline, but points the finger at ‘Judas Archbishops’, who in the next breath, bizarrely, it calls for dialogue with. It doesn’t take much digging to find BNP members with religious views which range from the bizarre to the scandalous. But is it enough simply to dismiss them?
Issues
Back to the data at the top. Ridicule may make us feel better, and more righteous, but what else does it achieve? Whether we like it or not, the popularity of the BNP raises a host of knotty issues which our politicians have been tiptoeing round for years:
– What is the nature of British identity, and what is the place of Christian faith, and the Christian roots of our society, in that picture?
– What is the true nature of Islam? I live in Yeovil, which is almost entirely white, and went up to London for a day conference earlier this year. Westminster seemed to be swarming with police, and young Asian men with backpacks. You know, the kind you see getting onto the Tube in those CCTV videos. I was nervous, I couldn’t help it, even though I know that Al Qaeda is a crackpot minority. Can we talk in the UK about, for example, Muslims persecuting Christians in Pakistan, without it being branded as hate speech and quickly ushered offstage? When Nick Griffin quotes from the Koran, how many of us know whether those texts are foundational to Islam, or peripheral?
– Apart from appointing a few ‘Community Cohesion Officers’ at local councils, how are we dealing with immigration? If the population projections are right, we can expect 180,000 new immigrants per year for the next 20 years. It’s either that, or raise the retirement age to 80: increased life expectancy means that 15.6m people will be drawing their pension by 2033, and with a low birth rate, immigration is the only way to keep a balanced demographic.
- Without some crass ‘back to basics’ campaign, how do we have a debate between the values of the past and the values of the present? In two generations, public morality has changed out of all recognition, whether you look at race issues, the environment, or sexual ethics. There are both gains and losses. In areas like sex and culture, schools are encouraged not to teach a set of beliefs/morals, but to promote an informed choice. The continued epidemic of broken families, and the stubborn persistence of racism, show that this isn’t really working. Is there a place for a moral framework, and in post-Christendom, where do we get that framework from?
Wrapping Up
It’s easy to dismiss the British National Party and what they stand for, and it would be wrong to let the BNP tail wag the dog of the British body politic (sorry, metaphor decay is setting in here). Most of the liberal chatterati can’t understand how anyone could support Nick Griffin. But until we start to understand their appeal, and start addressing some of these questions, British soil will remain a fertile place for the BNP.
this article is cross-posted from Touching Base, a regular column at the Wardman Wire.
on the same topic, different angle, but well worth a read, is John Richardsons piece today.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Is it Safe?
Made me wonder what other protection mechanisms we have: humour, scepticism, labelling, anonymity, or just not overtly committing ourselves to any particular viewpoint.There's perhaps another group who are standing in front of the Bible, swords drawn, 'protecting' it from the threat of misinterpretation or woolliness.
Might be an interesting homegroup exercise: draw a picture of your relationship with the Bible. I remember doing a similar thing with a group, asking them to draw a picture of their relationship with God. One person drew themselves in a bunker, surrounded by barbed wire, all the defences up and running. It was a great joy a few years later to help with his baptism.
Cartoon from the mighty ASBO Jesus.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Do our Supermarkets Pay Suppliers a Living Wage?
The answer is probably 'no'. A new report just out highlights what high street brands are doing (or, to be more precise, not doing) to ensure that workers further back in the supply chain are paid properly.
Lets Clean Up Fashion 2009 has a summary of the state of the High Street, and a brand-by-brand breakdown of how the big names are responding to the challenge of doing justice by their workforce.
from the Introduction:
Since 2006, when our first Clean Up Fashion Report was produced, the world has changed.
Then, the consumer was king and the global economy was riding high. Now, the credit crunch has taken the sparkle from the high street – and led to some household names disappearing
from UK towns and cities (and from this report).
Workers and consumers in the UK have been feeling the pinch and turning to the low cost retailers to help cut their monthly budgets. It’s not just in the UK that workers are suffering the effects of the credit crunch: in countries from Cambodia to Turkey, Bangladesh to Honduras factories are closing and workers are losing even the paltry salaries afforded them by the garment industry. Those that have managed to keep their jobs are facing an increasingly insecure future as a result of economic and environmental crises.
The scandalous truth is that the majority of workers in the global fashion industry rarely earn more than two dollars a day in an industry worth over £36 billion a year in the UK alone. Many have to work excessive hours just to get this meagre amount and have no possibility to earn wages needed to properly feed, clothe, house and educate their families.
...For ten years brands have been promising both workers and consumers that living wages will be paid, despite evidence to the contrary. Workers have been told to wait while brands work out what a living wage is and how to make sure they don’t have to pay the cost. Consumers have been told not to worry – brands care and are doing the best they can. The problem is their best isn’t good enough and workers can’t wait any longer.
Whilst I'm here, on other business:
- good to see Cranmer is back, I was getting worried
- waiting to see the small print. It may be a mixed blessing for Anglo-Catholics. Wonder if FCA saw that coming? Best commentary by far (as always) comes from the Beaker Folk.
- very good sermon on thankfulness by Alison at our church on Sunday, listen online here. Slightly fuzzy, but good stuff.
Lets Clean Up Fashion 2009 has a summary of the state of the High Street, and a brand-by-brand breakdown of how the big names are responding to the challenge of doing justice by their workforce.
from the Introduction:
Since 2006, when our first Clean Up Fashion Report was produced, the world has changed.
Then, the consumer was king and the global economy was riding high. Now, the credit crunch has taken the sparkle from the high street – and led to some household names disappearing
from UK towns and cities (and from this report).
Workers and consumers in the UK have been feeling the pinch and turning to the low cost retailers to help cut their monthly budgets. It’s not just in the UK that workers are suffering the effects of the credit crunch: in countries from Cambodia to Turkey, Bangladesh to Honduras factories are closing and workers are losing even the paltry salaries afforded them by the garment industry. Those that have managed to keep their jobs are facing an increasingly insecure future as a result of economic and environmental crises.
The scandalous truth is that the majority of workers in the global fashion industry rarely earn more than two dollars a day in an industry worth over £36 billion a year in the UK alone. Many have to work excessive hours just to get this meagre amount and have no possibility to earn wages needed to properly feed, clothe, house and educate their families.
...For ten years brands have been promising both workers and consumers that living wages will be paid, despite evidence to the contrary. Workers have been told to wait while brands work out what a living wage is and how to make sure they don’t have to pay the cost. Consumers have been told not to worry – brands care and are doing the best they can. The problem is their best isn’t good enough and workers can’t wait any longer.
Whilst I'm here, on other business:
- good to see Cranmer is back, I was getting worried
- waiting to see the small print. It may be a mixed blessing for Anglo-Catholics. Wonder if FCA saw that coming? Best commentary by far (as always) comes from the Beaker Folk.
- very good sermon on thankfulness by Alison at our church on Sunday, listen online here. Slightly fuzzy, but good stuff.
Defender of the Faith?
Rather strange, and very disconcerting, that Nick Griffin was the only panellist promoting 'Christian values' on Question Time tonight. When I say 'Christian Values', I'm just quoting him, it's not what most of the rest of us mean by 'Christian Values', as the Evangelical Alliance have pointed out very strongly.
But I was trying to remember the last time a Question Time panellist specifically mentioned the Christian faith as a source of inspiration. If this is politicians 'doing God', then maybe Alastair Campbell was right.
But I was trying to remember the last time a Question Time panellist specifically mentioned the Christian faith as a source of inspiration. If this is politicians 'doing God', then maybe Alastair Campbell was right.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Future of the Church of England
There are days when being the Bishop of Bath and Wells is a tough job. Last week Peter Price gave a lecture in Wells Cathedral on 'the Future of the Church of England: the Next 25 Years'. Prophetically, he opened it with this:
There are few moments of regret in a bishop’s life, but agreeing to this somewhat catch all title for a lecture has been one of mine! Its somewhat disparate title requires me from the beginning to appeal to the Higher Power for grace and forgiveness. Ken Dodd was once asked whether he could make God laugh, and he responded, ‘Yes, tell him your plans.’
Attempting to prophesy the future of the Church of England, let alone the Anglican Communion, Christian churches and other faith traditions is to risk God’s hollow laugh.
It's an interesting read despite all that: he speaks of the 'half a revolution' of Vatican 2, and challenges the church to look outwards to the world and the poor, and not inwards to its own debates about sexuality and women bishops.
Another snippet:
The years following the Vatican Council were heady times. Two of those present going on to be elected pope, Karol Wojtyla and Josef Ratzinger, John Paul 2 and Pope Benedict respectively. Despite some opposition, much energy was expended and expectations were raised of a new church vibrant with the possibility of a humanity and a planet finding its true purpose.
But, and it seems there is always a but, in McCulloch’s words Vatican 2 was only ‘half a revolution.’ Key among the areas which it failed to address were the issues of the role of women, contraception and celibacy. Perhaps the hidden agenda of what was not tackled was that of patriarchy, dominance of men.
Here in a sense we come full circle, back to the present realities of not only the Roman Church, but also the Anglican Church, and at this particular moment, the Church of England. For the issue of women in leadership, particularly as bishops is once again a hot potato. Conservatives and Catholics within the Church of England find themselves often in strange juxtaposition with Roman Catholic and Orthodox teaching on the ‘headship’ issue in relation to women.
Even more of a juxtaposition now...... but the key passage is on pages 7-8
It seems to me we have a choice at this moment in history. Either we face inwards and increasingly narrow the focus of our lenses on the minutiae of whatever we perceive as ‘deal breakers.’ Or we face outwards and have a radical change of heart towards the priorities determined by the plight of the planet and its people. We cannot do both. To do the latter will need moral imagination.
I may blog at some stage about this weeks Vatican manoeverings. But actually there are far more important things going on in the church, and in the world. In the grand scheme of things, how much does it really matter if a few dozen priests and a few hundred worshippers decide to become semi-detached Roman Catholics? Stick a couple of zeroes on the end if you want, it's still nowhere near the billions in poverty, the 800 million without clean water, the number of chronically depressed people in the UK right now, or pretty much any other indicator of human need and suffering you choose.
We love the intrigue, I'm not sure God does. I'm with my Bishop on this one.
There are few moments of regret in a bishop’s life, but agreeing to this somewhat catch all title for a lecture has been one of mine! Its somewhat disparate title requires me from the beginning to appeal to the Higher Power for grace and forgiveness. Ken Dodd was once asked whether he could make God laugh, and he responded, ‘Yes, tell him your plans.’
Attempting to prophesy the future of the Church of England, let alone the Anglican Communion, Christian churches and other faith traditions is to risk God’s hollow laugh.
It's an interesting read despite all that: he speaks of the 'half a revolution' of Vatican 2, and challenges the church to look outwards to the world and the poor, and not inwards to its own debates about sexuality and women bishops.
Another snippet:
The years following the Vatican Council were heady times. Two of those present going on to be elected pope, Karol Wojtyla and Josef Ratzinger, John Paul 2 and Pope Benedict respectively. Despite some opposition, much energy was expended and expectations were raised of a new church vibrant with the possibility of a humanity and a planet finding its true purpose.
But, and it seems there is always a but, in McCulloch’s words Vatican 2 was only ‘half a revolution.’ Key among the areas which it failed to address were the issues of the role of women, contraception and celibacy. Perhaps the hidden agenda of what was not tackled was that of patriarchy, dominance of men.
Here in a sense we come full circle, back to the present realities of not only the Roman Church, but also the Anglican Church, and at this particular moment, the Church of England. For the issue of women in leadership, particularly as bishops is once again a hot potato. Conservatives and Catholics within the Church of England find themselves often in strange juxtaposition with Roman Catholic and Orthodox teaching on the ‘headship’ issue in relation to women.
Even more of a juxtaposition now...... but the key passage is on pages 7-8
It seems to me we have a choice at this moment in history. Either we face inwards and increasingly narrow the focus of our lenses on the minutiae of whatever we perceive as ‘deal breakers.’ Or we face outwards and have a radical change of heart towards the priorities determined by the plight of the planet and its people. We cannot do both. To do the latter will need moral imagination.
I may blog at some stage about this weeks Vatican manoeverings. But actually there are far more important things going on in the church, and in the world. In the grand scheme of things, how much does it really matter if a few dozen priests and a few hundred worshippers decide to become semi-detached Roman Catholics? Stick a couple of zeroes on the end if you want, it's still nowhere near the billions in poverty, the 800 million without clean water, the number of chronically depressed people in the UK right now, or pretty much any other indicator of human need and suffering you choose.
We love the intrigue, I'm not sure God does. I'm with my Bishop on this one.
Resources for Mission & Ministry with Older People
Just put this together for my Deanery, so it might be useful for someone. The population study released yesterday focused on immigration figures: 180k a year boosting the population to over 70 million by 2033. But there's another story: the number of pensioners is going to rise to over 15 million by 2033, from 9 million in 2005. The number of over-85's will treble to over 3 million. We probably need net immigration to keep a balance of ages across the population.
We tend to take older people for granted in the church, and agonise about reaching the young, when many churches (and the majority of Anglican churches) are in a much better position to connect with older people than with younger folk. Here in Somerset, there are more over-60's than under-20's, we employ childrens workers but how many churches have a Seniors worker?
Update: had a call this morning from someone who wanted to do more for the isolated elderly living alone and struggling on a fixed income. Having only put this together yesterday, I was struck by the timing! A God moment.
Resources for Work With Over-60s.
a) Books/leaflets
- A Mission Shaped Church for Older People, jointly published with the Leveson Centre, available for £10 from the Leveson Centre (see below). An excellent 80 page study with material on age awareness and mission to older people, and a substantial ‘ideas’ section on everything from dementia to outreach. Lots of material which could be used in training and resourcing lay people.
- ‘People try to Put us Down’, Encounters on the Edge study of mission with over-60’s, published in 2008 by the Sheffield Centre/Church Army. Available from The Sheffield Centre Wilson Carlile Centre 50 Cavendish Street Sheffield S3 7RZ Telephone: 0114 272 7451 or online from http://www.encountersontheedge.org.uk/
b) Charities/Organisations
1. The Outlook Trust: http://outlook-trust.org.uk/ The Wycliffe Centre, Horsleys Green, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP14 3XL Tel: 01494 485222 Email: admin@outlook-trust.org.uk A mission agency specialising in work with older people. They’ve recently produced a DVD on how to do ‘Holiday at Home’ events.
2. The Leveson Centre http://www.leveson.org.uk/levesoncentre/index.htm Temple Balsall, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands B93 0AN Tel 01564 778022
Email: leveson.centre@virgin.net. Wide range of conferences, resources and publications. Here’s their index – in some of these areas there are literally dozens of bits of research, publications, papers etc.
•Age discrimination
•Ageing in the countryside
•Ageing policy
•Ageing research
•Christian Council on Ageing Dementia Group
•Dementia
•End-of-life issues
•Ethnic elders
•Housing options
•Ilness in old age
•Leveson Centre publications
•Long-term care
•Older people and religious organisations
•Quality of life in old age
•Related organisations
•Spiritual needs of older people
•Welfare, benefits and pensions
•Worship and older people
3. The Church Army: lots of material. including
- Discovering Faith in Later Life: research papers by Mike Collyer focusing on particular ministries to older people, e.g. residential homes, ‘Holiday at Home’ events, church for the SAGA generation etc. Free to download.
- Information Bulletin: comes out every 2-3 months, brief articles on new research, training, conferences, resources and ideas for work with seniors. Free to download.
- Links to Grandparenting Forums and a range of other charities working with the elderly.
- ‘88 Ways for older people to enjoy their ministry’ Ideas paper from Mike Collyer with a whole range of ideas for involving older people in fruitful ministry in the church.
Other
50 services for use in Care homes: worship ideas for care homes – main celebrations, seasonal and biblical themes, hymn choices etc. http://www.parche.org.uk/
Senior alpha is being developed for care and nursing homes. http://uk.alpha.org/senior
‘Waiting for God: Ideas for mission and outreach among the elderly’ booklet produced by the Diocese of Peterborough, available from 01604 887000 or http://www.peterborough-diocese.org.uk/. Brief, encouraging, and with short summaries of things to learn and questions to ask.
A cut and paste of all of the above (if you put the Leveson Centre list into 2 columns) will fit on an A4 sheet.
We tend to take older people for granted in the church, and agonise about reaching the young, when many churches (and the majority of Anglican churches) are in a much better position to connect with older people than with younger folk. Here in Somerset, there are more over-60's than under-20's, we employ childrens workers but how many churches have a Seniors worker?
Update: had a call this morning from someone who wanted to do more for the isolated elderly living alone and struggling on a fixed income. Having only put this together yesterday, I was struck by the timing! A God moment.
Resources for Work With Over-60s.
a) Books/leaflets
- A Mission Shaped Church for Older People, jointly published with the Leveson Centre, available for £10 from the Leveson Centre (see below). An excellent 80 page study with material on age awareness and mission to older people, and a substantial ‘ideas’ section on everything from dementia to outreach. Lots of material which could be used in training and resourcing lay people.
- ‘People try to Put us Down’, Encounters on the Edge study of mission with over-60’s, published in 2008 by the Sheffield Centre/Church Army. Available from The Sheffield Centre Wilson Carlile Centre 50 Cavendish Street Sheffield S3 7RZ Telephone: 0114 272 7451 or online from http://www.encountersontheedge.org.uk/
b) Charities/Organisations
1. The Outlook Trust: http://outlook-trust.org.uk/ The Wycliffe Centre, Horsleys Green, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP14 3XL Tel: 01494 485222 Email: admin@outlook-trust.org.uk A mission agency specialising in work with older people. They’ve recently produced a DVD on how to do ‘Holiday at Home’ events.
2. The Leveson Centre http://www.leveson.org.uk/levesoncentre/index.htm Temple Balsall, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands B93 0AN Tel 01564 778022
Email: leveson.centre@virgin.net. Wide range of conferences, resources and publications. Here’s their index – in some of these areas there are literally dozens of bits of research, publications, papers etc.
•Age discrimination
•Ageing in the countryside
•Ageing policy
•Ageing research
•Christian Council on Ageing Dementia Group
•Dementia
•End-of-life issues
•Ethnic elders
•Housing options
•Ilness in old age
•Leveson Centre publications
•Long-term care
•Older people and religious organisations
•Quality of life in old age
•Related organisations
•Spiritual needs of older people
•Welfare, benefits and pensions
•Worship and older people
3. The Church Army: lots of material. including
- Discovering Faith in Later Life: research papers by Mike Collyer focusing on particular ministries to older people, e.g. residential homes, ‘Holiday at Home’ events, church for the SAGA generation etc. Free to download.
- Information Bulletin: comes out every 2-3 months, brief articles on new research, training, conferences, resources and ideas for work with seniors. Free to download.
- Links to Grandparenting Forums and a range of other charities working with the elderly.
- ‘88 Ways for older people to enjoy their ministry’ Ideas paper from Mike Collyer with a whole range of ideas for involving older people in fruitful ministry in the church.
Other
50 services for use in Care homes: worship ideas for care homes – main celebrations, seasonal and biblical themes, hymn choices etc. http://www.parche.org.uk/
Senior alpha is being developed for care and nursing homes. http://uk.alpha.org/senior
‘Waiting for God: Ideas for mission and outreach among the elderly’ booklet produced by the Diocese of Peterborough, available from 01604 887000 or http://www.peterborough-diocese.org.uk/. Brief, encouraging, and with short summaries of things to learn and questions to ask.
A cut and paste of all of the above (if you put the Leveson Centre list into 2 columns) will fit on an A4 sheet.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
'Blue Christmas' service
Simple Massing Priest has posted a Blue Christmas liturgy used for Christmas '08, together with reflections on how the service went. The idea is a Christmas service for those who find that time of year difficult or depressing, and who seek an act of worship which isn't resolutely upbeat and jolly.
I know it's far too early for Christmas, but if this idea does spark anyone off, at least you've got time to plan it in!
I know it's far too early for Christmas, but if this idea does spark anyone off, at least you've got time to plan it in!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Nothing British: campaign launch.
Recieved today:
War heroes speak out against the BNP
Nothing British launches today (Tuesday 20th October) a campaign by veterans to reclaim the honour of Britain's Armed Forces from the British National Party.
You can find the campaign at http://westbourne.createsend.com/t/r/l/hjyhjd/jldkjdlyk/y, watch the videos on our YouTube channel, or follow on facebook and twitter.
In an internet blitz of videos, a number of war heroes describe their anger that the BNP seeks to use the public's warm feelings towards Britain's military to promote the politics of racism and extremism. The veterans call on fellow ex-servicemen to sign their petition.
The campaign is accompanied by a hard-hitting report with a foreword by Charles Moore (Chairman of Policy Exchange) which describes the BNP's efforts to use military rhetoric, insignia and memorabilia in their party political propaganda. The high profile veterans behind the campaign include:-
Andy McNab DCM MM. Ex-SAS commando and Iraq War veteran.
Colonel Tim Collins OBE. Ex-SAS commando and Iraq War veteran.
Simon Weston OBE. Falklands War veteran.
Nicholas Soames MP. Veteran cavalryman and grandson of Sir Winston Churchill.
Top Brass supporters have signed a letter of support which condemns the BNP. "We call on all those who seek to hijack the good name of Britain's military for their own advantage to cease and desist," write the Generals:-
General The Lord Guthrie GCB, LVO, OBE, DL.
General Sir Mike Jackson GCB, CBE, DSO, DL.
General Sir Richard Dannatt GBC, CBE, MC.
Major-General Patrick Cordingley DSO.
James Bethell, Director of Nothing British, said:-
"People are fed up with the BNP using the honour of Britain's Armed Services and the memory of fallen heroes to promote the politics of racism and extremism".
In his foreword, Charles Moore says:-
"Almost everything the BNP does is somehow linked to the commemoration of fallen heroes, evokes the spirit of the Blitz, condemns the broken Covenant and gripes about foreign wars.
"It is a deliberate strategy to exploit warm feelings felt towards the Armed Services by the British public, particularly the sort of traditionally-minded families that provide the rank and file of the Services.
"And it's working. The European Election campaign - branded "The Battle for Britain" - saw the BNP win two significant electoral victories with nearly one million votes.
"The danger to Britain is that the BNP's poisonous brand of racism, segregation and intolerance will worm its way into the fabric of British life.
"The danger for the British military is that they will inadvertently provide a leg-up at home for the kind of fascism that so many of our dead and wounded fought in foreign battlefields. This will damage the reputation of our armed services."
Notes :
"There is nothing British about the BNP", is a campaign against the politics of racism and division set up by James Bethell and Tim Montgomerie, editor of ConservativeHome.
It aims to promote the gentle British values of tolerance, fair-play and respect for one another and seeks to address the frustrations and concerns of ordinary, hard-working people living in today's Britain.
Update: the BNP has responded by comparing the generals with Nazi war criminals. Words fail me.
War heroes speak out against the BNP
Nothing British launches today (Tuesday 20th October) a campaign by veterans to reclaim the honour of Britain's Armed Forces from the British National Party.
You can find the campaign at http://westbourne.createsend.com/t/r/l/hjyhjd/jldkjdlyk/y, watch the videos on our YouTube channel, or follow on facebook and twitter.
In an internet blitz of videos, a number of war heroes describe their anger that the BNP seeks to use the public's warm feelings towards Britain's military to promote the politics of racism and extremism. The veterans call on fellow ex-servicemen to sign their petition.
The campaign is accompanied by a hard-hitting report with a foreword by Charles Moore (Chairman of Policy Exchange) which describes the BNP's efforts to use military rhetoric, insignia and memorabilia in their party political propaganda. The high profile veterans behind the campaign include:-
Andy McNab DCM MM. Ex-SAS commando and Iraq War veteran.
Colonel Tim Collins OBE. Ex-SAS commando and Iraq War veteran.
Simon Weston OBE. Falklands War veteran.
Nicholas Soames MP. Veteran cavalryman and grandson of Sir Winston Churchill.
Top Brass supporters have signed a letter of support which condemns the BNP. "We call on all those who seek to hijack the good name of Britain's military for their own advantage to cease and desist," write the Generals:-
General The Lord Guthrie GCB, LVO, OBE, DL.
General Sir Mike Jackson GCB, CBE, DSO, DL.
General Sir Richard Dannatt GBC, CBE, MC.
Major-General Patrick Cordingley DSO.
James Bethell, Director of Nothing British, said:-
"People are fed up with the BNP using the honour of Britain's Armed Services and the memory of fallen heroes to promote the politics of racism and extremism".
In his foreword, Charles Moore says:-
"Almost everything the BNP does is somehow linked to the commemoration of fallen heroes, evokes the spirit of the Blitz, condemns the broken Covenant and gripes about foreign wars.
"It is a deliberate strategy to exploit warm feelings felt towards the Armed Services by the British public, particularly the sort of traditionally-minded families that provide the rank and file of the Services.
"And it's working. The European Election campaign - branded "The Battle for Britain" - saw the BNP win two significant electoral victories with nearly one million votes.
"The danger to Britain is that the BNP's poisonous brand of racism, segregation and intolerance will worm its way into the fabric of British life.
"The danger for the British military is that they will inadvertently provide a leg-up at home for the kind of fascism that so many of our dead and wounded fought in foreign battlefields. This will damage the reputation of our armed services."
Notes :
"There is nothing British about the BNP", is a campaign against the politics of racism and division set up by James Bethell and Tim Montgomerie, editor of ConservativeHome.
It aims to promote the gentle British values of tolerance, fair-play and respect for one another and seeks to address the frustrations and concerns of ordinary, hard-working people living in today's Britain.
Update: the BNP has responded by comparing the generals with Nazi war criminals. Words fail me.
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