Keep your feet on the ground
Martin Wingfield, Editor of British National Party’s Freedom
As Thursday approaches every single BNP unit in the country is pulling out all the stops to maximise the votes for their British National Party candidates.
Morale is sky high and there appears to be no election contest where our campaigners are not receiving positive feedback. This optimism is being fuelled daily by stories in the media that predict that the BNP are in line for a record number of council seats.
Reports of successful campaigns are flooding the Freedom office and some candidates and activists may be getting carried away in all the enthusiasm but we mustn’t let this happen. Now, more than ever before, we must firmly keep our feet on the ground and temper this optimism.Reality check
In the two seats that my wife Tina, and I are contesting in Maryport in Cumbria, the campaign has gone very well indeed. We have had such a good response from voters that it does sometimes almost cross our minds that a political earthquake might be about to take place, but thankfully there is usually a reality check to keep our aspirations realistic.
The reality check in the last few days of campaigning is that we hear Labour have successully worked all the nursing homes and sheltered housing in the wards for their postal votes and this has probably given them an unassailable lead. This follows on from the distribution of two anti-BNP leaflets, an A4 sheet which was half about not voting BNP and a glossy election address.
Here in Maryport, there has been no pretence about the anti-BNP literature being from a third party. It has been openly distributed by the Labour Party candidates and their helpers.
We know that despite Labour’s effort we will poll very well on Thursday and along with Paul Stafford in Wigton and Nigel Williamson in Broughton, our votes will send shock waves through the old gang parties still clinging on to Allerdale Borough Council seats by the skin of their teeth.
Preparation for next elections
Once polling day is over we will be capitalising on all the enquiries we have had, starting a host of new delivery rounds for Freedom and be busy organising in preparation for the next General Election and European Elections.
Our post election party has already been arranged for the afternoon of our Friday morning count and we have every reason to celebrate. We shall be toasting a hugely successful campaign and a bright and secure future for the British National Party in West Cumbria.
To all those working so hard in preparation for Thursday’s big poll, please don’t be unrealistically over-optimistic about your results. Please stay level-headed and don’t undermine what will be a great night or morning for you and your fellow campaigners by over-estimating what can be achieved.
Near miracles
Just remember those three by-elections back in February when the BNP polled excellent votes after campaigns that pulled out all the stops. Yet victory was still beyond our grasp. To win a borough council seat is hard, very hard, and when you have such powerful forces working against you as those lined up against the BNP, every election victory for us at this tier of local government is a near miracle.
I’ve been around for 30 years of election campaigns and this is the most professional one that I have been involved in. Our literature has been superb and the publicity our media wing has generated has been first class. The British National Party is on the march to Government and the elections on Thursday are just another stepping stone along that long and difficult road.
Your hard work over the past months has helped us in our journey. Fielding 880 BNP candidates for these elections is our victory, irrespective of Thursday’s results. By making this supreme effort we have moved well into the political arena and established our credentials in the eyes of the electorate.
But Monday 7th May starts another week in British politics and all our activists must be ready, waiting and mentally prepared to meet the challenges that it will present.
http://www.bnp.org.uk/news_detail.php?newsId=1490