The unprecedented European and local government electoral advances for the BNP in the north of England has seen many on the British Left thrown into disarray, anger and disgust. Whilst all these responses may seem understandable, similar emotional reactions can be seen present in the organised left’s response to the BNP, which are characterised by an abject failure to understand the nature of the BNP or to answer it politically in a meaningful way. As the initial reaction dissipates it is time that those who are serious about stopping the BNP recognise the failures of the recent campaign and the need for a response based around the mobilisation of the working class; it is now clear that we can rely on no one but ourselves to smash the forces of the far right.

Springtime for Griffin?

The BNP were formed in the early 1980s by the white nationalist and National Front leader John Tyndall as his former organisation had collapsed, having been defeated by working class youth and the labour movement on the streets. Under the leadership of Nick Griffin the BNP has publicly distanced itself from its overtly fascist ideology in favour of right wing populism and British nationalism. At a time when the Labour and Trade Union leaders have refused to offer any solution to the problems of, in particular, the most impoverished sections of the working class it is no surprise that a party which is even claiming to in some way offer a solution the problems of employment, public housing, local services etc, whilst attacking the political establishment, should gain an echo. In relation to the problems of employment in particular this concoction is proving particularly poisonous as unemployment figures fast approaches three million. The best the trade union leaders seem to be able to do is hope and pray for buyers of bankrupt firms whilst MPs seem more concerned with going on an expenses binge. As such to blame the problem on "undercutting" immigrant workers may well gain support out of desperation from a layer of people being offered no meaningful political solution by the official leadership of our class. The fact that the BNP fought its campaign around the expenses issue, under the slogan "punish the pigs," only strengthened its image as a populist anti-establishment party representing the ordinary man and woman on the street. The task of the Left therefore must be to answer these issues. If the election results have shown anything it’s that the BNP are not simply going to disappear off their own backs. Most of those who voted for the BNP did so in traditional Labour heartlands, and it would be staggering beyond belief to argue that the 6% of those people that bothered to vote who supported the BNP are hardened members of the far right.

"British Jobs for British Workers"

The nationalism of 'No2EU' is evident from its website which uses phrases such as “Europhiles” and claims that "Nation states with the right to self-determination and their governments are the only institutions that can control the movement of big capital and clip the wings of the trans-national corporations and banks" and counterposing the EU with a Britain based on "an economy based on manufacturing requires massive investment and where appropriate protection of home industries. It is the only way to ensure jobs and a decent safe future for the peoples of Britain."(No2EU 9/6/09)

The economic crisis has quite clearly demonstrated that the capitalist economy is entirely dependent on international finance capital and that any inhibitions to revert to such protectionism can be no more than a reactionary utopia.Such pandering by the “No2EU”, whose main slogan was the ambiguous “yes to democracy,” could not hope to draw confused workers away from the BNP. The election results only confirmed this with the BNP claiming over eight times more votes than “No2EU”. 

We should also be clear that attempts by some Labour MPs and candidates to diffuse support for the BNP by effectively saying “They have a point” on issues such as immigration and more housing for white people will not only prove ineffective but will simply give the BNP arguments some degree of unwelcome  legitimacy.

The 'Broad Based' approach

Looking back in history, a traditional fable spun by the media’s liberal commentators about the defeat of the National Front in the 1970s is the success of the Anti-Nazi League’s broad coalition in the face of fascism. In reality this story misses out some crucial characters and events such as the battle of Lewisham when black youth were joined by local trade unionists and Marxists from the Militant Tendency in a street battle which prevented the National Front from marching in the area again whilst the ANL chose to organise concerts to oppose them. In opposition to the BNP so called ‘broad based coalitions’ such as Unite Against Fascism have been thrown up and in effect represent little more than modern day popular fronts. For instance UAF is supported by the Tory Party alongside the Labour Party and trade unions.  As such it is entirely unable to offer any kind of effective leadership to the millions of workers and youth in Britain who have actively rejected the current political and economic system that prevails under capitalism and recognise the need for a wider struggle for a better world is necessary which the fight against the BNP forms a part of. 

This was graphically demonstrated on the Tommy Boyd show in February when Weymann Bennett the leader of the UAF, actively refused to have a debate with Simon Darby, the BNP’s deputy leader. This led to a ridiculous position whereby Bennett expected to debate through the host of the show but would occasionally be cajoled into lashing out at comments made by Darby. Apparently all this was in the name of no platform for fascism! However what this situation demonstrated further was the inability of UAF to effectively answer the BNP. Whilst Darby chose to target concrete questions which effect working class people day in day out such as employment and public services, Bennett chose to paint the BNP as a force rejected by the political establishment and to compare them to the Nazi party. (the recording can be heard in full here . )  It is only correct that we should expose the BNP as having their origins in the National Front and British fascism and being led by people who have clearly never left their Nazi ideology behind. However, at a time when capitalism is in crisis both economically and politically, to just urge working class people not to vote for the BNP whilst failing to raise any political alternative – a socialist alternative -  which actually answers the problems that are driving voters towards the BNP is to play into the hands of Griffin and his gang. Fighting the BNP with a socialist programme would not only undercut their vote but force them to reveal their pro-capitalist face rather than pretending to be a friend of the worker. The ‘moral appeal’ approach has not and will not work.

The Blame Game  

Many working-class people now voting BNP are not racists. However, faced with unemployment and the prospect of being forced to pay for this capitalist crisis, they are turning to vote for a party that seems to be articulating their fears. Many were staunch Labour supporters, but cannot now bring themselves to vote for the present-day champions of big business and greedy bankers. Voting BNP was a means by which they could express a protest vote at the ballot box.

Specifically, the BNP has got an echo by talking about so-called ‘social dumping’, where workers from abroad are brought in on temporary contracts, or as agency workers, to undermine the terms and conditions of the workers already here. Whilst much of the Left foolishly dismisses this as BNP propaganda, many workers know it to be fact, having fallen victim to it themselves. The BNP of course blame the foreign workers whereas we know the blame to lie with the employers who are just seeking to exploit. 

Of course, the BNP’s racist answer of calling for immigration controls cannot work to the benefit of British workers. The problem is capitalism, not immigration: whilst society is run on the basis of exploiting the many to profit the few, there will always be a need to drive down labour costs by bringing in cheaper labour. In short, immigration controls, don’t stop immigration, they merely criminalise it. As the workers of Mitie have found to their cost, this leaves a large migrant workforce, many with no papers, with no rights whatsoever, more vulnerable than ever to super-exploitation. (http://www.socialist.net/albero-cleaners-struggle.htm ) 

Only the labour movement can give an answer to the workers of Britain and the migrants that come here to work. No two people should be paid different rates for the same job. No contracts should be secret: contracts of all workers, British and migrant, should be under the supervision of the trade unions. Migrant workers should be free to mix and socialise with their British counterparts: no artificial barriers should be erected to keep the workforce divided. Socialist should oppose all immigration controls. These are the arguments that must be used to prevent workers from supporting the BNP. However, by allying itself to organisations hostile to working people (e.g. the Tories), UAF has rendered itself incapable of producing all but the most banal platitudes.

Class unity the way forward

I doubt this correspondent was the only one of our readers who smiled when they saw the images of Nick Griffin’s speech outside parliament being met with egg throwing protestors. An anti-BNP demonstration also took place in Liverpool on the Monday after the election. Socialist Appeal comrades have been involved in driving the BNP from the streets of Glasgow, Yorkshire and elsewhere and fully support the campaign to kick the BNP out of the unions; our class’ organisations have no place for forces which only seek to leave them open to the bosses by dividing them along racial lines. Yet this is not enough. At a time when unemployment is spiralling upwards as the capitalist crisis unleashes one attack after another on the lives of working people, only a political answer based around class unity and a bold socialist alternative can adequately answer the threat posed by the BNP.