Moving with the times

Not so long ago the BNP's 'big plan' to deal with the housing shortage in Barking and Dagenham was to park 1,000 caravans in the borough on waste ground and use them for local authority housing.

The 'plan' such as it was, rightly attracted ridicule. So back to the drawing board the BNP went.

So what is the BNP"s big idea to deal with the social housing shortage in the borough?

Well, it appears to be a two-pronged strategy.

In a BBC London interview earlier in the week, councillor Richard Barnbrook said that immigrants living in council houses and flats would be forced to move into tower blocks in the borough. "If we find Labour putting people into council stock that haven't got the right to be here then those people - I'm terribly sorry - will be removed from their council houses into flats in tower blocks."
(Presumably the ones in the Goresbrook estate?) At a stroke, freeing up council properties for the indigenous white population. Hurrah.

Ah, but a problem - Mr Barnbrook's wheeze would affect illegal immigrants in the borough - except the council doesn't house any. So how many would be moved? Err... precisely none.

Oh well. But have no fear, BNP leader Nick Griffin has had a blinding idea. he wants to offer 'non-whites' 50,000 to leave the country and return to the 'land of their ancestors.

Griffin said on yesterday morning's Today programme that the scheme would be open to about 180,000 people a year - at a cost of £50,000 per person. So every year the BNP would give £90 million to people of colour to get the hell out of Dodge.

How many people in Barking and Dagenham would be offered this is, as yet, unclear.

In the meantime, when the BNP take control of Barking and Dagenham council next week no doubt one fot heir first measures will be to instruct council officers that the council housing waiting list is redrawn to ensure every priority person on the list is white. No doubt council officers will have to make house visits to check on the racial background of borough residents which would involve asking for their birth certificates, those of their parents and their grand parents. I mean, you can't be too sure. To make this work - BNP councillors will have to be sure that housing goes to 'locals' who can show that they are born and bred in the borough and come from good indigenous white working class stock. And while they are it - why not take swabs from people's mouths to check on their DNA to work out their origins. Well, we know that Mr Griffin is a big fan of DNA searches.

So there you have it folks - what the BNP will do in a week's time if they get the chance.

Racial profiling to get a council flat or house in Barking and Dagenham.

That'll be fun. And what happens if their's a mixed race couple near the top of the waiting list - what happens to them Mr Griffin and Mr Barnbrook?

Maybe one gets a council flat and the other gets sent to a damp tower block.

Far-fetched?

It makes as much sense as every other BNP idea for the borough.

Multi-tasking the BNP way

The Sunday Telegraph at the weekend mentioned in passing - Chris Robert's one of the BNP's candidates in next month's local council elections in the borough. Chris isn't from the borough. In fact he lives in Benfleet, near Southend, around 20 miles from Barking. However, in his nomination form, Mr Roberts gives an address in Arden Crescent, Dagenham — which just happens to be the home of the BNP’s London Assembly member Richard Barnbrook.

Now Chris is going to have an interesting few weeks between now and polling day because in addition to standing for Barking and Dagenham council and seeking the support of the good people of Valance ward, he's also, as it happens, the BNP's prospective parliamentary candidate for South Basildon and East Thurrock.

Basildon, Barking and Dagenham - same thing really.....Would be interesting to know how Mr Robert's plans to campaign. Is it one day in the borough, the next in Basildon and Thurrock? Or does he shuttle back and forward kissing babies and canvassing in both?

This is the same Chris Roberts incidentally who on 09 October 2009 said: "Any tom, dick or harry can pitch up to help deliver leaflets."

One's things for sure as far as Barking and Dagenham is considered, he's standing at a time when the BNP group on the council is at a low ebb.

So impressive has been the leadership of messrs Bailey and Barnbrook - that half their current colleagues have decided to quit - so the Doncaster's (x3) Steed, Tuffs and Jarvis aren't standing for re-election next month. Now if one wanted to be unkind, one could say that this is no great loss given their total failure to (turn-up) or to do any casework on behalf of local residents.
But it's quite a turnover of personnel.

Here's hoping that councillors Bailey and Barnbrook encourage teh BNP's new council candidates to actually take their responsibilties seriously if they are successful at the ballot box on May 6th.

I wouldn't put money on it however.

Just good friends

All friends together.....

You’ve got it hand it to the BNP in Barking and Dagenham, they are a friendly lot – always in each other’s houses. Putting each other up – especially at election times. It’s just like an episode of ‘Friends’ apart from the nasty right wing racist subtext in the BNP version.

Take BNP group leader Bob Bailey – it's clear from the published list of candidates for next month’s local council elections, he’s a friendly chap. He’s putting up fellow BNP candidates Gavin Cardy and Guiseppe De Santis – yes that Guiseppe, who is always responding to national media online comment sections but pretending not to be from the BNP.

Then there’s Richard Barnbrook, another BNP bloke with a big heart and clearly a big house – because he’s also putting up fellow candidates – Chris Roberts and Kara Walker.

Wonder whether they’ve all been paying their council tax at these addresses?

Not so much a political earthquake.....

Tomorrow Barking and Dagenham Council publish the list of candidates standing in the local elections in the borough on May 6th.

Only a few days ago the BNP were confident they would field candidates in nearly all the wards in the borough.

Tomorrow the names of 34 BNP candidates will be published - hardly the army of BNP candidates Nick Griffin's party boasted they would put up.

And as the Sunday Telegraph points out - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/bnp/7576113/Confusion-over-BNPs-election-campaign.html - there is a big question mark against some of those council candidates.

at least three appear to have registered at "front addresses" to get around the requirement that local authority candidates must live in the area.

The Telegraph reports that :

"According to the electoral register, Eddy Butler, until recently the BNP national election organiser, lives in Loughton, Essex, 10 miles from Barking. However, he has submitted nomination papers giving an address in Ellerton Gardens, Dagenham. Mr Butler also recently registered himself on the roll at this address but neighbours shown pictures of him did not recognise him.

Gavin Cardy, gives an address in Sylvan Avenue, Chadwell Heath. The electoral register indicates that his permanent address is actually in Fulham in west London.

A third candidate Chris Roberts, lives in Benfleet, near Southend, around 20 miles from Barking. However, in his nomination form, Mr Roberts gives an address in Arden Crescent, Dagenham — which is the home of the BNP’s London Assembly member Richard Barnbrook. Again, Mr Roberts recently registered on the electoral roll at this house."

Now given that if the three are not genuinely living at addresses where they have registered - they could be guilty of electoral fraud and could be disqualified if elected.

BNP council group leader Bob Bailey doesn't seem to think there's a problem with registering candidates who actually live outside the borough and claiming they live in the borough. Meanwhile Richard Barnbrook's answer probably says more than he intended:

"Chris Roberts spends enough time at my house to fulfil what the law says, and that’s good enough."

Not a local then... Mr Barnbrook?

The Telegraph also reports that the BNP has struggled to find enough genuinely local candidates with 'party sources admitted that other candidates had been rejected by council officials for not giving local addresses on their nomination papers.'

On this evidence the good people of Barking and Dagenham hardly seem to have been rushing into the embrace of the BNP.

So maybe the 'political earthquake in Barking and Dagenham' prediction by Nick Griffin in recent days - is like everything else the man says - to be taken with a large mountain of salt.

And without wanting to tempt fate - perhaps another BNP prediction is about to fall flat.

If the BNP have struggled to muster 34 candidates - maybe their chances of taking controlling the council have gone the same way.

case work

The BNP in Barking and Dagenham make great play about their concern about the provision of decent housing for local people.

Now you'd think that interest in all things housing would be reflected in the amount of casework BNP councillors have done in the last year about housing issues. You would, wouldn't you?
Well in answer to a Freedom of Information request - the following information has been obtained.

In terms of housing casework submissions - let's look at how much BNP councillors have submitted:

Top BNP councillor is -

Councillor Richard Barnbrook with 11 housing submissions.

Next up councillor Rustem with errm.... 9.

Then councillor Buckley with 6.

Councillor Knight with 3.

And in this role call of housing casework - last and certainly least - step forward BNP group leader, councillor Bob Bailey with er .... 1 housing submission......

To be fair that's better than councillors Doncaster - all three of them -
councillor Tuffs, Steed, Lansdown, and Jarvis - all of whom submitted not a single housing related issue.

And how did Labour council cabinet members compare?

Well council leader Liam Smith made 106 housing submissions.
Housing cabinet exec member Phil Waker 82.
Councillor Val Rush 41.
Councillor Rob Little 37.
Councillor Mick McCarthy 27.
Councillor Rocky Gill 23.
Councillor Bert Collins 21.
Councillor Jeanette Alexander 19.

You get the picture....

So proof, if proof were needed, that the BNP yet again, have been shown up for the lazy, all mouth and no trousers individuals they are.
So next time you see the BNP talking about housing remember how that talk translates into real action on housing matters...

In loving memory

Interesting story on tonight's Newsnight about how the BNP hijack the grief of families who's loved ones have been murdered for their own grubby political ends.
Tonight's item featured the family of Barking man, Chris Yates and showed his family condemning the BNP for associating themselves repeatedly with the dead man in their election leaflets and on BNP tv - despite being told to stop doing so.
The BNP refused to appear on the programme - refsued to explain why they refused to send their condolences to Mr Yates family and why they refused to stop using his name and image in their campaign material.

Says it all really.