BNP and Labour flyers (bit of a long one)
Discussion
This afternoon's post provided an interesting little picture into how things may go. Included in the junk which came through the door was an A5 flyer for the BNP, and an A4 4 page 'Parliamentary News' letter from my Labour MP.
I shall start with the self-publicising from Celia Barlow, MP (Lab) for Hove. Pictures of Celia. Lots of pictures of Celia actually. All with the sort of practised non-smile which these people maintain.
Content: Nothing of any real bearing or gravity or note - but an awful lot of 'I did' and 'I have' and 'I fought'. It's local paper non-events about an Apprenticeship scheme at the local swimming pool (which is due to be knocked down anyway), a medal for a Land Girl, and a bit about annoying the two lapdancing clubs we have in Hove. Two Governmental bits - pension increases of £4.55 per week (!), and some stuff about how the Goverment has set aside £200million to prevent home repossessions. (It's always 'set aside', but that's a rant for another day)
Honestly, it's almost laughably shallow. Memorable only for it's distinct similarity to the sort of self-publicising junk Z-List celebs put on their myspace profile.
The BNP bit is more interesting, and immeasurably more worrying.
Big simple messages - No to EU & Euro, No to Immigration, No to High Taxes. Picture of a family of five, young kids. (Polish) Spitfire in the top right. On the back it has a picture of three builders with a message about migrant workers - a sore subject in the Building trade I believe. Then a doctor and a bit about health tourists, and pensioners with a bit about putting pensioners above asylum seekers.
A laughable little aside, for military history buffs like me is this;
'Because WE'VE Earned the Right! Trafalgar, The Somme, Dunkirk, D-Day, The Falklands'
Trafalgar was fought by a navy which was still heavily into press-ganging and included a lot of coloured Gentlemen. The Somme was a disaster presided over by the Toffs and included a large contigent of Commonwealth and Colonial troops. Dunkirk was an even bigger disaster involving running away. D-Day wouldn't have been possible without the US and Canadians (not to mention Poles and Free French) and was reasonably unopposed for the British. The Falklands contingent included the Ghurkas who, I believe, the BNP don't really like.
Anyway - the BNP is clear, concise, and totally lacking in substance. Labour meanwhile is self-centred, self-serving, irrelevant, and also totally lacking in substance.
However, the sheer simplicity of the explicit BNP message bothers me. People really are dumb enough to be taken in by it. I also worry that people cannot remember the BNP of the 80s and 90s, and what they stood for then, and implicitly stand for now.
The Tories?
Well, the Conservative Party need to send me something first.
Someone here used the expression 'we're Weimar Republic f
ked' a few weeks back, and I'm increasingly inclined to agree.
I shall start with the self-publicising from Celia Barlow, MP (Lab) for Hove. Pictures of Celia. Lots of pictures of Celia actually. All with the sort of practised non-smile which these people maintain.
Content: Nothing of any real bearing or gravity or note - but an awful lot of 'I did' and 'I have' and 'I fought'. It's local paper non-events about an Apprenticeship scheme at the local swimming pool (which is due to be knocked down anyway), a medal for a Land Girl, and a bit about annoying the two lapdancing clubs we have in Hove. Two Governmental bits - pension increases of £4.55 per week (!), and some stuff about how the Goverment has set aside £200million to prevent home repossessions. (It's always 'set aside', but that's a rant for another day)
Honestly, it's almost laughably shallow. Memorable only for it's distinct similarity to the sort of self-publicising junk Z-List celebs put on their myspace profile.
The BNP bit is more interesting, and immeasurably more worrying.
Big simple messages - No to EU & Euro, No to Immigration, No to High Taxes. Picture of a family of five, young kids. (Polish) Spitfire in the top right. On the back it has a picture of three builders with a message about migrant workers - a sore subject in the Building trade I believe. Then a doctor and a bit about health tourists, and pensioners with a bit about putting pensioners above asylum seekers.
A laughable little aside, for military history buffs like me is this;
'Because WE'VE Earned the Right! Trafalgar, The Somme, Dunkirk, D-Day, The Falklands'
Trafalgar was fought by a navy which was still heavily into press-ganging and included a lot of coloured Gentlemen. The Somme was a disaster presided over by the Toffs and included a large contigent of Commonwealth and Colonial troops. Dunkirk was an even bigger disaster involving running away. D-Day wouldn't have been possible without the US and Canadians (not to mention Poles and Free French) and was reasonably unopposed for the British. The Falklands contingent included the Ghurkas who, I believe, the BNP don't really like.
Anyway - the BNP is clear, concise, and totally lacking in substance. Labour meanwhile is self-centred, self-serving, irrelevant, and also totally lacking in substance.
However, the sheer simplicity of the explicit BNP message bothers me. People really are dumb enough to be taken in by it. I also worry that people cannot remember the BNP of the 80s and 90s, and what they stood for then, and implicitly stand for now.
The Tories?
Well, the Conservative Party need to send me something first.
Someone here used the expression 'we're Weimar Republic f
ked' a few weeks back, and I'm increasingly inclined to agree.
I received the BNP one, pretty insulting as the strapline is "people like you voting BNP" no they're fking not!
They're not trying too hard to cover up their bile either, one of their three key pledges is to:
"oppose the dangerous drive - backed by the other main parties - to give 80 million low-wage, Muslim Turks the right to swamp Britain"
king not!They're not trying too hard to cover up their bile either, one of their three key pledges is to:
"oppose the dangerous drive - backed by the other main parties - to give 80 million low-wage, Muslim Turks the right to swamp Britain"
Live in a Lib-Dem council-run area here and yesterday received their bi-monthly copy of Pravda (how much do these things cost?) and an election leaflet which was regrettably too shiny to use for the purpose to which it is best suited.
Also received a BNP leaflet with the aforementioned comedy about Dunkirk etc. Apparently the people in the pictures are American and Italian models but there you go.
I shall be voting for neither in either the European or the local elections but I would echo the OP's view, where the hell are the Conservatives?
I have to say though that with the complete orchestra stalls that the bloody Lib-Dems have made of running this council over the past few years I'd consider voting for bloody anyone else.
They are good at spending boat loads of cash on recycling, 'initiatives' and sloganeering though.
Politics in Britain, 2009. Sheesh
Also received a BNP leaflet with the aforementioned comedy about Dunkirk etc. Apparently the people in the pictures are American and Italian models but there you go.
I shall be voting for neither in either the European or the local elections but I would echo the OP's view, where the hell are the Conservatives?
I have to say though that with the complete orchestra stalls that the bloody Lib-Dems have made of running this council over the past few years I'd consider voting for bloody anyone else.
They are good at spending boat loads of cash on recycling, 'initiatives' and sloganeering though.
Politics in Britain, 2009. Sheesh
The thing is many who understand the BNP will not vote for them, but the message is simple we will help you. There are lots who see the things they have highlighted as key areas for them. The majority of people are not interested in being fair, it is whats in it for them. The BNP are tapping into that sense of greed and creating fear which a lot of low educated, low paid workers will buy into.
I work with alot of low end workers and belive me they do think the BNP will be better than some of the other parties at the moment.
I work with alot of low end workers and belive me they do think the BNP will be better than some of the other parties at the moment.
spaximus said:
The thing is many who understand the BNP will not vote for them, but the message is simple we will help you. There are lots who see the things they have highlighted as key areas for them. The majority of people are not interested in being fair, it is whats in it for them. The BNP are tapping into that sense of greed and creating fear which a lot of low educated, low paid workers will buy into.
I work with alot of low end workers and belive me they do think the BNP will be better than some of the other parties at the moment.
Well said. I work with alot of low end workers and belive me they do think the BNP will be better than some of the other parties at the moment.
Makes a good case for taking the right to vote away from the proletariate doesn't it? "Jack thinks his word is as good as his masters."- Is it b
ks.Just to clarify; I'm not suggesting taking the right to vote away is the answer btw..
whitechief said:
I received the BNP one, pretty insulting as the strapline is "people like you voting BNP" no they're fking not!
They're not trying too hard to cover up their bile either, one of their three key pledges is to:
"oppose the dangerous drive - backed by the other main parties - to give 80 million low-wage, Muslim Turks the right to swamp Britain"
I wouldn't particularly like to see that happen....king not!They're not trying too hard to cover up their bile either, one of their three key pledges is to:
"oppose the dangerous drive - backed by the other main parties - to give 80 million low-wage, Muslim Turks the right to swamp Britain"
whitechief said:
It's the rhetoric they use over reasoned argument that I find offensive.
Oh quite, but I think we do have to start actively managing our population growth - opening our borders to yet another poor country with a religion incompatable with our way of life would be, how shall we say, sub-optimal.spaximus said:
The thing is many who understand the BNP will not vote for them, but the message is simple we will help you. There are lots who see the things they have highlighted as key areas for them. The majority of people are not interested in being fair, it is whats in it for them. The BNP are tapping into that sense of greed and creating fear which a lot of low educated, low paid workers will buy into.
I work with alot of low end workers and belive me they do think the BNP will be better than some of the other parties at the moment.
Well to do worse would be an achievement to be honest I work with alot of low end workers and belive me they do think the BNP will be better than some of the other parties at the moment.
We've also had all the leaflets in the past couple of days (hand hint, put them through the shreder and use them as packaging for ebay sales) but had the big bonus one just after lunch, knock on the front door..............Can labour count on our support at the election 
response was of course "no you fking well cant, fk off before I kick you out"
response was of course "no you fking well cant, fk off before I kick you out"AndrewW-G said:
We've also had all the leaflets in the past couple of days (hand hint, put them through the shreder and use them as packaging for ebay sales) but had the big bonus one just after lunch, knock on the front door..............Can labour count on our support at the election response was of course "no you fking well cant, fk off before I kick you out"
Ah yes ... we had our local Labour candidate drop 'round here the other day. Comely lass; had I not known she was suggesting I should vote Labour I may have invited her in for a cuppa ... response was of course "no you fking well cant, fk off before I kick you out"Sadly any such shenanigins were forestalled by her thrusting a Labour leaflet into my hand, and asking "Can I ask whcih way you intend voting in the upcoming elections?"
"I haven't decided yet. Anything but Labour".
"Oh. Can I ask why?"
"You can, but it would take too long to cover all the points" >ClickAsDoorCloses<
Oli.
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