Vote for anyone

The European parliamentary elections are taking place on 4th June 2009 (this Thursday!) and I am asking you to vote. Vote for anyone you like, just vote!



Is this canvassing for real?

Yes, it really is important that you vote, and it really doesn't matter to me who you vote for (assuming you won't vote BNP).

Why shouldn't I vote for the BNP?

If you are seriously considering voting for the BNP then get yourself one of those little crooked crosses and affix it to your head-to-toe white outfit with the pointed hat so that the rest of us can identify you for what you really are. If you are not a violent fascist and haven't yet decided whether to vote in the European elections on June 4th, please read on...

But surely the BNP is an irrelevant little party of uneducated misfits who don't stand a chance of being elected...
This is what some people thought in the 1920s, before a massive recession drove too many people to vote for a party in Germany that turned out to be one of the darkest moments in the existence of humanity. We are once again in a huge financial crisis and the BNP is trying to capitalise on the electorate's fears and get elected.

But there are many more people who are anti-fascist so how likely is it that the BNP does get elected?
There is often a low turn-out for these elections, allowing fringe groups to get elected with relatively small numbers of votes. for example, in the last European election, 800,000 people voted for the BNP, who as a result nearly won seats in a number of consistencies.

Ah-ha, isn't the low turn-out because these European elections don't really matter?
These elections do matter to extreme groups like the BNP because if they succeed in getting any of their candidates elected, they will gain perceptions of legitimacy, access to funding, and broadcasting rights like legitimate political parties for other elections, including national elections, which increases the chances they will be able to get MPs elected to Westminster.

Is the BNP really so bad that we need to go to all this effort to get out the vote?
Unfortunately, yes. Their agenda is eerily similar to that of the Nazis. They talk of training the indigenous population for a civil war to make the country white, deny that rape is a serious crime, deny the Holocaust, and describe AIDS as a friendly disease because of its impact on black and gay people...

Maybe the BNP's image is tarnished by a few bad eggs...
The head of the leader, Nick Griffin, has a conviction under race hate laws in the UK, and in previous elections their candidates have included drug dealers, rapists, and others with convictions for violent crimes. An undercover documentary by Channel 4 further revealed the extent to which these unpalatable policies are aims are endemic to this dangerous organisation.

So who should I vote for then?
Whoever you want to. If you're sitting on the fence, just pick one at random. I know this sounds strange but think about it - if you're torn between Labour and the Tories, the Lib Dems and the Greens, wouldn't you prefer any of these to represent you, rather than the BNP?

Where can I find out more information?
Unite Against Fascism http://www.uaf.org.uk/ has lots more detailed information and material, and I have borrowed heavily from their resources in writing this post.

A summary of the Channel 4 documentary can be found at http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/uk/young+nazi+and+proud/257213