Gordon Browns legacy.... getting Nick Griffin elected

[MrsGuyOfGisbourne]

unforgivable

[Hassled]

You can blame Gordon for many things but the twats who voted BNP did that all by themselves.

And I don't think any pissed off ex-Labour voters would make the switch from Labour to BNP just like that. They would have gone LibDem, or at a push Conservative. Much more likely is that pissed off ex-Tory voters made the switch to BNP.

[Kathyis6incheshigh]

I wouldn't blame Gordon either, there were plenty of other parties for pissed off people to choose from if they wanted to protest.

[DeepGoat]

rubbish, the lazy selfish twats that voted bnp were not created by gordon brown.

[OracleInaCoracle]

i agree with hassled, im shocked and disgusted. how is it possible that a man who believes Hitler's policies is allowed to represent britain, but you cant blame Brown, blame the fascists who managed to x the box.

[KingRolo]

I'm a pissed off ex-Labour voter and I voted Green, not BNP.

The people who voted BNP didn't do so because of the mess the Labour party are in at the moment. They did it because they are racist wankers.

[fishie]

i thought the bnp had about the same number of votes as always, but labour voters stayed away in droves.

[KingRolo]

And didn't they only manage to 'win' two seats because of the system of proportional representation? They didn't actually get the most votes in any area. The highest they got was something like 18% I think. may be wrong.

The BNP's share of the vote fell in some areas; in Barnsley it went from 17% to 15%.

[Bucharest]

Not Gordon's fault. (and I can't bear the man)
It all stems back to Thatcher's legacy, not his. She's the one who killed the "working-class" systematically and on purpose, leaving entire generations of people floundering in a political no-man's land where no-one seems to give a toss except the arsewits like the BNP who look attractive with their British Jobs for British Workers let's get rid of all them narsty furriners mentality. Because I firmly believe, looking at the demographics of where the BNP picked up votes that these were the pockets of people who actively voted for the BNP as opposed to allowing them to gain ground by not voting for one of the other bigger parties....

T'is still all a shocking indictment for us all

[bleh]

I agree, it's not Gordon Brown's fault. He's been in power for just 2 years. Tony Blair messed up spectacularly on many issues, it's only now (after he's gone) that many of the problems are coming to light.

[bleh]

And, probably those who deserted Labour in the NE for BNP deserted a LONG time ago. (when Labour stopped being Labour, and became more "Tory-lite").

[flashharriet]

But why are people voting for the BNP? Saying "they're all racist twats" is easy but it doesn't address why an increasing number of people feel that they are the only party that comes near to representing their feelings. Until we can have a reasonable discussion around immigration in this country without people screaming "racist" at anyone who dares to question whether we can sustain the sheer numbers that now live here, extremists like the BNP will continue to have success.

[wingandprayer]

I am mortified that here in north west enough people voted BNP to ensure they have an MEP now. Seeing that atrociously smug Nick Griffin going on about truth and justice nearly made me lose my breakfast. By giving these lunatics more exposure and crucially more funding via MEP allowances it will now be even harder to remove their cancerous presence from politics. Shame on anyone who voted for them and their apparently socially acceptable racism. Is a very sad day and I think if Gordon doesn't take serious action and get a grip of his party there will be plenty more.

[ByThePowerOfGreyskull]

I think the majority of people who have voted \BNP have no real understanding of who they are as a party.
I don't believe the mass population in nick griffins constituency are racist sexist homophobes, I think sadly it is more likely that they have been led to believe that they are a benign party finally focussing on local issues - the things that piss us all off on a daily basis, without any understanding that they have other bigger, scarier beliefs as well.

For me cleaner streets are not a good enough pay off for the rest of their policies.

[bleh]

Also, what about all the people who didn't vote? I'm the only person out of a team of 8 who voted last week. And that's replicated all over the UK.

[DaddyCool]

sad sad day for Britain. Those idiots should be ashamed. Nobody in their right mind would vote for that abomination.

[giantkatestacks]

BTPoG - I actually dont think thats true (sadly) i think lots of people voting for them so have a good idea of who they are as a party, its just becoming more and more acceptable to do vote for them - and it is a protest vote about immigration.

Of course it isnt Gordons fault - there is a lurch to the right all over Europe though he can be blamed for a lack of proper discussion about service provision in this country.

I cant imagine how it will be under the Tories though when they cut housing, schools and healthcare - thats going to make it 10 times worse.

And none of the main parties actually bothered to run a proper campaign which is unforgivable.

[DaddyCool]

I don't actually think it's a protest against immigration. I think sadly, there are a great deal of racist folks out there.

[Nancy66]

the 70% of lazy arsed Britons who couldn't be bothered to vote are to blame.

[edam]

I think Gordon bears a heavy responsibility for this. AND the rest of the Blair/Brown coterie who have abandoned ordinary working class people - the people the Labour party was set up to represent.

Was it Blair who said, oh, we don't have to worry about traditional Labour voters, they have nowhere else to go?

Turns out he was wrong.

I don't think many people who voted for the BNP are necessarily motivated by racism - I suspect a lot of them have fallen for the BNP's PR that they are about British jobs for British workers, playing down the racism and misogny.

[peanutbutterkid]

Well said, FlashHarriet.
BNP got 6% of the popular vote, that's an awful lot to my mind. Misguided, racists, whatever they are. Just slagging their supporters off isn't going to change their minds.
What astonished me is how many votes there were overall for anti-Europe/anti immigration parties. If the BNP/UKIP/England First/No2EU/Justice etc. parties all united together, they would probably have won lots of seats.

[SomeGuy]

Of course it is Gordon's fault. With Blair still as leader the BNP would have at most 1 MEP, probably zero.

The BNP barely advanced at all. Labour lost 5 MEPs, 2 went to BNP, 1 to Tories, 1 to UKIP, 1 to Lib Dems

And didn't they only manage to 'win' two seats because of the system of proportional representation? They didn't actually get the most votes in any area. The highest they got was something like 18% I think. may be wrong.

Actually it was 9.8%.

And if the system of proportional representation was more proportional, as in Germany, and as called for by the Greens, with a national list, they'd end up with MORE seats - 5 rather than 2.

[ashamedtosay]

Agree with ByThePowerofGreyskull

I think a lot of people voted BNP based purely on the "British jobs for British people" tag line. I'm ashamed to say that my dh is one of them

I was furious when he told me he'd voted for them, we had the most almighty of rows with me telling him to leave, that I don't want to be associated with him

When we had calmed down enough to have an adult conversation, I spoke to him about the rest of the BNP's beliefs and showed him the white paper on families etc. He was genuinly gobsmacked
He unfortunately, has been in and out of work for months now, we are in a huge amount of debt and things, for us, are bleak. No excuses. Just explaining.

Damage has been done

[RamblingRosa]

Oh dear ashamedtosay Poor you.

I'm not a fan of Brown by any stretch of the imagination but I don't feel I can blame him for the BNP's success in the euro elections. I agree with others here....I didn't want to vote Labour so I voted Green. People weren't voting BNP because they wanted to show disapproval for Labour. They were voting BNP because they wanted to vote BNP. It's really bloody scary IMO.

[spokette]

The people who vote BNP on the promise of British jobs for British people", don't they engage their brain and think what will happen to the economy if the BNP ever got elected? There won't be enough jobs for their supporters let alone those returning from non-white countries!

[giantkatestacks]

There will spokette - they will just be cleaners/lettuce pickers/abatoir workers etc

Oh hang on, 'British' people just wont do those jobs will they - oh well then nothing will get done and the whole place will go to shit...