to be getting a bit shocked at how much the BNP seem to have moved up?

[tweetymum]

... in this election? Am watching the results, and am currently feeling quite shocked that the last 2 results have seen the BNP up a fair bit.

AIBU to be feeling a bit ?

Was an immigrant to the UK BTW, have left now as I was finding the whole in your face immigrant hate too much to take. Still have my citizenship (well, I paid a lot of money and worked my ass off for it).

I agree, I think in the main its people voting to compian around immigration rather than actual hard core racists.

If the hung govt adresses properly addresses said concerns then I suspect BNP will fade from view

I also agree its often the white "underclass" that have said issues, even tho many of them dont even work!

Govts need to send out some hard data to stop people thinking that immigrants get XYZ, alot of the so called facts are just not true, likewise if they properly face up to some issues I think people will back down

i do think alot of bnp support is from the elderly and they er won't be around forever

i thinkj the social housing is down to people buying crap council flats the renting them cheap, to immigrants! then Mrs and Mrs Alf Garnett see it and think that the immigrants "got" the house....

porcamiseria -

"Govts need to send out some hard data to stop people thinking that immigrants get XYZ, alot of the so called facts are just not true, likewise if they properly face up to some issues I think people will back down "

I couldn't agree more, and it's sorely lacking. I think it is a matter of urgency actually for whoever gets in. Things are going to be grim for a lot of people for the foreseeable future, and in these circumstances I am very fearful of where the kind of scapegoating we are seeing on immigration may lead.

YANBU. And if more people chose to vote for any of the three main parties instead of spoiling their ballot paper or not voting at all, it would reduce the BNP's percentages.

I think as ive posted about this before,it all depends on the attitude of people in the area you live.

I live in Oldham.

I trained as a nursery nurse and specialised in working in social services with families from disadvantaged areas-mostly at that time Asian families.

I left work to start my family as they began school I tried to reapply - I needed a second language,hindu/urdu etc.

My mother worked on Tommyfield market a famous booming market -now it consists of about 6 stalls selling sari fabric and jewellry.

We had about 40 new social housing houses built and the majority were given to immigrants (ahead of other needy families).

There are places that it is not safe to go-women get raped men get attacked.

Outside the job centre there are lots of cultures waiting speaking in their own language -it is intimidating.

I myself rarely go to town alone having been followed by men from other races and pestered by them into taking their phone number etc etc.

There are schools where there are literally no 'English' children and the playground is a hubbub of language.

We as a town are poor yet there are the latest rangerovers parked outside areas in rundown estates.

The beautiful Asian ladies parade by in their saris and sparkly sandals bedecked in yellow gold.
Our supermarket is full of 'immigrant workers' with names I cannot speak of.

This isnt a melting pot of culture this is me and people like me having to conform to other ways of life.

Our Easter vigil was spoilt by people not of our culture playing very loud music and throwing things at us.

This is a scarey way to live.

I embrace the differences,try to build good relationships with my dentist from Africa my dcs paed from India,the Polish Gp

I have friends from around the world-asians who give me beautiful fabric,poles who pass my dc boiled sweets from their home country....the man in the post office tells my dc hindu stories,the Aian optician who lets my dc choose the funkiest frames and then gives me a reduced price,Asian shopkeepers who keep 'best'things to one side for me to try.

But my dc were still on the park when 27 Asian youths wielding tools came to fight.

My dc still cant walk the streets after dark.

My altar server son cant go to church alone because the church is in an Asian area.

My dc attend school out of this catchment,but even so there are children that cant speak any English,teachers that can speak English either.

A lesser person than me might see these changes and think that BNP is the way forward.

I think a bigger person than you would not be intimidated by people speaking their native language

I think that when you walk down the streets to be confronted by gangs and they shout to you in words you cant understand and act with hostility - yes it is intimidating - im quite 'lucky' due to my work im familiar with a lot of families but I know others feel this way.

Unless MQ you are referring to my comment about the teachers and children at ds school that dont speak English??

To clarify this child doesnt have one word of English {his 'Father' pointed this out in school so its true) and the teacher teaches maths but with limited English and a Russian vocabulary.

TBH I am quite releived they didn't do better. it's only 1.3 % isn't it?

Places like my town - poor, deprived with a huge recent influx of people from Eastern Europe. Fucking BNP turned up like vultures . Hoping the ignorant and scared would beleive their poisonous lies. But they came in 6th with 3.5%. Yes it would have been better if they'd got 0 - but TBH I am quite proud of my little town because the vast vast majority said NO to them.

i was glad that they didn't ahve anyone standing here.
not suprised though.

notnick

god thats not ideal. not at all. I can see why you'd be pissed off! and the fact that BNP flourish is when people in your situation raise concerns, its not adressed.

Its easy for some of to talk when we dont live in your area, and I think London is in no way shape or form as depived and affected as other areas

"Outside the job centre there are lots of cultures waiting speaking in their own language -it is intimidating"

No confrontation or large gangs, no shouting at you or around you.Nothing to do with your child or their education, in fact nothing to do with you at all.
Simply people standing around and talking in a different language and you define that as intimidating

mayor

cant you see alot of what she says IS intimdating? just curious

Some of the things she says are intimidating. her view of an urban nightmare where women are raped and weapon wielding thugs roam the streets with abandon is terrifying and areas resembling anything near them should be policed better and thugs who disrupt others right to religious freedom need to be dealt with regardless of ethnicity.
Her views of markets selling sari's and no longer being as profitable as they were in the past, supermarket workers with names "she cannot speak of" and people speaking to each other in a different language while they wait in line are decidedly less terrifying if I'm honest.

its grim up north.....

No mayor the job centre is an integral part of our town and it is intimidating in fact older people wont even walk near it and because as you walk past there are lots of different cultures all speaking their native languages whether its strong imposing black men from zimbabwe where there natural tone is shouting and jocular or the polish sing song or even the fragile asian girls just chatting - it is intimidating - Its scarey to be so familiar with a place but not really feel as though you have a place.

I certainly dont walk past there with my littlest ds and I know my older son walks the longer way to avoid it.

If ive worded it offensively with regards to the supermarket and the market it wasnt my intention I was just giving you the 'feel' for my hometown and how easy it becomes to blame 'race' on all our problems and thats how parties like the BNP thrive.

The market comment wasnt really to do with profit as such the impact its had on our community was more the point.

It hasnt always been this grim though and I hope that eventually we can all be a community,a blend of culture.

Well whatever you're feeling they won zero seats.

So no big issue at all - they didn't do as well as they thought and I laughed when they said that post question time they had a far more interest - ie they had more hits on their internet site - that means nothing.

Oh, and did I say THEY GOT ZERO SEATS in parliament. That's nothing, naught, nada, niente, ie ZERO.

Hateful people united and got ZERO. Well done Britain.

Sorry to say this why the heck would you be intimidated by people speaking other languages.

some people are. take Marakkech main square, I LOVED IT, though it was excititing/different.My friend was terrified, stayed all week by the pool.

I live in an area where there are lots of different nationalities, many different languages at the school, shops specialising in selling particular countries products. I love living in a busy area like this.

But why would you be scared - surely in the UK people speaking languages means that we're not that bad at languages after all. That's the way I view it.

strong imposing black men from zimbabwe where there natural tone is shouting and jocular or the polish sing song or even the fragile asian girls just chatting"

and now you are going to say "but I'm not racist" I bet.

Not all NHS is the same! We have free interpretation services available for anyone accessing NHS services in the area. What is difficult is when non-english speakers have unrealistic expectations of what can be delivered - for example some of our minority groups want dedicated phone lines for them to access services through and want ALL correspondence translated...... (this is from a minority group who have been resident for a lot of years)

How can I be racist when my own father is of afro carribean descent???

But thats the attitude of a lot of posters on mumsnet of late isnt it .