Women's vote can 'stop fascist BNP'

Louise Nousratpour in Eastbourne
Thursday March 11, 2010
The Morning Star

UNIONS must mobilise women's vote to stop the "sexist, homophobic and racist" BNP advancing in the general election, the TUC women's conference has urged.

Delegates stressed the importance of the female vote, pointing to recent surveys showing that women are far more likely to vote for Labour or a left-wing candidate than men.

Conference warned that the BNP was taking advantage of increased social deprivation and unemployment in white working-class areas to gain support for its poisonous and devisive policies.

It stressed the importance of campaigning and organising in those communities, where people may feel abandoned by the Labour Party and the wider left movement.

Unite delegate Yvonne Swingler said: "Social deprivation, institutional racism and unemployment are BNP tools to create division among us and unions must address that by looking into how to build links with these communities.

"Let us make this election a referendum against the BNP and remove them from our councils and communities," she added.

Unions are particularly worried about BNP leader Nick Griffin's bid to become an MP for east London's Barking and Dagenham borough, where the party already has a dozen councillors.

Bectu speaker Arti Dillon said: "The Barking BNP councillors hardly ever turn up to meetings and are claiming massive expenses without doing anything to address social issues in the area."

She also stressed the importance of supporting her union's no-platform policy for fascists in the wake of the BBC decision to allow Mr Griffin a voice on its prestige Question Time programme last October.

NUT delegate Sally Kincaid recalled how her car had been firebombed in 2002 after her photograph, address and car registration number were posted on the Redwatch website, which carries the details of hundreds of anti-fascist activists.

Rather than being intimidated into hiding her identity and changing her address, she said she had decided to go public and expose the criminal nature of the fascists.

"With my family, we decided that we could not hide. We could not do this to our black brothers and sisters who cannot change the colour of their skin if they are targeted by fascists," Ms Kincaid said to a standing ovation.

"We have to continue the fight and remember that there are far, far more of us than there are fascists."