Gareth from top indie-rockers Los Campesinos has written a very honest piece on the group’s blog about how he felt after the Nazi BNP winkled their way into the European Parliament.
“In the past fortnight I have on numerous occasions drafted and deleted blog posts about what was the forthcoming European Election. About why it was important for people to vote and to stop the BNP. Every time I came close to posting the message, I stopped myself, reminded of how embarassing it often (always?) is when people in bands concern themselves with politics, and attempt to push their views onto other people.
But today, after a number of my countrymen have deigned to elect two BNP politicians to the European Parliament, and even more didn’t deem it important enough to vote at all, the realisation that there are racists representing me (and you) in Europe has become too much.
I asked my friend Colin Roberts (a man whom musically and intellectually I respect a whole lot, and who is far more capable of writing intelligently than I am) to write something, explaining why now, more than ever, it is vital that you consider how important your role is in ensuring the BNP are not allowed to progress any further.
*****
“It’s a shame that it’s got to this stage, but as a nation we’re now in a situation where the collective apathy could end up destroying a great deal of things that make the Britain such a fabulous place to be creative, live and express yourself.
You’ve probably read that the British National Party took two seats in European Parliament, going to their candidates Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons. There are a few reasons as to why this is a bad thing and why, in eleven months time you simply MUST go and vote and I’d like to tell you them.
1) Andrew Brons, now a member of European Parliament for Yorkshire and Humber was a member of a Neo-Nazi organisation until the age of 17, a prominent member of the National Front and led a march in Leeds in the 80s where he chanted, “white power,” and “death to Jews.”
2) Nick Griffin, the leader of the BNP and now an MEP for the North West region was also a member of the National Front and in 1998 was convicted of incitement to racial hatred, as editor of racist magazine ‘The Rune’, whilst also denying the Holocaust and again being charged with racial hatred in 2005.
3) Both of these are just the public face of an organisation that has, time and time again been exposed to be an inherently racist, homophobic, anti-semitic political party. There is no getting away from it, whatsoever.
Unfortunately, the main reason that the BNP took seats last night was not because people are voting for them in droves, it’s because so many just aren’t voting at all. In Yorkshire, 6,900 FEWER people than in 2005 voted for the BNP, yet because the turnout was so low, they took power.
Saying “I didn’t vote, but I didn’t vote for the BNP either, so it’s fine,” is NOT fine. We need to unite against these people and show that this country will not tolerate this bloody-minded hatred any longer.
Your apathy is as dangerous as anything else. It doesn’t matter if you vote Labour, Green, Liberal Democrat, Conservative, whatever, just make sure you vote in 2010.”
*****
Today is a very sad day, and the first that I can truly remember feeling ashamed to be English. I do not want to feel like this, and I’m sure you do not either. I am nearly as annoyed today with those people who didn’t vote, as I am those who voted BNP. For all the people I see on twitter or numerous message boards, bemoaning the BNP’s ascension, I wonder how many of them cared enough about the threat to go out and vote for a party other than the BNP. If you live in the UK, please make a promise to yourself now that next time you will make your voice heard and ensure that racism and hatred is not allowed to become any more prevalent than it already is. Yesterday’s slim margins of defeat are proof that your single vote IS important and DOES count, and if we all treat it with the seriousness it deserves we can make a difference.
I have learnt from this, that I should have blogged about the EU elections earlier. I’m very uncomfortable with the fact that my being in a pop group, gives me a platform to speak to a wider audience than I’d have otherwise, and that a very few people would pay more attention to what I say than they may have otherwise, but if I had blogged on this, and one single person in Yorkshire or Lancashire or Humber had gone out and voted against the BNP, then that would have been a success. From now on I am going to be more vocal on matters such as this. It may be embarrassing, but I think it’s worse to remain silent.”
Thank you for reading.
Gareth
