To the Editor
Watford Observer
14th June 2009
Dear Sir,
Normally, I would not bother to respond to the provocations of the miniscule Socialist Workers Party but Jon Gamble’s letter, (Watford Observer 12th June 209) is too serious to ignore.
It really is not acceptable for him to describe the election of a racist candidate in South Oxhey in terms of, ‘The BNP have made an historic breakthorough’. This is a serious overstatement that gives a credibility to the BNP they do not deserve. Nor is it an adequate explanation to blame the result on the ‘collapse of the Labour vote’.
The voting figures he selectively quoted were for 2001 and 2005. The County Council Elections on those days were held simultaneously with the general elections, this boosting the turnout and votes for all parties.
In fact the Labour vote in South Oxhey on 4th June 2009 was 756, just four votes down on the local elections on 2008 on the same boundaries and 44 votes down on 2007. Hardly a collapse.
It would be foolish of me to deny that Labour polled poorly across the country in the local and Euro elections this month, although it is worth reflecting on the fact that Labour’s candidate in West Watford, Nigel Bell achieved a 16% swing to Labour by building a reputation for hard work and fighting on local issues.
I don’t regard the BNP vote in South Oxhey as ‘an historic breakthrough’. It is a victory for bigotory, fear and prejudice. The BNP delivered leaflets in South Oxhey, accusing councils of spending money on gay pride events and on muslims whilst stating that ‘The English are despised and forgotten’. Their leaflets stirred up racist feelings against asylum seekers and east Europeans falsely claiming that they get priority for housing and jobs.
Neither of the two BNP councillors live on the South Oxhey estate. The BNP have targetted South Oxhey from outside with a barrage of racist literature designed to stir up racial tension.
They targeted South Oxhey because sadly there has been a small minority of racists on the estate dating back to the 1970’s when the neo-nazi National Front stood in elections.
The overwhelming majority of people in South Oxhey are decent, tolerant people who like the rest of us will be appalled at the election of BNP Councillors. To make matters worse they will not get any representation from the BNP. Their single District Councillor on Three Rivers has not spoken or asked a question in Council since being elected in 2008.
This year the BNP candidate got 783 votes out of an electorate of 8,838. Less than 1 in 10 people in South Oxhey voted for this racist party. Ultimately, it is the local people who must reject these racists. We must ensure that we are all united in our resolve to stand up for a tolerant society and against those who seek to divide us.
Mike Jackson, Chair
Watford Labour Party
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