8:24am Tuesday 15th April 2008
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ONE of the Church of England's most senior clergymen last night issued a hard-hitting warning about the growing threat of far-right extremism resulting from voters "giving up hope" in mainstream politics.
In a rare move, the Bishop of Durham issued a rallying cry to North-East churches to join forces to thwart the British National Party (BNP) in the forthcoming local elections.
The Right Reverend Tom Wright, called for more to be done by political parties to stop the rise of the BNP.
In an open letter, the bishop said people could not afford to become complacent.
Last night, his warning was endorsed by all the major political parties.
But the bishop's comments were criticised by the BNP, which claimed it was only meeting the needs of ordinary people.
Dr Wright's warning came as the BNP prepared to field a record 30 candidates in the elections for a new County Durham authority.
In his letter, he writes: "The reason the BNP can even gain a foothold in people's affections is because many people in our region feel so disaffected after the last 30 years of national politics that they are in danger of giving up hope in our regular main parties."
Dr Wright has said the parties need to ask: "Why is there a vacuum there that the other parties aren't filling?
"What frustrations are there that the BNP are exploiting, and what are the wise ways of reacting to, or even meeting, those needs?"
He adds: "It is one thing to point out, as many have already done, the neo-Nazi tendencies of the BNP, and to warn with a shudder against our society even taking a small step in any such direction.
"It is another to say How can we drain the swamp so that this kind of ideology won't breed again?' "None of us can be complacent.
"Opposing the BNP isn't simply a matter of saying the status quo is working fine, so please reject these idiots'.
"It should be a matter of saying What does a healthy society look like and how can we make it clear to our whole population that we are working in the best ways towards that goal?"
Last night, Ken Booth, the North-East organiser for the BNP, said: "This is not his place at all. He should be trying to regain his flock.
"While the bishop's banging on about how evil the BNP is, he is going to find out one day that there will be more practising Muslims going to mosques than any practising churches in Britain."
Phil Wilson, the Labour MP for Sedgefield, County Durham, said: "The mainstream political parties do have a job to do to connect to the people we represent in a better way. We have a duty to get out there in our communities and talk to people and explain how we are working to address their concerns.
"It's incumbent on all of us - political parties, the churches and community groups - to maintain a united front against the extremists and to show their politics up for what it is - the politics of hate."
Michael Bates, vice-chairman of the Conservative Party in the North, said: "The bishop has raised an important issue, not just for our region, but for the country as a whole."
Tommy Taylor, the leader of the Lib Dems on Wear Valley District Council, said: "With the greatest respect to the Bishop of Durham, his job is to deal with religion, and politics should be left to politicians. It is very rare that the BNP get many votes, and in my opinion, they will never, ever be a major threat."
joe, bish says...
9:29am Tue 15 Apr 08
Gary, Spennymoor says...
9:33am Tue 15 Apr 08
Robert Furness, London says...
9:34am Tue 15 Apr 08
Keith, says...
9:36am Tue 15 Apr 08
Johnny Rumbelow, Spenymoor says...
9:43am Tue 15 Apr 08
Dan, gateshead says...
9:45am Tue 15 Apr 08
Mr M, North Tyneside says...
10:02am Tue 15 Apr 08
Mark Walker, Spennymoor says...
10:15am Tue 15 Apr 08
MR T., uk says...
10:18am Tue 15 Apr 08
mr.s.south, the north says...
10:23am Tue 15 Apr 08
tom Roberts, Manchester says...
10:41am Tue 15 Apr 08
Gary, Spennymoor says...
10:47am Tue 15 Apr 08
Mr B Chapman, Newton Aycliffe says...
10:48am Tue 15 Apr 08
anon, tudhoe says...
10:53am Tue 15 Apr 08
Mark Walker, Spennymoor says...
11:01am Tue 15 Apr 08
kenneth stubbs, newton aycliffe says...
11:03am Tue 15 Apr 08
Paul, Lancashire says...
11:07am Tue 15 Apr 08
Dan wrote:"The BNP dont have any ambitions other than genocide"?.....
I agree with the comments above however, I dont believe that the BNP have any political ambitions other than genocide, and last time that happened Hitler and Saddam were involved. BNP have some of the right ideas but for the most part all they preach is violence and racism. Even the top brass of the party are criminals? surely the point of MP\'s is that they are above the usual depravity of society and they make unbiased decisions based on evidence supplied to them? Islam is a threat yes, but keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Immigration has got out of hand however, look at the emmigration by comparrison, so many Brits leave the country every year that in ten years of a slightly more open book policy to the EU weve only increased the population slightly over 2 million, and thats including the higher birthrate and increased average lifespan.
Frank McGill, Oxford says...
11:28am Tue 15 Apr 08
bonnylad, northeast says...
11:35am Tue 15 Apr 08
A Woods, South Tyneside says...
12:00pm Tue 15 Apr 08
BNP Convert, says...
12:18pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Mel, Darlington says...
12:37pm Tue 15 Apr 08
martin, darlington says...
12:45pm Tue 15 Apr 08
mr.smith, uk says...
12:50pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Mark Walker, Spennymoor says...
12:51pm Tue 15 Apr 08
g shaw, chilton says...
1:17pm Tue 15 Apr 08
C R H, Byers Green says...
2:18pm Tue 15 Apr 08
mr.irony, enriched uk. says...
2:36pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Kathleen Boden, Darlington says...
2:43pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Mikey, Chelsea, London. says...
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jibber, durham says...
3:09pm Tue 15 Apr 08
John Gregg, Leicestershire, East Midlands says...
3:13pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Dylan, Darlo says...
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Dale, Chester says...
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Alan, Nottingham says...
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Barry, says...
3:34pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Paul, Islington, London says...
3:41pm Tue 15 Apr 08
bertie bert, somerset says...
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Arthur, Durham says...
3:46pm Tue 15 Apr 08
who cares?, england says...
3:50pm Tue 15 Apr 08
tom Roberts, says...
3:57pm Tue 15 Apr 08
razor, peterborough says...
4:02pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Mr Dudley, spennymoor says...
4:04pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Lickyalips, Londonistan says...
4:13pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Elaine G. - BNP Member, Ipswich says...
4:15pm Tue 15 Apr 08
the eyeballs in the sky, Manchester. says...
4:27pm Tue 15 Apr 08
John Gregg, East Midlands says...
4:36pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Robert, Northants says...
4:47pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Real Christian and BNP Supporter, Scarborough says...
5:08pm Tue 15 Apr 08
mr.funny, shanty town nr peterbrough says...
5:09pm Tue 15 Apr 08
the eyeballs in the sky, Manchester. says...
5:11pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Claire, Durham says...
5:11pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Terry B.Hopper, North East says...
5:35pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Amos, Co. Durham says...
5:40pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Andy Leigh, Tudhoe says...
5:41pm Tue 15 Apr 08
tom roberts, Manchester. says...
5:47pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Bob, North Tyneside says...
5:49pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Barry, Bradford says...
6:28pm Tue 15 Apr 08
craig pond, England says...
6:34pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Anon, Spennymoor says...
6:57pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Arthur, says...
7:10pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Mrs H, Spennymoor says...
7:23pm Tue 15 Apr 08
oliver cromwell, the north east says...
7:25pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Alan Wake, A corner of England says...
7:30pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Mrs Smith, Durham says...
7:37pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Steve Day, Co Durham says...
7:46pm Tue 15 Apr 08
John Greggj, says...
7:52pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Steve Day, Co Durham says...
7:58pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Tina Berwick, Whitby says...
8:06pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Charles, Durham says...
8:18pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Amber, Tennessee says...
8:23pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Maggie Williams, says...
8:27pm Tue 15 Apr 08
James Daubney, says...
8:55pm Tue 15 Apr 08
martin, darlington says...
8:58pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Leanne, Spennymoor says...
9:01pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Concentration camp, Tudhoe says...
9:02pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Apocrypha, North Yorkshire says...
9:03pm Tue 15 Apr 08
e pryor, kent says...
9:04pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Steve Day, Co Durham says...
9:28pm Tue 15 Apr 08
tony gordon, london says...
9:54pm Tue 15 Apr 08
English Christian BNP Member and Real Man, inyourface says...
9:56pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Dan, Norwich says...
10:30pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Amber wrote:Guess what, Britain ain't America. Your country may of been built by a cesspool of s**t from all over the world. But we Brits have a long proud Anglo-Celtic heritage, culture, and history that needs preserving. It's already been stated that we native Brits will be a minority in our own land within 50 years if immigration continues. MultiCULTuralism IS racist, and it causes division, hatred, and the eventual destrucion of the host nation's own culture and race! This has been proved time and time again. The recent events in Kosovo is just one recent example.
I come from one of the most racist, backwards, poverty-strikin areas of America. My grandfather was active in the KKK. And you all sound just like them. I'm usually ashamed to be American, but from reading the comments most of you have left, I'm glad I'm not British!
Kevin, Tyneside says...
10:57pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Amber, Tennessee says...
10:58pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Len Peters, London says...
11:15pm Tue 15 Apr 08
bonnylad, northeast says...
11:17pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Tristan Learoyd, Redcar says...
11:23pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Paul, Lancashire says...
11:24pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Emma, 888-396 says...
11:29pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Ollie, London says...
11:31pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Councillor John McPartland, Middlesbrough says...
11:47pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Pheonix, North East says...
11:49pm Tue 15 Apr 08
Disgusted Englishman, Durham says...
12:13am Wed 16 Apr 08
John Grant, Armagh says...
1:35am Wed 16 Apr 08
John Grant, Armagh says...
1:35am Wed 16 Apr 08
jim, elsewhere says...
3:45am Wed 16 Apr 08
Another Jim, Away end says...
5:49am Wed 16 Apr 08
Nationalist, Norwich says...
7:40am Wed 16 Apr 08
harry, grimsby says...
9:15am Wed 16 Apr 08
Tristan Learoyd wrote:Tristan Learoyd is typical of the brainwashed morons of this nation,
Len your comments are spot on. Pt 3 in particular.
The BNP are racists. If they ever got in to power they would turn Britain in to a 1936 Germany modern replicate. Join a main stream political party (preferably Labour) and protest through action - don't protest by voting BNP because thats how Hitler gained power in 1933 .
Jim B., Brum says...
9:32am Wed 16 Apr 08
Jim B.j, Brum says...
9:48am Wed 16 Apr 08
susan, Aycliffe says...
9:56am Wed 16 Apr 08
Emma wrote:thanks for this post emma (www.liarsbuggersand
I have not decided who to vote for but before anyone calls the bnp thugs bullies etc. YOU MUST READ THIS . i was sick to my stomach . http://liarsbuggersa ndthieves.blogspot.c om/
Jim B., Brum says...
10:20am Wed 16 Apr 08
Manuk White, Weybridge-Surrey says...
10:33am Wed 16 Apr 08
Realist, Hyde says...
10:56am Wed 16 Apr 08
Stephen, Darlington says...
10:59am Wed 16 Apr 08
Kevin, Tyneside says...
11:08am Wed 16 Apr 08
Stephen, Darlington says...
11:28am Wed 16 Apr 08
Stephen, Darlington says...
11:29am Wed 16 Apr 08
Realist, Hyde says...
11:29am Wed 16 Apr 08
Realist, Hyde says...
11:33am Wed 16 Apr 08
Kevin, Tyneside says...
12:05pm Wed 16 Apr 08
Anthony, England says...
12:14pm Wed 16 Apr 08
Karl, England says...
1:01pm Wed 16 Apr 08
Paul, Lancashire says...
1:46pm Wed 16 Apr 08
Sue, says...
2:29pm Wed 16 Apr 08
Realist, Hyde says...
5:21pm Wed 16 Apr 08
Arthurian, Durham says...
7:08pm Wed 16 Apr 08
Jack, Durham says...
8:19pm Wed 16 Apr 08
Wotansspawn, UK says...
3:30pm Thu 17 Apr 08
the eyeballs in the sky, Manchester. says...
4:01pm Thu 17 Apr 08
Arthur, Durham says...
6:53pm Thu 17 Apr 08
Ken, Tyneside says...
7:35pm Thu 17 Apr 08
Sinead, England says...
9:06pm Thu 17 Apr 08
Steve Day, Co Durham says...
9:26pm Thu 17 Apr 08
Robert Furness, UK says...
8:59am Fri 18 Apr 08
anon wrote:The person who made those comments about rape not being a serious crime was a conservative member at the time he made that statement. He then infiltrated the BNP but was exposed and thrown out.
@ Mark walker Your very complimentary 2 the female candidates in spenny but remember your only married to one of them. lol. They cant be that smart tho if they represent a party where one of the top london candidates had to be pulled out cos he said that it was alright to hit women and that rape was not \"a serious crime\". No woman in the country should be voting for BNP let alone standing for them. But you and your sock puppets will come up with excuses for Nick erikson.
CommonSense, England says...
9:17am Fri 18 Apr 08
Mrs Smith wrote:Has anyone else noticed the spelling mistakes in the comment from Mrs Smith?
The BNP preys on people who are easily mis-lead. If you are not happy with main-stream politicians, then spoil your vote, don't waste it on voting for thugs. It is very easy to scape-goat immigrants, but there are far too many indigious Brits who prefer to sit at home and not work. Diversity is beautiful and should be celebrated
john russell, Leeds says...
7:28pm Sat 19 Apr 08
Bob, Norfolk says...
7:27pm Sun 20 Apr 08
Andyj, Wigan, UK says...
12:02am Mon 21 Apr 08
Dean, USA says...
3:32am Wed 23 Apr 08
dave, says...
5:35pm Tue 29 Apr 08
S Barnett, 816-827 says...
6:46pm Tue 29 Apr 08
G CATCH, WAKEFIELD says...
11:26pm Thu 1 May 08
Dan wrote:WHY ARE THEY LEAVEING. THIS IS ENGLAND AND WE HAVE NO RIGHTS ANYMORE .DARE TO SPEAK OUT AND YOU ARE RACIST.THEY WONT TO LIVE HERE. DO LIKE THE AUSTRALIANS DO.
I agree with the comments above however, I dont believe that the BNP have any political ambitions other than genocide, and last time that happened Hitler and Saddam were involved. BNP have some of the right ideas but for the most part all they preach is violence and racism. Even the top brass of the party are criminals? surely the point of MP\'s is that they are above the usual depravity of society and they make unbiased decisions based on evidence supplied to them? Islam is a threat yes, but keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Immigration has got out of hand however, look at the emmigration by comparrison, so many Brits leave the country every year that in ten years of a slightly more open book policy to the EU weve only increased the population slightly over 2 million, and thats including the higher birthrate and increased average lifespan.
quote
quoteAS WE SAY NOT YOU
Tristan Learoyd, North says...
8:17pm Sun 1 Jun 08
harry wrote:Harry, Grimsby.
Tristan Learoyd wrote:Tristan Learoyd is typical of the brainwashed morons of this nation,
Len your comments are spot on. Pt 3 in particular.
The BNP are racists. If they ever got in to power they would turn Britain in to a 1936 Germany modern replicate. Join a main stream political party (preferably Labour) and protest through action - don't protest by voting BNP because thats how Hitler gained power in 1933 .
'Join a main stream political party (preferably labour)'
therefore we assume good old Tristan supports raining bombs onto Iraq for oil and making orphans out of thousand's of children (all of whom will be seeking revenge and moving to his street with labours open door policy in a few years).
Lets be honest here,the BNP cannot be any worse than the mass murderers of labour whatever they do!
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Mark, Darlington says...
9:02am Tue 15 Apr 08
I assume they are now a political organisation sympathetic to extreme left wing views. In a democracy people can schoose who they vote for, this is not Cuba!