Entry: "Oona King MP urges Londoners to use their votes to stop BNP"

Opinion polls are predicting that the BNP will win at least one, and possibly two, seats in the Greater London Assembly (GLA) elections on 10th June. The skinheads turned “respectable men in suits” are targeting white voters disillusioned with Tony Blair’s “New Labour” government. However, Oona believes that the real danger is people not voting at all. She explains,

“The lower the turnout, the more likely it is that the BNP will make gains. In Northern towns, such as Burnley and Oldham, voter apathy has allowed the BNP to take council seats even where they needed about 30% of the vote. In London we’re much more vulnerable. The BNP needs just 5% of the vote across the whole of London to take a GLA seat. It is vital that we all use our votes to stop the fascists”.

There are fears across the capital that if the BNP did win a seat then they would have a platform for promoting their racist policies. These policies include the “voluntary repatriation of migrants”.

London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, whose work is scrutinised by the GLA, has produced leaflets that Oona and other Labour Party activists are delivering around the capital. But the leaflet does not ask people to vote for Ken. He explains,

“Politicians often ask you to vote for them. But on this occasion I am just asking you to vote. Every vote Londoners cast will make it more difficult for the BNP to get elected. So use your vote on June 10th to make sure the BNP does not get elected to London’s Assembly”.