UK: BNP to contest Euro-elections
01 March 1999
The fascist British National Party (BNP) has announced that it will be contesting regions in England in the European elections in June. The party will also contest seats in Scotland. Their election team, for what it has described as the "biggest electoral effort in the history of British nationalism", consists of party leader John Tyndall, national organiser Richard Edmonds, director of publicity Nick Griffin, British Nationalist editor Tony Lecomber and press officer Michael Newland. While they have sorted out their organisers they seem to be having more trouble finding potential candidates. An advertisement in the March issue of Spearhead unimaginatively headed "Wanted: good candidates" reports that they have 50 candidates but still require another 45 "in order to allow for any last minute hitches". The criteria for candidates is that they are over 21and "are not under any kind of suspended sentence or bankruptcy order". It is not surprising that the party of "law and order" are having problems filling these criteria if their election team is anything to go by - all bar one have convictions for bombings, firearms offences, brutal racist attacks and distributing racist material.