An SWP full-timer in London has just emailed me the incredible news that Richard Barnbrook, BNP candidate for London mayor and leader of the BNP's group of councillors at Barking and Dagenham has resigned from the fascists and joined the SWP! One can only imagine the chaos and demoralisation this will cause among the BNP's ranks when they learn he's been selected to replace Lindsey German as the number one candidate on the Left List slate!
Here is the leaked press release due for general circulation at midday today.
Left List Welcomes Cllr Barnbrook
01/04/2008
Respect's candidate for mayor of London, Lindsey German, has today welcomed Councillor Richard Barnbrook defection from the Nazi BNP to the Left List's slate of candidates for the mayoral and GLA electoral campaigns.
"I am very pleased Richard has left his fascist past behind," said Lindsey. "Only the Left List is standing up for London workers of all backgrounds. All the other parties want business as usual, except for the racist BNP who want to turn the clock back on multiculturalism. They want to divide working Londoners, but unity is needed to oppose Ken Livingstone's neo-liberal policies. Richard's inclusion on the Left List offers a message of hope, not hate, to BNP voters."
Councillor Barnbrook said: "I have met many angry British people during my time lecturing and exhibiting in art galleries. Their concerns are the same wherever I go. London's growing crime, transport and housing problems are national issues too. But the problem is not immigration. It is the politics of greed. Shamefully, my former colleagues in the BNP have gone along with this. They crave respectability and have feathered their nests at the expense of white working class people. There is only one party standing up for British workers of all backgrounds in this election, and that is the Left List."
Richard is planning to hold the incoming mayor to account on environmental issues. He favours mass tree planting and more spaces for urban sculpture in London.
Richard replaces Lindsey at the head of the Left List. Other candidates include Tower Hamlets councillors Oliur Rahman and Rania Khan, trade union organisers Michael Gavan from UNISON, Unjum Mirza, the London political officer from the RMT, and health worker Pat McManus. Afro-Caribbean candidates include Katt Young, who has helped win the reprieve of a South London youth facility that was to be closed by the LDA, and retired Ford worker Berlyne Hamilton. Kumar Murshid, former race equality advisor to Ken Livingstone, has recently been in the forefront of organising against the reintroduction of stop and search laws.
The Left List is standing as the only serious left voice in London for the GLA. Labour has let down its traditional supporters and people are looking for an alternative. The Left List stands as that alternative.
ENDS
Recruiting directly from the BNP is one thing, but to have that recruit heading your flagship electoral intervention? Words fail me.
Here is the leaked press release due for general circulation at midday today.
Left List Welcomes Cllr Barnbrook
01/04/2008
Respect's candidate for mayor of London, Lindsey German, has today welcomed Councillor Richard Barnbrook defection from the Nazi BNP to the Left List's slate of candidates for the mayoral and GLA electoral campaigns.
"I am very pleased Richard has left his fascist past behind," said Lindsey. "Only the Left List is standing up for London workers of all backgrounds. All the other parties want business as usual, except for the racist BNP who want to turn the clock back on multiculturalism. They want to divide working Londoners, but unity is needed to oppose Ken Livingstone's neo-liberal policies. Richard's inclusion on the Left List offers a message of hope, not hate, to BNP voters."
Councillor Barnbrook said: "I have met many angry British people during my time lecturing and exhibiting in art galleries. Their concerns are the same wherever I go. London's growing crime, transport and housing problems are national issues too. But the problem is not immigration. It is the politics of greed. Shamefully, my former colleagues in the BNP have gone along with this. They crave respectability and have feathered their nests at the expense of white working class people. There is only one party standing up for British workers of all backgrounds in this election, and that is the Left List."
Richard is planning to hold the incoming mayor to account on environmental issues. He favours mass tree planting and more spaces for urban sculpture in London.
Richard replaces Lindsey at the head of the Left List. Other candidates include Tower Hamlets councillors Oliur Rahman and Rania Khan, trade union organisers Michael Gavan from UNISON, Unjum Mirza, the London political officer from the RMT, and health worker Pat McManus. Afro-Caribbean candidates include Katt Young, who has helped win the reprieve of a South London youth facility that was to be closed by the LDA, and retired Ford worker Berlyne Hamilton. Kumar Murshid, former race equality advisor to Ken Livingstone, has recently been in the forefront of organising against the reintroduction of stop and search laws.
The Left List is standing as the only serious left voice in London for the GLA. Labour has let down its traditional supporters and people are looking for an alternative. The Left List stands as that alternative.
ENDS
Recruiting directly from the BNP is one thing, but to have that recruit heading your flagship electoral intervention? Words fail me.
22 comments:
1st April.Gordon Brown was just talking to Nick Griffin about this over breakfast,he said "i'm not happy Nick".
Boris and Ken had a laugh about it while riding a tandem through London earlier.Ken was on the rear seat,drinking whisky,i mean having breakfast.
Not really that funny, homie.
Not bad, but I was expecting to hear you'd renewed your membership of the Conservatives in light of Boris Johnson's recent impressive performance in the Mayoral campaign.
A crappy joke - a bit like "Newsflash: Peter Taafe is a paedo". Not funny,except to arseholes
Now a better story for today might be: 'The Alliance for Workers Liberty is backing Lindsey German for London Mayor.'
But truth has already proved stranger than fiction...
Roobin, would you have found it as unfunny if Respect Renewal were the butt of the joke?
3rd Anonymous - great comeback.
Dr Paul, I do believe the AWL is doing just that!
"Roobin, would you have found it as unfunny if Respect Renewal were the butt of the joke?"
Well, I'd be less animated. An April fool is supposed to be plausible. How am I a nazi?
I don't think anyone's calling you a Nazi...
Yeah, you got me stumped their Roobin. I would never call another leftist a fascist. It's not the done thing.
fooled me for a few seconds there!! - given the opportunism of the swp and the disarray it would cause in the BNP it's just on the limits of plausibility.
AWL might have been a bit of a giggle. Call me precious if you will, I don't like the suggestion I would willing stand the company of a known nazi.
I thought as much, comrade. That's why the release stated he had left his fascist past behind him. In reality I doubt Barnbrook ever would of course. He might have been a Labour activist once (apparently) but he is now dyed-in-wool fash. Of his partner's child, he once made blood curdling noises about the diminution of the white race or some such nonsense. Charming! And it's no accident he walks around wearing brown suits while sporting a 1940s hair cut.
I think it's rather good actually- you almost had me for a second!
nice one phil!
To AVPS: I did write: 'But truth has already proved stranger than fiction...' This indicates that I know that the AWL is supporting Lindsey German. I know from personal experience that doing a PhD numbs one's brain, but even so...
The AWL's line is rather odd, I must say. There are two possible explanations:
Firstly, the AWL hates Livingstone more than it hates the SWP, which takes some doing.
Secondly, the AWL leadership is on an anti-Labour binge, and wants to lean on the stubborn Labour entrist AWLers. If the entrists vote for German, they're courting expulsion from the Labour Party; if they vote for Livingstone, they're courting expulsion from the AWL. A very neat trick indeed.
On balance, I guess someone writing "homie" is funnier.
Got to get down with the yoof. Keep dropping them K-bombs.
This year has produced some very good April Fools pages and posts. This one: http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/looflirpa/shrinter.shtml has been my favourite so far in general, but I think yours tops the Politics category.
I think, Dr Paul, on balance the AWL does hate Livingstone more than the SWP. What I want to know is in a straight contest between, say, Livingstone, Galloway and Boris Johnson, who'd get the vote?
Any AWL'er care to enlighten us?
Cheers for the kind words, Zeus. Just get yourself blogging again!
I still think one of the best letters to the Grauniad I ever saw was on 2nd April 1981 and ran something like this.
'Dear Sir,
I'm wrting to complain about the amount of space you devoted to your April Fool this year. We all like a joke, but really, devoting half of the front page, the editorial and the several of the international news pages to this spoof was overkill. Furthermore any April Fool has to be at least half way plausible, who on earth could believe that even a mentally derranged fan of Taxi Driver would want to shoot that nice Mr Reagan?'
I'm confused - do you assume the AWL's decision to advocate a first preference vote for Lindsey German is based on "hating Ken Livingstone more" because that's how you all make political decision? On who you hate least?
Since being a member of the AWL is already "courting expulsion from the Labour Party" the theorising displayed above is a bit weak.
I'm only glad I don't live in London since there doesn't seem much pleasure in voting for Livingstone on a pro-business platform or for German on a Respect one. And with the joys of PR, London lefties get to do both!
fucking TRAGIC. seriously, sort yourself out. 4real
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