By Election Expected in Lincoln City's Bracebridge Ward

A By-Election is expected to be called to fill a vacancy in the Bracebridge Ward of Lincoln City Council following the removal of Cllr. Darren Grice, Independent (Bracebridge Ward), after a six month absence from meetings of the Council.

Mr. Andrew Taylor, Chief Executive of the City Council, explained:

"Where a member does not attend any meeting of the council for a period of six consecutive months from the date of their last attendance, then they cease to be a member of the council, unless they have received prior approval of absence.

"No such request has been received from councillor Grice. Councillor Grice’s last attendance at a meeting was Council on 8th January 2013. Accordingly, as there are no meetings scheduled which he could now attend, his term of office will cease on 8 July 2013.

"The Council must then declare the vacancy. Where the council declares the office to be vacant, the election to fill the vacancy must be held within 35 days of this date."

A timetable for the by-election is expected to be published shortly after Monday, 8th July 2013 and will mean a by-election will probably be held on Thursday, 8th August 2013.

In the last election, in the Lincoln Bracebridge Division of Lincolnshire County Council, which covers, broadly speaking, the same geographical area as the Bracebridge Ward of Lincoln City Council the result was:

Conservatives 36.11%, Labour 34.00%, Liberal Democrat 3.72%, UKIP 23.57% and Lincolnshire Independent 2.61%.

The Conservatives will hope their candidate is successful, and have impressive form in the area with six out of seven wins since 2007. Labour will hope to show they are making advances, although this is not a strong area for them - they took a city council seat in 2012 with a majority of seven votes. UKIP will be looking to improve their poll rating from May's local election and will seek to improve their position to second place, from third. The Liberal Democrats, who have never had particular strength in Lincoln, will want to improve their poll rating and see it back above 5%.

Above: Election results (% vote) of contests in the Bracebridge Ward and Lincoln Bracebridge Division 2007-2013

Traditionally this seat has not been contested by the Lincolnshire Independents, if they field a candidate they will probably have limited impact. The BNP have infrequently fielded candidates in this seat and they could again for a by-election, depending on the strength of their party locally following the party's route from the electoral battlefield in Britain.

Lincoln Council Election Strengthens Labour's Grip on Power

The Labour Party have firmed up their control of Lincoln City Council following local elections for one third of the authority held on Thursday, 3rd May 2012. 

In a dramatic set of results, which saw incumbent Conservative councillors and candidates fall to advances made by Labour and the wipe-out of Liberal Democrat representation on the authority, announced shortly after half past midnight, Labour emerged as the clear winners.

The Labour Party received a majority share of votes across the city polling 51% (up six percentage points), the Conservatives came second with 32% (down four percentage points), the United Kingdom Independence Party jumped to third place with 8% (up one percentage point), the Liberal Democrats were knocked into fourth place with 7% (down one percentage point). The Trade Unionist and Socialist Against Cuts polled a respectable 2.5% (up half a percentage point). The British National Party received less than a third of one percent.

The Labour party held the seats in the Abbey, Boultham and Park wards. They also picked up seats, from the Conservatives, in the Birchwood, Brancbridge, Castle, Glebe, Minster & Moorland and, from the Liberal Democrats, in the Carholme ward.

The Conservatives managed to only defend the seat in the Hartsholme ward. 

Following the contests the political balance has changed to 24 Labour, 9 Conservatives and 0 Liberal Democrat Councillors. This gives the Labour administration an increased majority of 15.

The turnout in the election slumped to a new low of 26.81%.

The most eye-catching result was undoubtedly in the Boultham Ward, which has been a staunch Labour stronghold, where Mrs. Carly Sharples (Conservative), who came second, greatly improved her Party's poll.

The closest contest was in the Bracebridge ward where the Conservative Deputy Leader, Marc Jones lost his seat to Cllr. Bill Bilton (Labour) by only 7 votes with 712 and 719 respectively.

City Council Candidate Arrested

The Lincolnshire Echo reports that Mr. Dean Lowther, (British National Party) Candidate for the Bracebridge Ward of Lincoln City Council has been arrested.

Mr. Lowther, of Newark Road, Lincoln, who is the only British National Party candidate in the Lincoln City Council elections on Thursday, 3rd May 2012 'has been arrested over allegations of racist content his Facebook page' the paper reports. The paper explains that 'anti-Islamic and other racist images and slogans appeared', posted on Mr. Lowther's Facebook profile.

James Newall, a spokesman for Lincolnshire Police, said:

"Police have reviewed the material in question and a 45-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of producing material inciting racial hatred in the south of the city this morning. He is currently helping police with their enquiries."

BNP's Manifesto Would Bankrupt Britain

Anticipating the launch today of the BNP manifesto, Nothing British has released a report 'Britain under the BNP' analysing the effects BNP policies would have on Britain: it finds that ordinary families it would mean severe increase in their cost of living, their tax bill, and the risk of violent crime.

The full report and a one page summary can be downloaded from http://www.nothingbritish.com/.

Nothing British research finds:

• BNP tariffs would cost ordinary taxpayers thousands of pounds, and lead to long waiting lists for goods such as electronics, food, clothes and medicine. Nothing British research calculates that the average person in Britain would be £3,300 worse off from the effects of tariffs.
• The BNP's emigration policy would expel up to six million British citizens, create a two tier system of public services between 'indigenous Britons' and ethnic minorities, and create a new Section-28 style ban on the 'promotion of racial integration'
• The BNP would break up popular shops such as Tescos, Primark and Ikea, raising prices on basic goods significantly. World-leading British companies would flee to New York or Tokyo so they could keep recruiting the best from across the world, losing millions of jobs and causing mass unemployment.
• The BNP would have to raise VAT to unprecedented levels of at least 50% in order to pay for an enormous income tax cut for the rich.
• The BNP's law and order policies plan to bring back the death penalty, censor popular television shows such as Eastenders, and make it compulsory to keep an assault rifle in your street, risking a significant increase in violence on the streets.
• The election of BNP government would cause an enormous increase in the risk premium and cost of British debt. This would lead to spiralling inflation, bankrupt public services and interest rates back in the double digits.
• The BNP would turn Britain into a pariah state on the world stage. They plan to withdraw us from Afghanistan, NATO and the European Union, and cause significant damage to our international reputation, ruining our £115 bn tourism industry.

James Bethell, Director of Nothing British, commented:

"The BNP’s manifesto shows a party more concerned with their loony racial ideology than looking out for ordinary voters.

"The BNP’s policies would double the cost of your shopping bill, unleash assault rifles onto our streets and divide our society along racial lines."

James Bethell will be taking the protest against the BNP's racism and extremism to Stoke where he will be leading a demonstation of Veterans against the BNP.

GE2010: Lincoln: BNP Annouce A Priest As Candidate

The British National Party have announced that a clergyman is set to challenge incumbent Lincoln parliamentarian Ms Gillian Merron MP, Labour, in the forthcoming general election, widely expected to be on Thursday 6th May 2010.

Rev. Robert West, a former district councillor, was named as the party's prospective parliamentary candidate at a meeting of its North Kesteven branch which also saw Scopwick and Kirkby Green parish councillor Mike Clayton put forward as a candidate for the Sleaford and North Hykeham seat set to be vacated by retiring Douglas Hogg MP, Conservative.

The Lincolnshire Echo reports that Rev. West said he anticipated support from residents disillusioned by the current state of the country.

"There is so much wrong with Britain, and I think Lincoln is right in with the rest of the country in having concerns about family values, the lack of discipline in schools and the massive rise in crime – which is partly to do with immigration, but more a collapse in values in this country. I think the Bishop of Lincoln is a character who needs to be challenged to stand up for Christianity more because he's not doing enough."

Rev. West was ordained into the small Pentacostal sect the Apostolic Church more than three decades ago, and the paper reports, says he now has little to do with the ministry, but still practises christenings and marriage blessings. Lincoln is not his first attempt at gaining a parliamentary seat – the Holbeach resident last year received 2.7% of the vote in the Norwich North by-election.

"I know I'm not walking distance from the Cathedral, but I've visited Lincoln quite frequently as it's only an hour away – I'm not a foreigner."

The Lincolnshire Echo also report that Architect Cllr. Clayton said he was hopeful of garnering support from locals to go with, what he claimed was, a doubling of party membership in Lincolnshire in recent times.

"And I've seen a lot of support in Sleaford and North Hykeham. We are not just a protest vote."

But the candidacies have been met with apprehension by some of the city's minority groups.

Miss Una Thomas, of the Lincoln Afro Caribbean Society, said she couldn't understand why a political party like the British National Party existed, let alone why they would want to stand in such a diverse county.

"Why do they think they can win? "With them here, it could bring turmoil. Why can't they leave us to live in peace?"

The paper quotes Ms Merron as saying:

"In last year's local elections, people in Lincoln resoundingly rejected the BNP's policies of hatred and racism – with their candidates coming last in every ward that they stood."

The declared candidates for the Lincoln Constituency at 2010 General Election are:

Mr. Ernest Coleman, English Democrat.
Mr. Karl McCartney, Conservative.
Ms Gillian Merron MP, Labour.
Cllr. Reg Shore, Liberal Democrat.
Mr. Nick Smith, United Kingdom Independence Party.
Rev. Robert West, British National Party.

Police Scrutinise Hard-core Racists

Hard-core racists bent on a war against racial minorities are increasingly the subject of scrutiny of the police.

That is the finding of a new report by Nothing British and the Centre for Social Cohesion which is based on an analysis of activities by groups like Blood & Honour and Combat 18, and interviews with police officers close to the case.

Responding to coverage of the report in the News of the World, James Bethell, Director of Nothing British campaign, said:

"it is important that we remain vigilant towards people with an ideological commitment to creating violence between people of different races. In 2001 security services tracked young Islamist radicals at outward bound camps that seemed harmless at the time. Four years later, some of those men had become terrorists who sought to kill innocent civilians on July 7 and 21, 2005. We must not make the same mistake again."

Nothing British, in partnership with the Centre for Social Cohesion, have published a report by Edmund Standing and Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens that highlights the potential threat from white supremacists committed to an agenda of violence against racial minorities.

Denis MacShane MP, Labour (Rotherham) writes in the forward to the report,

"Like their jihadist counterparts, neo-Nazis are filled with hate, are conspiratorial and are prepared (and determined) to use extreme violence to achieve their political aims. If we want to reduce the threat we face from far-right extremism, it is imperative that new systems be put in place, allowing pre-emptive strikes against this budding threat."

The report lists three incidents of recent neo-Nazi-related threats:-

• In July, Yorkshire police raided a neo-Nazi terror cell with international links. They seized the largest suspected terrorist arsenal since the IRA bombings of the early nineties. Twenty properties were raided and over three hundred weapons and eighty bombs were discovered by counter-terrorism detectives. The hardware included rocket launchers, grenades, pipe bombs and dozens of firearms. Several people were charged, and over thirty were questioned over the incident.
• In September, Mr. Neil Lewington, a follower of Blood & Honour, was jailed indefinitely for attempting to launch a bombing campaign against non-white Britons. In his flat, police discovered a bomb-making factory and neo-Nazi literature. Court reports said that Lewington wanted to emulate his ‘heroes’ – Mr. David Copeland, the Soho bomber, and Mr. Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma bomber.
• In May, Mr. Terence Gavan, a card-carrying member of the BNP, was arrested after police raided his home. In January 2010, he was convicted on terrorism charges and sentenced to eleven years in prison, after a stockpile of nail and ball-bearing bombs, shotguns, improvised explosive devices and pistols was found at his house.

It is important not to over-estimate the threat of white supremacist violence from these groups. Islamist violence remains the highest threat. Police experience to date has shown that they splinter and squabble whenever any momentum develops. However, Police sources say that they are aware that circumstances could change and they invest appropriate resources in maintaining a responsible level of intelligence on these groups.

War heroes speak out against the BNP

The Nothing British campaign launches today a new campaign by veterans to reclaim the honour of Britain's Armed Forces from the British National Party.

You can find the campaign at www.nothingbritish.com, watch the videos on our YouTube channel, or follow on facebook and twitter.

In an internet blitz of videos, a number of war heroes describe their anger that the BNP seeks to use the public's warm feelings towards Britain's military to promote the politics of racism and extremism. The veterans call on fellow ex-servicemen to sign their petition.

The campaign is accompanied by a hard-hitting report with a foreword by Charles Moore (Chairman of Policy Exchange) which describes the BNP's efforts to use military rhetoric, insignia and memorabilia in their party political propaganda.

The high profile veterans behind the campaign include:-

Andy McNab DCM MM. Ex-SAS commando and Iraq War veteran.
Colonel Tim Collins OBE. Ex-SAS commando and Iraq War veteran.
Simon Weston OBE. Falklands War veteran.
Nicholas Soames MP. Veteran cavalryman and grandson of Sir Winston Churchill.

Top Brass supporters have signed a letter of support which condemns the BNP. "We call on all those who seek to hijack the good name of Britain's military for their own advantage to cease and desist," write the Generals:-

General The Lord Guthrie GCB, LVO, OBE, DL.
General Sir Mike Jackson GCB, CBE, DSO, DL.
General Sir Richard Dannatt GBC, CBE, MC.
Major-General Patrick Cordingley DSO.

James Bethell, Director of Nothing British, said:

"People are fed up with the BNP using the honour of Britain's Armed Services and the memory of fallen heroes to promote the politics of racism and extremism".

In his foreword, Charles Moore says:

"Almost everything the BNP does is somehow linked to the commemoration of fallen heroes, evokes the spirit of the Blitz, condemns the broken Covenant and gripes about foreign wars.

"It is a deliberate strategy to exploit warm feelings felt towards the Armed Services by the British public, particularly the sort of traditionally-minded families that provide the rank and file of the Services.

"And it's working. The European Election campaign - branded "The Battle for Britain" - saw the BNP win two significant electoral victories with nearly one million votes.

"The danger to Britain is that the BNP's poisonous brand of racism, segregation and intolerance will worm its way into the fabric of British life.

"The danger for the British military is that they will inadvertently provide a leg-up at home for the kind of fascism that so many of our dead and wounded fought in foreign battlefields. This will damage the reputation of our armed services."

SAS Hardman Andy McNab goes after the BNP

Andy McNab has told the BNP,

"give me my books back".

The ultimatum comes after Nick Griffin announced last weekend that the BNP would be auctioning signed copies of Brute Force and Seven Troop, two McNab novels, to raise money for Help for Heroes.

The Nothing British is a campaign against the politics of hate which aims to promote the British values of democracy, tolerance, fair-play and respect for one another. It was founded by James Bethell and Tim Montgomerie.

Andy McNab joined the infantry in 1976 as a boy soldier. In 1984 he was badged as a member of 22 SAS Regiment. He served in B Squadron 22 SAS for ten years and worked on both covert and overt special operations worldwide, including anti-terrorist and anti-drug operations in the Middle and Far East, South and Central America and Northern Ireland.

In the Gulf War, McNab commanded the famous Bravo Two Zero patrol, an eight man patrol tasked with destroying underground communication links between Baghdad and north-west Iraq and with finding and destroying mobile Scud missile launchers. McNab was held for six weeks and was relentlessly and savagely tortured. By the time he was released he was suffering from nerve damage to both hands, a dislocated shoulder, kidney and liver damage and had contracted hepatitis. After six months of medical treatment he was back on active service.

Awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) and Military Medal (MM) during his military career, McNab was the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS in February 1993.

McNab said, when speaking to the Nothing British campaign about the BNP that:

"When someone called me to say that the BNP was using one of my books in a publicity stunt, I was sick to the stomach.

"I served with men of all colours and from many nationalities. They were all equal to me. That’s what the army teaches you.

"Nick Griffin thinks differently. He thinks the British Army should be for whites-only. He thinks heroes like Johnson Beharry, our only living VC, should be sent back to Grenada. He doesn’t understand that what makes the British Army great, and what makes this country great. It’s the way we draw together people from all around the world and give them ideals worth believing in: tolerance, fairness, decency, looking out for the little guy. It’s the British way of doing things that’s why I’ve asked for my books back. Because I don’t want anything to help the BNP promote their poisonous politics of segregation and hatred."

James Bethell, Director of 'Nothing British, said,

“Charities beware. The BNP are cynically using commendable causes to promote the politics of racism and division. Don’t be fooled.”

Andy McNab has written about his experiences in the SAS in two bestselling books, Bravo Two Zero (1993) and Immediate Action (1995). Bravo Two Zero is the highest selling war book of all time and has sold over 1.7 million copies in the UK.

Conservatives ahead of Labour in attracting donations

The Conservatives are outstripping Labour in fundraising by more than a quarter ahead of the next General Election.

David Cameron's party received over £4 million in donations in the first quarter of this year, compared to the £2.8 million raised by Labour.

Despite Labour's inferior flow of funds, their donations are slightly up on the previous three months, while the Opposition's total was about one million pounds down, according to Electoral Commission records.

Donations to all parties in the period were up at £9.1 million in lieu of the recession, but the figures precede the tumult over MPs' expenses which many fear will dissuade benefactors from giving more.

The value of loans still to be paid off by all parties exceeds £20 million.

The Commission also reported that the British National Party had returned five donations from non-permissible sources and that Labour was one of several parties facing investigation for failing to report donations on time.

BNP leader Nick Griffin today bowed out of attending a Buckingham Palace garden party saying he had "no wish to embarrass the queen".

Mr Griffin had been invited to the event by his colleague Richard Barnbrook who, as a London Assembly member, was nominated for two tickets by the Greater London Authority.

It is reported however that the Greater London Authorities's deputy chief executive wrote to Mr Barnbrook telling him to change his choice of guest or his own nomination would be reviewed.

Mr Griffin has now announced that he will not be attending.