Changes that have to take place

(This has been forwarded to the Chairman Nick Griffin, MEP, and the Party National Organiser, Clive Jefferson for their consideration.)

I have always maintained impartial over the recent months after the elections, if not all the way through my political career with the BNP. Maybe the term impartiality should be replaced with that of professionalism.

Yes, I did stand for the leadership and yes, I did shake hands with Eddy Butler. That was before I saw what a moronic level this party and its structure has descended into, all crying out in the name of Britain and in the name of the BNP. What a fool I have been! It has now come to my attention that old friends, the first that I ever met when I joined the Party in 1999, that do not hold any status other than that of true activists, have been bullied and threatened not to work with me in any capacity. I may have resigned the whip, but for good reason. I am still a loyal member of THE PARTY. Managements come and go, as do leaders, but the stakeholders always remain the same.

I have never attacked anybody personally or made statements

to undermine the party, let alone its ability to function. While I am still a member of the GLA I will do my damndest to make sure that a member of the party that I belong to will be re-elected to the in 2012, but that is a long shot at this moment in time with these divisions and factions taking place. As I said before I will resume the whip once the perceived current problems have been tackled This is not a selfish act or reprisal, it is simply what the party has to do now in order to survive.

Clarity, Communication, Cohesion and Continuity:

It’s due to the perception of a total collapse of communication from Head Office down, along with possible improprieties in the financial governance of our party that has caused the discontent of recent months We need an overhaul. Once again, this is what I suggest:

1) Our Chairman, Nick Griffin, MEP, be made life-long president of the party, a similar position that was offered to John Tyndall.

2) That Nick Griffin, MEP, be given all necessary resources to fight to regain his seat in future European elections.

3) That all expenditures over £500 are made open to party scrutiny in addition to that of the Electoral Commission.

4) That auditing and accounting functions are carried out by a scrutiny committee of 2 independent party members as well as independent professionals who have had to tender for the contract in order to secure the most competitive rate for Party

5) That all communications and activities based in Northern Ireland be brought to the mainland immediately and downsized to fit within the Party’s realistic structural capability and budget.

6) A full explanation of why the Party has gone from being £2.3 million in credit to a deficit of £600 000 in the past year.

7) All Regional Organisers and above, including national management, to undergo a polygraph lie detector test within the next 6 months.

8) All Regional Organisers to stand down and be elected by the regional members and to be paid £1000 per month, plus travelling expenses and communications. This is based on getting our donations and membership fees up again.

9) A Cabinet should be set up to include the Chairman, and Deputy Chairman. The Treasurer and the other 3 members to be chosen by the Advisory Council from among themselves.

10) All day to day decision making should be discussed and voted on by the Cabinet.

11) Regional Organisers can only be dismissed by the members of that region, or by the Advisory Council.

GLA ELECIONS 2012: LONDON CALLING!

The internal difficulties which are dogging our party should not and cannot be allowed to affect our election chances for the Greater London Assembly here in London in 2012. It is imperative that we all start working towards this campaign now!

I realise that many of you are feeling demoralised. And the 2012 elections may seem to be a long way off. But, the one thing I do know is how to run a successful GLA campaign. And make no mistake, if we are to have any chance in getting a BNP assembly member in to the GLA in 2012, we have to start our action now!

I may have resigned the party whip, but I am still a member of the BNP and I intend to remain so. Indeed, once the issues of concern have been ironed out, I will be more than happy to return to the fold. I am also fully committed to getting a person (whoever it may be that is eventually nominated), and hopefully more than one, elected on to the Assembly. But to do this, we have to create a forceful nationalist presence in London. We have to get the message out to the voters. WE HAVE TO PUT OUT A MILLION LEAFLETS JUST TO EQUAL OUR EFFORTS IN 2008. This is a huge feat in itself. Hopefully, we can better it. BUT IF WE SIT BACK AND WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR IN THE HOPE THAT BY THEN, EVERYTHING WILL HAVE SETTLED DOWN AGAIN, IT WILL BE TOO LATE!

WE HAVE TO START NOW OR LONDON WILL BE LOST TO US!

Nick Griffin is now the London Organiser. But Nick is also MEP for the North West with an office in Brussels and a home in Wales. He can’t be everywhere at once.

All I want is the success of this Party. I will not sit back and surrender London or the South East. I, along with other longstanding activists, have the experience and the public profile to lead this campaign. But to do it, we need your help.

Forget all the gripes and the infighting. Let the party big-wigs play their power games if they want to. The future of this country is the only thing that matters.

If you can help, please contact me: richardbarnbrook2402@hotmail.co.uk

I look forward to hearing from you!

Message to Voters and Supporters

The statement posted today in my previous blog entry, (please see below) was sent to Head Office on Tuesday. I have not yet had any response which indicates to me that action will be taken on the points that I raised.

I am not prepared to stand back in silence while longstanding and hard working members and colleagues are suspended ‘pending investigation’ but without a clear explanation. And, following the leadership challenge, I’m not prepared to carry on as before while rumoured irregularities are simply swept under the carpet. We have to have integrity, fairness and clarity at all levels. If we lose sight of these principles, we are doomed.

I realise the disappointment that some people will feel, especially those party workers and activists who so generously gave of their time, money and efforts to get me elected in 2008. To them, let me say this: it would be far, far easier for me to remain silent and turn a blind eye to the current concerns in the hope that they will go away. But the situation is not improving and every day that goes by sees more good people leaving the party in disillusionment and confusion.

It’s not in my nature to do nothing. I cannot stand back when things are clearly amiss, and watch from the sidelines. This, I feel strongly, would be letting all of you down, and would not solve anything in the long term. What matters above all else is the welfare of our cause and our country. Nationalism must not be damaged simply to preserve personal interests.

I’m not pointing the finger at anyone. I’m not out to apportion blame. I’m not getting involved in factionalism, or doing deals. I am simply asking for answers, so that the problems can be rectified, and this is the only way I have of showing that I am serious about obtaining them. If I have jeopardised my own career prospects in standing up and speaking out, then so be it.

I look forward to resuming the party whip just as soon as I am satisfied that sensible action is being taken to address those issues which are worrying so many members and holding us back. Then we can hopefully move forward with renewed vigour and optimism and start to recover the ground we have lost.

Why I resigned the Party Whip: The inescapable issues that must be addressed

The leadership challenge gave Nick Griffin a clear and decisive mandate; hopefully the Party will be able to move forward. But in order for this to happen, concerns that came to light in the course of the campaign must be addressed. We cannot progress as a party if things are simply swept under the proverbial carpet.

I have spent over a decade working the streets of London and across the nation, to support the principles and ideals of this Party, while at the same time, working tirelessly as most of you know, getting our members elected to local and regional levels of government. I am a nationalist, heart and soul, and always will remain so. I have not made the decision to resign the Party whip lightly. Nor have I produced this document with the intention of having a go at head office, the leadership or indeed, any individual. Any retribution is for the membership to determine and not me.

I honour my membership and respect the position that I was elected to. I deeply appreciate the work of those members of this party whose tireless efforts enabled my election, and am grateful to every individual that voted for me. It is only because of this that I feel that I have a duty to now speak out and hope that the wisdom and good sense of the Party’s management will be able to rectify these problems within the next two months. I am not prepared to allow things to drag on any longer than that because the damage could be irreversible. Those who have been active members for as long as I have will recognise that this cannot be allowed to happen.

We have gone, apparently, from £2.3 million in the black to owing something in the region £600 000. Nick himself admitted publicly on the night of the leadership challenge that the Party is £500 000 in the red. The Party’s books, therefore, need to be looked into by a small group to see what has gone wrong and where and how this can be remedied. I would suggest no more than 4 individuals- two from within the Party hierarchy who can offer explanations and two members with an accounting/investigative background, who can be relied on to be totally independent and fair. I would therefore suggest Clive Jefferson and Dave Hannam on behalf of the Party, with John Savage and Michael Barnbrook and Tim Rait acting as the independent scrutinisers. The findings need to be published.

Leading on from this, we were late again submitting the books to the Electoral Commission and the Party was fined as a result. This should not have happened as it could have been avoided and has cost the Party money. It is another indication that the accounting side of things needs scrutiny and overhaul.

The large scale sackings and suspensions have to stop. In particular, the individuals sacked from the Advisory Council should at least be given reasons for their dismissal. Those members suspended over the past few weeks ‘pending investigation’ should be re-admitted if there is no good reason for their exclusion. The investigation itself should be made by independent assessors and not by party officers. We cannot afford to lose good people. The effect on morale of these unexplained exclusions is devastating. If individuals need to be disciplined then so be it. But the procedure needs to be clear, transparent, and above all fair.

Once affairs are back on the straight and narrow and in order to ensure that matters do not regress, I would like consideration to be given to implementing the following measures:

Polygraph tests for anyone at Regional Organiser level or above, which includes non members These tests are expensive but very effective at rooting out infiltrators and they have to be prioritised. We cannot afford to let in any more moles into positions of authority from which they can wreck our Party’s future. The tests should be undertaken compulsorily, from the Leader downwards.

A new internal party structure needs to be set up to protect employment rights of BNP staff members. This committee would be required to check and authorise suspensions before they are issued.

This would ensure that sackings are fair and lawful and the Party is not left open to defending expensive legal proceedings.

Regional Organisers should be elected by the members of that region eligible to vote and should only be dismissed from office by the voting regional members, or by their peers on the Advisory Council.

The whole communications mechanism and accountancy and recruiting departments must be removed from Northern Ireland and brought back to the mainland. The present location is inaccessible and therefore not cost effective or practical.

As I have said, these issues have to be addressed within the next two months, before the political scene hots up again at the end of September. We cannot allow them fester any longer, because they are pulling this Party apart from top to bottom. When they have been resolved, I will resume my position as a BNP representative of the GLA. Until that time, my position will technically remain as independent, but rest assured that my political views have not changed.

Richard Barnbrook, BNP Member

London Assembly Member

PERCEPTION, PERCEPTION, PERCEPTION

Official Statement From Richard Barnbrook AM.

Statement Begins ;

Over the last few months allegations of serious wrong doing concerning senior British National Party officials have been spread both within and outside the British National Party.

I do not know the truth or otherwise of these allegations.

These allegations have the potential to cause major political damage to the parties future electoral prospects unless they are investigated and revealed to be false.

I was elected as a London Wide Member to serve the constituencies of Londoners who feel that the establishment political parties do not represent them or their interests.

I have a duty to put their interests and the interests of the British National Party first.

For over a decade I have been a loyal member of the British National Party.

I still am one of the most loyal and dedicated members of the British National Party.

This is why I have decided to take this course of action.

The serious nature of these allegations are such that they must be the subject of an internal independent and transparent BNP investigation to ascertain the truth or otherwise of the allegations.

I have decided therefore that until these allegations are investigated fully by an independent panel of British National Party officers and members and are revealed as either true or false, that I cannot continue to represent the BNP in the Greater London Assembly.

I am therefore resigning the BNP whip with immediate effect and will now sit as an independent member of the London Assembly.

I am not resigning my British National Party membership.

I remain a loyal British National Party member and continue to serve the party and its members that I hold so dear to my heart.

Once this internal and independent British National Party investigation reports back its findings, and I can go back to my constituents and fellow party members and report that the allegations are not true, then I will immediately recommence representing the British National Party on the GLA.

I will not be making any public comment on the nature of these allegations to the media as they relate to legal issues that must remain confidential in order not to compromise the investigation.

I will not be making any further comments to the media on this issue, or any issues related to the investigation, until the independent and fully transparent internal BNP investigation has reported back its findings.


Richard Barnbrook AM.

Independent member of the Great London Authority.

No Clear Picture!

The Leadership challenge is now over, and yet there are issues that have not been resolved.

I am left in a quondam of what can be done……….!

RB

TFL cutting station staff despite “SEVERE” terrorism threat!

According to information from the Home Office issued today, the terrorism threat we face is ‘severe.’ This means that ‘a terrorist attack is highly likely.’ There are 5 different levels of threat which indicate the likelihood of an attack in the near future. The highest possible level is ‘critical.’ ‘Severe’ is only one level down from that.

The official advice is to remain alert and to look out for suspicious bags on public transport or ‘any other potential signs of terrorist activity you many encounter.’

In the light of this, you may think that it’s not the best time for TFL to be cutting staff and closing down ticket offces! But that’s just what they are doing! Which means of course, that there will be fewer people around to keep an eye out for suspicious articles or behaviour.

I’ve spoken to a member of staff at an outer East London station, who was very concerned that he would be stretched in having to watch platforms and concourse if the ticket office is closed, because the monitors are located in the ticket office and it’s impossible for one person to be everywhere on the station at once.

This seems to be another example of false economy on the part of TFL, and is not good news for the public.