Both Labour and the BNP have had a chance to put their views across on Kirkby Times for the local Council Elections. This is called Free Speech, and now the people of Kirkby have got the opportunity to examine each particular candidate's vision for our community, and to look at the Parties they represent.

Firstly, The New Labour candidate chose not to air his opinions. Not surprising. He has already ignored a number of emails off Kirkby Times, as have most Labourites in Kirkby. Labour has run Kirkby for donkey's years. Whilst they may have moaned that the Tories were to blame for 18 years, there is no excuse now, and little change since the heady days of 1998 when many working class people believed that Labour, or New Labour was going to change things. The New Labourites theme song informed us 'Things can only get better'. They got better for Tony Blair and his crooked cronies.

Could you vote for this man?

Kirkby Times has already mentioned Eddie Grannel, the Labour Councillor for Cherryfield, who was one of 9 Councillors who gave thumbs up to the St Kevin's sell off. Eddie currently sits on the corporate performance scrutiny committee, the health and social care scrutiny committee, the licensing committee, planning committee and the South Kirkby Area Forum. Given the number of committee's Eddie sits on, it's hardly surprising he gets little time to stand up for the Locals. He is a prime example of the make believe socialists up here. A man who voted to close down fire stations, a man who likely allowed Sonae to be built without so much as a whimper. Eddie was also one of the nine Councillors who voted for the St Kevs field sell off, Eddie was rewarded for his efforts as our League table of Council Expenses clearly shows.

New Labour monopoly crumbling

People like Eddie Grannel think that we will always vote Labour by default here. But, we never voted Tory, so why should we vote in a New Labour Party that has simply carried on the plans of Maggie Thatcher? Eddie Grannel and the rest of the New Labour Mafia up here should take note that there 'guaranteed votes' are becoming less and less guaranteed. Most of us wouldn't know our Councillors if they fell over our trolley down the Safeway or Netto. The New Labour monopoly in Kirkby will be eroded. That is a certainty. Hopefully there will be some scalps as the bent and corrupt involved here are flushed out. Anyone who doubts there is corruption in Kirkby's political circles is either in on it or living in fairyland. No way are the multitude of money and land deals here all on the straight and narrow. Everyone including the dogs in the streets knows there is a bad smell coming from the chambers of Knowsley Council, no matter how much air freshener they frantically spray to cover it up. That corruption is mirrored on our streets as drug gang's battle for turf and the philosophy of 'look after No 1' replaces solidarity in our community.

Bad news Hidden by Labour

Not reported by Mr Eddie Grannel and his 'socialists' are the following bad news items buried whilst Blair helped bury Iraqi Kids. Whilst pensioners here struggle to pay the bills, a controversial minister handed Labour the biggest donation in its history. Another party donor is in the frame to win a multimillion-pound vaccine deal and to top off the bad news buried we see that long-awaited figures show up to £5bn (FIVE BILLION!!!) in benefits are unclaimed! And Labour calls us scroungers! As a final insult the taxpayer is forced to bail out MPs' pensions to the tune of £25m. This news will be hidden, just as Eddie Grannel will hide his own support for even bigger wage rises for himself and the greedy Councillors here. We can only hope that some Labour scalps are taken on the night, the greatest scalp has to be Keights and we can report that his position is not as safe as he thinks. His seat will likely go soon, lets hope its sooner rather than later.

What do the BNP offer us?

The BNP candidate has at least had the guts to put his views upfront. He is a local man who admittedly supported Labour in the past and has now thrown in his lot with the BNP. Gary Aaronson, the BNP candidate, is not alone in his cynicism towards New Labour, and one only has to ask local people to see that there are fewer and fewer Labour die hards. Some continue to vote as if by duty to their family. If your Father voted Labour, you felt you ought to do the same. Gary is certainly right when he says the Labour Party today is not the same one his Grandfathers or Father voted for. But what do the BNP offer us?

Oh no!, not another Tory?

Nick Griffin is the leader of the BNP. A Cambridge educated son of a prominent Tory Family, a wealthy one at that. Definitely not Working Class but see's himself or the BNP as 'the focus of the hopes...of the neglected and oppressed white working class'. Under the BNP's constitution, the National Chairman, Griffin, is solely responsible for the party's legal and financial liabilities, and has the final say in all decisions affecting the party. Nick Griffins background is solid Far Right, coming from the openly fascist National Front. In 1994 at a press conference the BNP announced there would be "no more marches, meetings, punch-ups". This move came about after the BNP and NF had been openly challenged on the streets since the early 80's by anti fascists whose approach was to 'out - violence the fascists' At the time it worked, but as early as 1995 anti fascists realised that the struggle had now entered the political arena and that the only answer was to be able to beat the fascists now at local elections with a strong local working class agenda. Anti fascists who have studied the situation in depth admit that the BNP are a few years ahead of any radical working class opposition.

Below, Hyde Park, just one of many battles for control of the streets which went on in the UK.

No Party for the Working Class

To see the BNP or indeed Labour or the Lib Dems as a Party of the Working Class, takes some imagination. The BNP are ultimately controlled by the son of a posh Tory, Labour is led by the son of Maggie Thatcher, and Iain Duncan Smith is trying desperately to be a bigger Tory than the likes of Blair. The whole Country is run by these Middle/Upper Class Public School educated Tory Throwbacks. There is no party which can be said to represent the interests of the Working Class. There are certainly no Parties which are controlled by the Working Class.

Jim Keight: Tight lipped.

Kirkby is basically a White Working Class Area. But, we have always had a certain amount of Black or Asian and other people here and they are very much part of our community. Many of us reading this will know a family in Kirkby who aren't white, or those who are white but are originally from another Country. For most of us race is not an issue, but Kirkby Times would welcome any of the people here who are not white to tell us if racism is a problem here. That there is racism here is not in doubt but prejudice is everywhere and is certainly not limited to the UK or white people or indeed race.. A Merseyside BNP spokesman recently said "We now believe we are never going to have an all-white country and we have no problem with non-white people who were born in this country remaining here." That's very much the BNP line nowadays but Party lines can change and are often played down. It would have been an idea for the left here to have organised a Public meeting to let the BNP answer that one, and of course for those opposed to the BNP to state why they are opposed and what they have to offer instead. Jim Keight, the leader of the Council recently said in an email "….Nor would I give credence to the BNP by having discussions with them." That's par for the course from Keight who is hardly known for entering into discussion with anyone unless there's something in it for him.

Apathy Rules UK

We have a generation now which has no political affinity; the vast majority of young people here aged between 18 and 25 don't even bother to vote, only a handful actually get involved with local political parties, this contrasts to the 70's and 80's when the number of political activists in Kirkby was in the hundreds. This political apathy does not mean these people are not fighting. People fight for themselves their family and those close to them. Yet they give little thought to fighting for the wider community or their Class. Little wonder when you realise that local politics in Kirkby is dominated by people who are likely to inspire sleep induced boredom to anyone who hears them speak for longer than 5 minutes. We need people with passion and above all people with honesty, people who have the interests of the community here at heart, whatever race or colour they may be. We need people who would not normally be involved in politics to bite the bullet and organise themselves around whatever issues we face. This has not so far happened.

New Labour Win: A loss for the Working Class

It is almost certain Eddie Grannel the Labour Councillor will hold this seat contested by the BNP but it will be interesting to see how many people actually vote. The BNP effort here is very much a 'toe dipping' exercise. And if they see between 30 - 50 votes, it will very likely be enough to pitch up a tent and attempt to organise a local branch in the Knowsley Area. We also need to bear in mind that the BNP are contesting some 220 odd Council seats in the UK and will be set to become a Party which would only continue to grow rapidly if left unchallenged. Some still believe the BNP will just remain a fringe party, the first indication of that will be in May when the results come in. Unfortunately, the left wing in the UK seem to believe that if ignored or shouted down or even made illegal, the BNP will gradually fade away, but, history shows us that the far right can grow when the Working Class has nowhere else to turn.

The Far Right in Europe

In Europe today, the Far Right is growing at a fast pace. The Front National has one of the biggest memberships of working class people in France with over 5 million votes at the last count. In Austria, the far-right Freedom Party entered the government and Austria was boycotted for several months by the rest of the European Union. In Italy the National Alliance, now respectable but with roots among Mussolini's fascists, formed a coalition. In Denmark the anti-immigration and anti-European Union People's Party became the third largest in the country. Even in so called liberal Holland, another far right anti-immigration party called Pim Fortuyn List made big gains. The flamboyant leader, who was called Pim Fortuyn , had his political aspirations ended when shot dead. There is also the right wing Vlaams Blok in Belgium, which took a third of the vote in Antwerp three years ago. People who say the far right are not growing are ignorant. Even in Germany, the far right has made a big comeback.

Globalisation, Gangterism, Cruel Britannia and the Working Class

Some level of immigration will always take place, and given Tony Blair's habit of bombing Countries to rubble, it is adding to the problem of people fleeing their own particular Countries. The BNP claim that asylum seekers cost the UK some 4 Billion Pounds per year.(BNP figures) But the War on Iraq has cost us £3.2bn (Govt Figures) so far and Britain will have to contribute perhaps for several years, to reconstruction and security costing between £1bn and £4bn a month. Billions are swallowed up by a multitude of government schemes and scams. Billions are stashed away in offshore accounts so the UK's Rich and powerful can forgo the burden of paying tax to 'give something back'. We are actually a very rich Country, yet the wealth is all top heavy and does not trickle down to the poorest. No doubt that we should own our own resources, but the Country is being sold off bit by bit to a multitude of foreign investors and homegrown venture capitalists. The wealth created is all one way traffic. Most of the money made here is shifted out to be invested abroad. Some Labourites would call this International Solidarity but a better term is Globalisation. The Worlds Global economy can only lead to one thing. The Working Classes, whether in a Council estate in the UK or sitting in the streets of Somalia, Bosnia or anywhere else in the World, are seeing their own Countries being subject to exploitation by a Global Elite. The self determination of Working Class people is not helped by destroying the localised infrastructures as we have seen in Iraq recently. People of different races have their own cultures they want to preserve. The trouble with Kirkby and many Towns like us is that we barely have a culture we can call our own anymore. In the cultural vacuum which has emerged here and in thousands of other working class communities, 'Cool Britannia has turned into 'Cruel Britannia'. More young people are affiliated to gangs than the local political parties. Gangterism has replaced political activism.

Searchlight, Anti Fascist Action and the BNP

In the Cherryfield Ward in Kirkby,we have seen an anti BNP leaflet given out by the local 'socialists', likely advising people to vote for Eddie Grannel, the long standing and useless Labour Councillor. These people oppose the BNP but have little to offer in its place other than more of the same under New Labour. We have also had a very well funded newspaper distributed here, this is produced by a shadowy organisation called Searchlight, who, it must be said, have a bad reputation amongst both radical anti fascists and the fascists! Most of the left in Kirkby won't bother to research Searchlight and its 'colorful' past. In truth, Searchlight and its bedfellows will only make things worse with their middle class analogy of how to tackle fascism. For want of a better word they are middle class do gooders and more liable to have the opposite effect by their tactics. Searchlight's 'operatives' have very close links to the State and were banned by an organisation 'Anti Fascist Action' (AFA) which was at the forefront of the working class fight against the NF and the fledgling BNP in the 80's and 90's across the UK. Kirkby's left wingers talking now of smashing fascism may well care to see what smashing fascism entailed back then. They may also spare a thought for what form AFA and militant working class anti fascism has taken now.

New Labour: Anti racist, Pro Smashing the Working Classes.

So far, the official anti racism line being spun by Labour has been damaging to the actual business of eliminating all forms of prejudice from our society. The foundation stone for prejudice is always going to be firmly set as long as we have a society and indeed a World which is very much based on inequality. Under New Labour the gap between rich and poor in the UK has widened drastically, the brief flirtation with the Working Class has been discarded and now Labour has dropped the Class issue and is instead trying to play the race card, hoping that we will forget about all the other inequalities in the UK. These Labour hypocrites play the race card whilst also voting to slaughter Iraqi children and destroy the culture and history of the Iraqi people. They call the BNP thugs but the smooth handed Middle Class ranks of the Labour MP's have caused more violence than the BNP. This violence has included bombing Bosnia, Afghanistan and now Iraq.

The Skills Gap?

New Labour talk of welcoming more refugees's because they have 'the skills we need' and can 'fill the skill gap'. We need to urgently train our own unemployed to gain these skills yet to Blair it is more cost effective to simply cherry pick the Third World and Eastern Europe and import those skills. Could we not have trained our own people to be nurses, doctors, computer technicians and 'professionals', or are we, the Working Class, being deliberately dumbed down and then told we don't have the skills? Meanwhile, as Africa suffers the biggest Aids Epidemic in the World, we import their health specialists here. Globalisation kills and we can now see all too clearly the worldwide drive toward a globalised economic system dominated and controlled by corporate trade and banking institutions that are neither accountable to democratic processes or national governments and certainly not the communities themselves. Under Globalisation formerly known as 'capitalism' or the 'free market economy' so praised by Thatcher and now Blair, the best trained sell their skills to the highest bidder. We have doctors on standby waiting to perform face lifts on the rich and vain, whilst many children in this World die through the lack of the most basic medication.

Issues that matter in Kirkby

I have lived in Kirkby for over 30 years. The issues I see as being important here are (not in this order) Sonae, the Schools Closures, lack of play facilities, pen pushers from outside managing 'community projects' people from Kirkby mismanaging 'community projects', corruption, nepotism, jobs for the boys and girls, dodgy land deals, old age pensioners not taken care of, housing issues, Hillsborough, Councillors who are in it for themselves, drugs, stolen cars, youths being disorderly (see lack of play facilities), vandalism, too many low paid jobs, too many Mickey Mouse training schemes, Fat Cats running the Unions, vast amounts of money being frittered and wasted from SRB funds. The left here have given us nothing. They have lied, cheated, schemed and run Kirkby like a Mafia carving up the local territory. In all likelihood it's possible the Lib Dems, despite there appalling record in Liverpool, may rule Knowsley in 3 to 5 years. But, given the lack of any real radical opposition here, the BNP may well take root with the absence of any radical alternative to the mainstream.

No real radical opposition to the BNP

Few people here in Kirkby have expressed an interest in forming any opposition to the BNP beyond leafleting to tell people in Southdene to vote Labour not BNP. The most recent attempt by people here to form an opposition which could have taken on the BNP with a Working Class agenda was the Kirkby Labour Alliance. A few decent people worked there socks off to establish the KLA, as it was unfortunately named, but the usual left wingers here seemed to avoid becoming involved and put in the groundwork necessary to establish it. Most of the left wing 'activists' here, all of them living off the fat of local Euro and SRB funds, seem to think they can simply ignore the BNP and that people will always vote for anything with a red rosette stuck to the lapel. In 2002 the Cherryfield Ward had a 19.6% turnout. Only 1 in 5 of those eligible to vote could be bothered walking 5 or 10 minutes at most to the polling station. All Labour can hope for is more apathy here. Those who are not voting - do not vote because they either have little faith or interest in politics or hold a cynical attitude to the entire political process. If they did vote many would be voting from this cynical standpoint. The BNP may well seem like a convenient way to stick the middle finger up to the mainstream politicians. If there is to be any increase in political activity in today's youth, it is very unlikely they will choose Labour or the Lib Dems.

Becoming an audience.

If we just sit back and become an audience to the political process then we cannot complain. Voting is NOT the be all and end all of politics. It is up to ALL of us to make a stand when we can, wherever we can do so. Unfortunately we live in a time when fewer and fewer people are prepared to stand up, but, nonetheless, even if 5% of people are bothered to vote, the prize still goes to the winner. Maybe voting should be compulsory, with of course the option to tick a box for 'none of the above'. If you don't vote and never make a stand for your community, then the Country is indeed going to the dogs. People died so that we could have freedom of speech. Eroded as it may be we still have it, and to brush aside the sacrifice made by those who died for that freedom of speech is an insult. It is our duty to vote or to make a stand. Democracy, for all its faults, is something the Working Class can turn to our advantage. It only needs good people to unite on the issues which are as plain as the noses on our faces.

Mayday

We will see on Thursday just how the people of Kirkby and the other 5 Wards in Liverpool being contested actually respond to the BNP presence. For now the BNP are trying to be all things to all people but don't all political parties? It would be easy for Kirkby Times to simply parrot the Liverpool Echo and the mainstream media and condemn the BNP here as racist thugs or criminals. The BNP has definitely highlighted the lack of any radical Working Class opposition in Kirkby, the left here were shocked that the BNP have grown so fast and have actually stood here. Labour is dying in Kirkby, the Lib Dems will make gains, but there is little real difference between Labour and the Lib Dems, with members of both party's in Liverpool and elsewhere defecting or bed hopping from one side to the other every so often. The Lib Dems here in Kirkby will sweep up the discontented Labour votes on the strength of fielding well known local people, some of whom have good reputations among the Wards they serve and are contesting.

Opposition without anything to Offer.

This chapter in Working Class history, whereby a middle of the road Party like the Lib Dems can seem radical, is hardly something to give confidence to any Working Class people looking beyond the mainstream politics which have been tried and tested and ultimately proven to have failed us. If there is any hope, it is in the independent parties up and down the Country taking seats off the Labourites and Lib Dems. It only needs a few good people to make a difference. In Kirkby this will mean dropping the disproved left and right wing politics of yesterday, it will also mean being open and honest, something which so far has not happened in Kirkby's political circles. The majority of people currently involved here in political decision making are deceitful, corrupt or incompetent and without any vision they can articulate to the masses. As regards the opposition here so far to the BNP, that's all it is, opposition without anything to offer us apart from the status quo.

Prediction: If all that's on offer is the Lib Dems and Labour and the BNP, within a few years Liverpool and possibly Kirkby could be on the brink of having a Far Right Councillor.

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