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Bishop of Manchester warns residents against 'squandering' votes on BNP
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A bishop has called on voters not to squander their votes on the
BNP in the European Parliamentary elections.
The Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch (pictured), Bishop of
Manchester, accused the BNP of preaching a message of "division and
hatred" during an address to Manchester City Council.
The BNP is fielding eight candidates in the North West, including
party leader Nick Griffin, in the elections on June 4.
Bishop McCulloch called on voters not to squander their vote on any
political party or candidate "who promotes division, exclusion,
blame, or who in any other way seeks to stir up racial and ethnic
hatred".
He warned councillors that the far-right party would exploit "the
difficult times which presently face our country" to turn "one
community against the other".
He also said that sensitive debate by mainstream political parties
was the way forward.
Bishop McCulloch said Manchester was strengthened by its
diversity.
Referring to the BNP, he said: "They will use racism and other
prejudice to challenge the very diversity which strengthens our
city.
"They will exploit the difficult times which presently face our
country, trying to turn one community against the other.
"They will use difference as a scapegoat, because they have nothing
else to offer in response to the issues we face.
"We all know in these difficult times that many of our local
communities are fearful about the future - fearful for their jobs,
their homes, their economic prospects."
He said an uncertain future could be faced by sensitive debate and
democratic representation and added: "At the heart of our political
process is belief in democratic representation - a belief that
values difference and seeks the common good.
"The British National Party does neither. It offers only division,
fear and hatred.
"I make no apology for speaking of the British National Party
directly.
"This party has a racial analysis at the core of its philosophy. It
claims that it is not a racist party but it calls at least for
segregation of the races."
Simon Darby, BNP deputy chairman and spokesman, accused the bishop
of abusing his position and claimed that many thousands of people
would vote for the party.
He added: "He (the bishop) gets paid very well, his job is safe and
he probably gets a house provided and other trappings and ordinary
people don't have that luxury. He's out of touch."
Roy Goodwin, BNP organiser for Blackpool and Oldham, criticised the
bishop.
He said: "The pews are empty so they must be doing something wrong.
They want to keep out of politics and stop bashing the BNP."
The BNP failed to win an MEP seat in the North-West in the 2004
European elections.
Mr Darby said they received 6.4% of the vote and needed to get
about 8.5% of the vote to win one seat in June.
Britain is due to elect 72 members of the European Parliament
across 12 regions on June 4.
There are currently nine MEPs representing the North-West. BNP
leader Nick Griffin, 50, is a Cambridge law graduate and lives in
Powys, mid Wales.
SaSa
Commented 147 weeks ago
It is morally impossible for me to vote Labour, because they have supported a system of mass abortion of British babies & are responsible for the decline of Christian demography in many areas. As a Christian, it is thus my duty to vote for a party which will do the most damage to Labour's position. The Bishop should stay out of politics, unless he is going to be do this across the board and criticise the most anti-Christian government in British political history - the one which has governed for the last decade.