Green conference to form response to the far-right

At the Green Party's conference in Hove tomorrow (Sat 5th September), Jean Lambert, London's Green MEP since 1999, will lead a strategy discussion about shaping a Green Party response to the far right -- now that it has won seats in the UK at the local, regional and European levels.

The session will draw on this year's experience of fighting the BNP - for example, in the North West England Euro-constituency, where the Green Party's Peter Cranie led a determined effort to stop the BNP leader from winning a seat in the European Parliament.

Peter Cranie said today, "Our Euro-campaign in the North West came agonisingly close to defeating Nick Griffin. We lost by just 0.3% of the poll. That's 5 000 votes out of an electorate of over 5 million. Now North West England is stuck with a racist MEP for five years. We need to make totally certain that, in 2014, we replace him with a Green."

Jean Lambert commented, "We'll be looking at how a lack of political activity in a community can allow the far right to win. We'll be aiming to clarify what Greens can do to limit the advance of the far right in politics at all levels."

Join the Greens - and let's get rid of this racist menace

Peter Cranie, the Green Party's leading candidate in the recent North West England Euro-election, was just 0.3% short of denying a parliamentary seat to racist BNP leader Nick Griffin when the votes were counted last Sunday night.

Peter, a Scotsman who lives in Merseyside with his partner and young baby, said he was "gutted" that he hadn't managed to stop Nick Griffin. He said: "We were less than five thousand votes behind, out of a North West electorate of five million."

Greens already planning campaign against neo-Nazis

He added: "But we have an even greater motivation now than we did before the election. We need to make sure we take that seat off Nick Griffin in 2014 - and we've started planning our campaign already, because it will be a long haul."

"During the next five years we need to make sure the fascists don't make progress in North West England. We need to take them on at every opportunity. We need to fight hard."

"We will not let the BNP undo all the progress Britain has made towards being a more enlightened society. We need to eradicate racism once and for all."

Green Party needs more members and candidates from ethnic minorities

And he called for more people of all racial backgrounds to join the Green Party. Peter said:

"The Green Party is a party that genuinely celebrates cultural diversity. We believe Britain is stronger and better for it. But we don't have as high a proportion of members from ethnic minorities as we would like."

"So we appeal to every member of Britain's ethnic minorities to please think about joining the Green Party. We stand for social justice, a fair economic system, and environmental sustainability. If you believe in those things too, then join us, become part of us, and let's make this country a better place in every sense."

Control orders, torture techniques and the rise of the BNP - Does Britain still care about human rights?

Liberty poll shows authorities out of step with British public

(London – 15 June 2009) – In defiance of recent events, a poll released today by Liberty shows overwhelming support for human rights laws. Despite a week of the Government defending the unjust and unsafe control order system, the Metropolitan police accused of using "waterboarding" techniques with suspects and the BNP winning two European parliament seats, polling reveals that 97% think it is important that there is a law that protects rights and freedoms in the UK.

Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, said;an rights in Britain. Despite headlines about "waterboarding" and punishment without trial, our common values still run extremely deep and the contents of the Human Rights Act are valued by the overwhelming majority of people."

The ComRes polling, commissioned by Liberty, sends a clear message to all political parties about the values the British public hold dear.

● 89% identified the right not to be tortured or degraded as either vital or important..

● 95% identified both the right to a fair trial and respect for privacy family life and the home as either vital or important.

● 76% believed that the right not to be detained without reason was either vital or important.

At last week's Liberty conference, recently retired senior Law Lord, Lord Bingham said of the

"This poll will be depressing reading for the cocky far right and others opposed to hum

Human Rights Act:

"Which of these rights, I ask, would we wish to discard? Are any of them trivial, superfluous, unnecessary? Are any of them un-British? There may be those who would like to live in a country where these rights are not protected, but I am not of their number."

Sabina Frediani, Campaigns Co-ordinator for Liberty, said;

"Britain hasn't just got talent; it's got an ocean of common sense and decency too. Public bodies have yet to step up and educate people about their rights protections but the public cherish them nonetheless. We need to be more suspicious of politicians who bash our human rights whilst demanding "due process" and "personal privacy" for themselves."

Liberty's poll coincides with the launch of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission's Human Rights Inquiry report. However, both the Commission and The Government have yet to educate the public about the Human Rights Act – the Liberty poll shows that only 10% remember seeing or receiving any information explaining the legislation.

Comedian Alexei Sayle endorses the Green Party

Sayle's vote will hopefully help elect Liverpool-based Green Party candidate Peter Cranie, and thus deny racist BNP leader Nick Griffin a seat in North West England.

Alexei Sayle said, in an email to Peter Cranie this morning:

"One of the great things about Britain is that, unlike in a lot of Europe, we have never let extremist parties of the right get anything but a tiny toehold in our electoral system. I'll personally be voting Green this time but whoever you support you should use your vote to continue our noble tradition and keep the BNP out."

Yesterday Peter Cranie held a photocall in Manchester with leading comedian and satirist Mark Thomas, who has made a YouTube video endorsing the Green Party and saying that "all the other parties are crap."

And this morning another well-known comic, Mark Steel, wrote in the Independent newspaper:

" ... the cheery note is that the Green Party has attained credibilty while retaining its principles, and seems to be the home for many people who opposed the Iraq war, oppose the rule of bankers and private finance, and feel it might be worth looking at doing something about the fact the planet's about to melt. So I'm voting for them tomorrow ..."

Joanna Lumley has also said that she is voting for Green Party leader Caroline Lucas in the South East region.

With the Greens polling on 15% in the latest ComRes survey, the party is "cautiously optimistic" of winning more MEP seats. The Sunday Telegraph has suggested that the Greens could win eight MEP seats, with the Independent predicting ten.

The Choice Voters Face

Today, Gordon Brown highlighted the choice voters face at the ballot box this week on a visit to the East Midlands.

"But I also want to say explicitly to the people of the East Midlands that the BNP do not have the answer to any of these challenges facing Britain. Despite what they may claim to represent - they actually stand against everything that makes this country great.

"There are some people who argue that Labour has somehow abandoned the white working class. Nothing could be further from the truth: I will never forget where I've come from and the people and causes I came into politics to represent.

Earlier in the day the Prime Minister joined campaigners including Jason Isaacs, at the “Hope not Hate” vintage bus, an annual tour run by The Daily Mirror and Searchlight that campaigns against racism and celebrates diversity.

Buoyant Greens launch last big push

Green Party campaigners will be be pulling out all the stops this week, encouraged by today's Sunday Telegraph/ICM poll which puts the Greens on 11% - ahead of UKIP nationally for the first time this campaign.

With 11%, the Greens would expect to return two or three new MEPs, as well as holding their existing seats in London and the South East.

In the county elections, the Greens remain confident of gains in Norfolk and Lancashire, capitalising on the strength of city council Green groups in Norwich and Lancaster. But in the South West, Devon Greens may be about to bring off a surprise result, a party spokesperson said today.

Poll shows Greens "least likely to put self-interest first"

The Greens have been further encouraged by a YouGov poll last Friday which indicated that Green politicians were by far the most highly trusted to put their country before their own financial interests. This, say the Greens, suggests that a significant proportion of any anti-sleaze protest vote would go to the Green Party.

"Vote for a million Green jobs"

With a UN think-tank this week warning that climate change is already killing 300,000 people a year, and costing the world $125bn a year, the Greens will be reinforcing the main message of their 2009 campaign - Vote Green for a million UK jobs, to tackle the recession and the climate crisis at the same time.

Green Party battlebus in North West, South East this week

The party's campaign bus began its tour of the North West target region today. On Wednesday, the final day of the campaign, it will take party leader Caroline Lucas MEP on the last leg of her South East constituency tour.

Stopping the BNP leader - one of the historic results of the 2009 campaign

Despite much media speculation - not least by the BBC - that disillusioned voters may vote for the racist BNP, the Greens have consistently oupolled the racist party. With Respect having withdrawn from the North West election and endorsed the Greens against the BNP, and Libertas' top North West candidate having done the same, the anti-racist coalition built by the North West Greens appears to have been successful. Green Party candidate Peter Cranie looks set to deny BNP leader Nick Griffin the eighth and last seat in the North West.

The Greens say that the election of Nick Griffin would constitute the biggest step forward for the far right in British history - and preventing this would be one of the most historically significant outcomes of the 2009 campaign.

Where will the protest vote go, and what will it achieve when it gets there?

The UK political media has been dominated by the row over MPs' expenses - and speculation as to how the voters might show their disgust on polling day next week. Today Rupert Read, the Green Party's leading Euro-candidate in Eastern region, called for voters to make a positive choice on 4th June, and "vote for the only party in this campaign bold enough to set out a positive vision."

Speaking from his campaign tour of the Eastern region, Dr Read said: "As we move towards the end of the European election campaign, there's one emerging story that the media is only now becoming aware of. Whilst political corruption, voter disillusionment and the threat of the BNP have been the main stories up to this point, quietly under the surface the Green Party has been steadily gaining support."

Dr Read drew attention to strong evidence of the Green Party's growing support in the opinion polls, including:

* A UKIP/ComRes poll that put the Greens on 11% nationwide, easily enough to win seats in several more English regions. The poll put the Greens on 16% in the South East, which would give a seat to Brighton councillor Keith Taylor as well as party leader Caroline Lucas MEP.
* A _Guardian_/ICM poll that put the Greens on 9%, half as much again as in 2004 - with UKIP on 10%, down from 16% in 2004, and the BNP on just 1%, down from 5% last time.
* A Green Party/YouGov poll in which 34% said they would either definitely vote Green in the Euro-elections, or would consider voting Green if they knew more about the party.

As for the anti-sleaze protest vote, Dr Read drew attention to another YouGov poll in which respondents were asked which party's politicians they thought most likely to put their own financial interests before Britain's. Asked to name up to three parties:

* 45% thought Labour, and 40% Conservative, would put their pockets before their country.
* Next came the BNP, the LibDems and UKIP, on 20%, 16% and 15% respectively.
* Only 5% thought Green politicians would put their own interests before their country's.

Dr Read commented: "There has, of course, been intense speculation in the media that the protest vote would go to the BNP. Even the BBC has repeatedly, nay doggedly, mentioned the BNP as the possible beneficiary of the anti-sleaze protest, despite the contrary evidence of the opinion polls. Perhaps the latest YouGov poll, suggesting that the public feels BNP politicians are even more likely than UKIP to put their own financial interests before their country's, might help pop the bubble of hysteria."

And he concluded: "I think it will be far better for Britain if the majority of those minor party seats are taken up by Greens, committed to working hard for that million-jobs Green New Deal, with a positive vision for reform of both European and British democracy."

Frank Cottrell Boyce - Vote Green to stop the BNP

In a short film, Frank Cottrell Boyce, the Liverpool-based screenwriter and author -- whose acclaimed films include "24 Hour Party People" and "Welcome to Sarajevo" -- explains why after voting Labour all his life, he's backing the Greens in this election to stop the BNP in the North West of England.

Vote Green on the 4th of June, in both local and European elections.

Peter Tatchell weighs in to help defeat racist Euro-election threat

Peter Tatchell will join Green candidate Peter Cranie - the man who stands between the BNP leader and the European Parliament, if the opinion polls are correct - on Thursday and Friday.

On-the-ground campaigning will include leafletting and talking to members of the public in a part of North Manchester recently targeted by the BNP - because, say the Greens, the BNP should not be allowed to think their racism is acceptable anywhere.

The North West Greens have set up a specific anti-BNP website - [www.stopnickgriffin.org.uk][1] - and have raised cash specifically for online and print advertising, including in ethnic minority outlets.

And they have launched a short cartoon film explaining how the Euro-election voting system works, why the battle for the eighth regional seat is so important in terms of stopping the BNP.

Peter Tatchell said today: "A big vote for the Greens is the surest way to stop the BNP winning a seat. The candidate best placed to stop Nick Griffin is Peter Cranie, the Green Party candidate."
"Peter Cranie is a candidate of great commitment, vision and compassion. He will be a very effective voice for the North West in the European Parliament."

"The BNP is a divisive, bigoted, sectarian, nasty party, with no practical solutions to the economic crisis, mass unemployment, climate chaos or the corruption of parliament. It has a sick history of scapegoating and vilifying black, Jewish, gay and Muslim people."

He continued:

"The Greens are an honourable alternative to Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. People who vote Green will be voting for progressive change, for investment in new jobs, and for energy conservation to cut household fuel bills and combat climate change."

"The Green Party stands for a safer, cleaner and fairer Britain and Europe. We are not just the party of environmental protection; we are also the party of social justice, with strong and fair policies on jobs, health, pensions and education. The Greens oppose Post Office privatisation. We believe that good quality public services are the key to a good quality of life for the British people," said Mr Tatchell.

The Greens are enouraged by recent poll results. The Greens are enouraged by recent poll results. Over 2,000 people were asked by YouGov - regardless of the party they normally voted for - which party's politicians they thought were most likely to put their own financial interests before the interests of their country. Allowed to choose three parties, only 5% named the Greens as likely to put self-interest before the country's.

On the mistrust scale:

* Labour appeared to be the least trusted, with 45% of respondents naming Labour politicians as likely to put financial self-interest before their country.
* The Conservatives were almost as bad, with 40% naming them.
* Next were the BNP, the LibDems and UKIP on 20%, 16% and 15% respectively.

The new poll was released in the same week that campaign group **Open Europe** rated the Green Party's leader **Caroline Lucas** as the **joint best British MEP** on accountability, transparency and reform. The bottom nine places in the Open Europe survey were occupied by four Conservatives and five UKIP MEPs - with the tenth-worst British MEP slot being held jointly by UKIP leader Nigel Farage and an MEP each from Labour, the Conservatives and the LibDems.

[Green Mail] Healy calls on Irish community to vote Green on 4th June

Joseph Healy, an Irishman and a candidate for the Green Party in the London constituency (where the Irish community is well represented), has views on the role of Irish voters in these elections and the role of the Greens in 21st century Europe.

Writing this week in The Irish World newspaper, one of the leading papers for the Irish community in Britain, Joseph gives several reasons why the Irish in Britain should support the Greens.

He warns about the dangers of fascism in Europe and the attempt by the BNP to gain Irish votes and he reminds the Irish how recently the BNP were anti-Irish and how the Irish community suffered from the same racism and intolerance which other communities are experiencing today.

He goes on to state that the Greens in Europe are the political grouping which are doing the most to protect the health and welfare rights of migrant workers and to create a fair and equal Europe. Finally, he calls on the Irish community to vote on June 4th and not to allow major political decisions which will impact on their lives to be taken over their heads in the event of a handful of voters actually going to the polls.

Vote Green to stop the BNP, says Tatchell

"A big vote for the Greens is the surest way to stop the BNP winning a seat. The candidate best placed to stop Nick Griffin is Peter Cranie, the Green Party candidate," said human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, the Green Party's human rights spokesperson, today.

He was commenting on the European election campaign in North West England, in advance of his visit to Liverpool and Manchester this week.

Mr Tatchell noted that under the PR system for the Euro-elections, the contest to win the last seat on the North West list is likely to be between the Greens and the BNP.

"A Green victory will deprive the BNP of a seat in the North West," he said.

"Peter Cranie is a candidate of great commitment, vision and compassion. He will be a very effective voice for the North West in the European Parliament.

"The BNP is a divisive, bigoted, sectarian, nasty party, with no practical solutions to the economic crisis, mass unemployment, climate chaos or the corruption of parliament. It has a sick history of scapegoating and vilifying black, Jewish, gay and Muslim people.

"And politicians from all three major parties have abused the expenses system. It is time to kick the established parties out of office. We need some fresh Green faces in the European Parliament."

He continued:

"The Greens are an honourable alternative to Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. People who vote Green will be voting for progressive change, for investment in new jobs, and for energy conservation to cut household fuel bills and combat climate change.

"The Green Party stands for a safer, cleaner and fairer Britain and Europe. We are not just the party of environmental protection; we are also the party of social justice, with strong and fair policies on jobs, health, pensions and education. The Greens oppose Post Office privatisation. We believe that good quality public services are the key to a good quality of life for the British people," said Mr Tatchell.

Peter Tatchell will be taking part in a range of campaigning activities in Liverpool and Manchester this week.

Where did Griffins £30,000 ‘Truth Truck’ money go?

Questions have been raised over the destination of £30,000 raised by BNP Leader Nick Griffin to buy a mobile advertising hoarding after it came to light that the vehicle had not been purchased despite Griffin ’s claims that it had.

Throughout 2008, Griffin had urged BNP members to contribute to its ‘Truth Truck’ campaign, raising £30,000 to fund its purchase.

In his new year’s message to BNP members this January, Griffin confirmed that the vehicle was now ‘bought and paid for’.

However, High Court Enforcement Officers attempting to seize the vehicle to settle judgements on behalf of freelance journalist Mark Croucher were informed that the vehicle did not, in fact, belong to the BNP. This was confirmed in a subsequent letter from the BNPs solicitors, Gilbert Davies & Partners of Welshpool who wrote,

“the goods referred to are registered in the name of another person who…has no connection with the judgement debtors”.

Mr Croucher said, “As the vehicle is not owned by the BNP, it is clear that the fundraising campaign was a farce. Ordinary people have been suckered twice: once into joining a racist party like the BNP, and again into donating cash to buy something which Mr Griffin lied about having bought.

“Mr Griffin clearly has some questions to answer, and not just to his members who thought they’d purchased a truck.

“there is a certain irony in £30,000 being apparently misused by the BNP as they attempt to cash in on the current expenses scandal. I will be contacting the police and asking them to investigate whether the fundraising campaign was fraudulent and the cash was obtained by deception.”

Arricle by Mark Croucher

Greens outraged at "racist, extremist presence at Buckingham Palace"

Leading Greens today responded with "outrage and disgust" to reports that BNP leader Nick Griffin is to attend a garden party at Buckingham palace.

Invitations sent to the London Assembly have ended up in the hands of the BNP's only assembly member Richard Barnbrook. Although "plus-one" invitations are usually intended to imply spouse or partner, Barnbrook has apparently decided to bring his party leader.

Peter Cranie, the Green Party Euro-candidate who is head-to-head with BNP leader Nick Griffin in the North West England Euro-constituency, said today:

"I'm absolutely certain the Queen did not intend to invite blatant racists to Buckingham Palace."

Mr Cranie, who according to the recent ComRes poll is on course to defeat the BNP leader in the fight for the eighth North West England MEP seat, continued:

"The BNP's racism is deeply, deeply offensive to most British people."

"And as Head of the Commonwealth the Queen presides over a grouping of nations that remain together on a mutually-respectful basis - and the vast majority of people in Commonwealth countries would be outraged by the vicious racism at the heart of BNP policies."

He concluded:

"The BNP in no way represents what it is to be British in the 21st century."

UKIP explains the confusion in the opinion polls.

Looking through the press, watching and listening to the broadcast media, there seems to be a certain confusion about what the opinion polls mean.

Yes, the three main Westminster parties are losing support. Yes, that support is going elsewhere.

But it isn't going to the BNP. They're flatlining on 4 and 5%. That's not enough to win them any seats at all. The support is going to us in UKIP. Given the variations in polls we're on anything from 15 to 19%, neatly matching the fall in support for the Lib Dem, Labour and Tory parties.

If you'd prefer this to come from a slightly less partisan source how about Anthony Wells of BPIX (and the "Polling Report" blog):

'The European results are also fascinating. The rise in support for UKIP over the past week suggests that people have followed Norman Tebbit's advice to punish the three main parties, and UKIP is the socially acceptable way to do so.

By contrast, the figures for the British National Party are stuck on about five per cent.'

That's what we think the story is. That there's a revulsion against both the professional political class and the racists and fascists of the BNP, which is why the UKIP vote is rising so strongly.

As Nigel Farage, UKIP leader, has been saying for some weeks, it's becoming ever more likely that Labour will come fourth in the euro elections.

BNP Leader faces bankruptcy over copyright theft

The British National Party has lost £11,800 and its leader is facing bankruptcy after two legal actions over the unauthorised use of copyrighted images on its website.

Mark Croucher, a freelance journalist, discovered over the Xmas period that the BNP were using an image on which he owned the copyright. The image, which had been taken in 2003 when Mr Croucher was UKIPs Director of Communications, featured UKIP Leader Nigel Farage and accompanied a libellous article.

The BNP were warned in January that they were using the image without copyright permission, and required a retrospective license to cover the period of unauthorised use. They were also warned that if it was not removed within 24 hours, the charge for continued use would be £75 per day, and that continued use would be tacit acceptance of this charge. They chose to ignore that warning.

On 20^th January, court proceedings were issued, and judgements against the BNP and Nick Griffin personally were obtained on the 16^th March after they failed to defend the action. As the image was still in use, further proceedings were issued, and another judgement was obtained after they again failed to defend the action. The image remains on their website, and the total charges incurred now total £11,800, the equivalent of 590 BNP members' annual subscriptions.

Mr Croucher said, "The BNP seem to think that they are above the law, and can take whatever they want without payment regardless of the damage caused to others.

"Their actions are as repugnant as their views. It is no surprise to discover that apart from stealing my work, they also refuse to pay for it when caught, despite 2 court orders.

"Griffin is hot on talking about the need for honesty in politics. He could demonstrate some of it by paying his bills. His failure to do so speaks volumes about the integrity of the BNP, and serves as a warning of what to expect for any who vote for them.

"I am not rich; far from it. The use of my work on the BNP website devalues everything I do by association: who'd commission a possible Nazi to work for them? I have debts to pay and bills to cover like everybody else and this flagrant theft of my work makes both harder at a difficult time financially."

UKIP: We'll not be told how to campaign by Harriet Harman

According to today's FT, "Ms Harman will propose that mainstream parties should not share a platform with BNP candidates and that they should avoid campaigning on issues that stoke sentiment against foreigners."

"This is a ludicrous suggestion" said Nigel Farage, UKIP leader. "This is a European election for goodness sake and it is Europe which determines most of our immigration and asylum policy. If we can't talk about these policies when we're about to elect those who represent us in Europe when on earth can we?

"To get Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems....or LibLabCon as they're sometimes known....all agreeing not to discuss such things simply reminds us of that old truth, that you can't put a cigarette paper between those parties.

"We do intend to discuss these issues. The only way to defeat the BNP is to talk about the issues that affect people. To shy away from difficult areas is to vacate the ground for the bigots and facists."

The Green who will stop the BNP leader

The crucial battle affecting the BNP's Euro-election dreams will be the one for fourth place behind the three main parties, says today's Independent newspaper and the man best placed to defeat BNP leader Nick Griffin is the Green Party's Peter Cranie.

The big three parties each claim that the D'Hondt regional list voting system used in UK Euro-elections is such a "lottery" that supporting them is the best way to beat the BNP. But the Greens are pointing to the fact that statistically the big three usually take most of the seats, and the final seat in a region almost always goes to the highest-polling of the smaller parties.

In North West England - where the BNP leader hopes to force an entry to the European Parliament - the battle for fourth place, and for the crucial eighth and final seat, is between the Greens and the BNP.

**Recession - "BNP stokes resentment, Greens offer solution"**

While the BNP seeks to make political capital out of the economic insecurities heightened by the recession, says the Green Party, the Greens are offering the antidote to both poverty and extremism - by pushing for massive investment in new green industries, and showing how Britain can afford to pay for it.

The North West Green Party's election manifesto will offer policies that between them could create well over 100,000 jobs in the region that was the birthplace of the world's first industrial revolution.

Peter Cranie told the _Independent_: "A Green vote is a vote for jobs."

And he warned:

"In an environment of economic fear and insecurity, the seeds are being sown - racism and intolerance - by a party that in its constitution bars any person because of the colour of their skin and the home of their ancestors."

**Racism is "blot on the face of our society" and BNP "a disgrace to Britain"**

Peter, a 36-year-old father of a baby boy, who works for a parenting support charity on Merseyside and is the Green Party's national spokesperson on children, schools and families, added today:

"British society is stronger for its diversity.

"British cities like Liverpool and Manchester owe part of their greatness to the migrations that have occurred over the centuries.

"People who come to live here from other countries are our colleagues and neighbours and business partners - they're part of our communities, part of what we mean when we say 'us.'

"Racism is a blot on the face of our civilised, enlightened society and the BNP are a disgrace to Britain.

"Elected Greens have a track record of defending and creating jobs and supporting their community. The BNP, when they've got councillors elected, have done nothing for local people."

He concluded:

"The 4th of June 2009 will be a historic day for Britain. The politics of hope must triumph over the politics of hate."

"We Must Stop The BNP"

At the Green Party conference in Blackpool today, top North West candidate Peter Cranie urged the Green Party to redouble its efforts to push the far-right BNP out of this June's Euro-election race.

Liverpool-based Peter Cranie is the candidate set to thwart the electoral dream of BNP leader Nick Griffin. In regional list elections, the big three parties usually take most of the seats, and the highest-polling candidate from a smaller party the last seat. In the North West - where the far right seeks to build on the fears and insecurities of the recession - the race for the last seat will almost certainly be between the Greens and the BNP.

In his opening speech to conference, Peter Cranie spoke passionately about the need to support migrants living in Britain against a political party "that doesn't even allow Black British or Asian British people to join it."

He described the complete failure of Britain's handful of BNP councillors who, having use "the politics of hate" to win votes from desperate, disaffected people, had never done anything in office to help anybody, but had simply abused Britain's electoral system "to peddle the politics of hate."

Later today, when party leader Caroline Lucas MEP gave her keynote speech, she said: "I know of no-one more passionately committed to social justice than Peter Cranie."