By Michael Faulkner – May 31, 2009
At the time
of writing (4th May) the European parliamentary elections are still
more than a month away. By the time you read this (31st May) they
will be four days away. A spectre
is looming over the June 4th elections in Britain – the
spectre of fascism. The prospect
of a breakthrough by the British National Party is real enough for the
long-established anti-fascist group, Searchlight, and the new coalition of
religious groups, gays and trade unionists - Hope Not Hate, to appeal to the
electorate to vote for anyone except the BNP.
There is no
prospect of the BNP notching up large numbers of seats in this election. But
there is a very real possibility that they could win one seat – the
north-west region - and this would be a break-through. European elections are conducted on a
proportional representation basis and in order to win a seat the BNP needs only
to secure 8% of the vote. They will benefit from a low turnout. Voting figures for European elections
in Britain have always been very low. There is less interest in the European
parliament here than in any other member state, due in part to a widespread
antipathy towards the EU itself. The BNP is, not surprisingly, Europhobic and
favours Britain’s withdrawal. The north-west region, where they are
concentrating their efforts, includes some of the most socially deprived parts
of Britain with large concentrations of ethnic minorities, including recent
migrants from the Eastern European states of the EU and asylum seekers. In
recent years the BNP has had considerable success in local government
elections, winning 47 council seats in 2006 but subsequently losing some of
this support. Although the mainstream parties are all worried by the prospect
of a BNP victory in the June elections, it is the Labour Party that will be hit
hardest as it is from their support base in the skilled and unskilled white
working class that most desertions are likely to come. For the past decade many
of those regarded by Labour as rock-solid supporters have felt deserted by the
party. New Labour has seemed remote from their day-to-day concerns, and now,
with rising levels of unemployment, and, for those struggling to keep up
mortgage repayments, there is a growing mood of cynicism and anger against MPs
of all the main parties. Many
white working class and lower middle class people living in or close to
deprived areas with large ethnic minorities, are responsive to the appeal of
the BNP. The message is simple: the politicians have abandoned you; they are
feathering their own nests; they favour foreigners over “real” (meaning white)
British people when it comes to allocating scarce social housing; immigrants and
asylum seekers are “jumping the queue”; we will “Put Britain First”.
Islamophobia plays a big part in BNP propaganda which associates Muslims with
terrorism and treats Islam as a dangerous conspiracy against “Christian”
Britain.
Labour will
fare very badly in the European elections. Its share of the vote could fall
below 20%. Should this happen it will deepen the crisis now afflicting the
party and may lead to a move to replace Gordon Brown. If the BNP does as well
as some fear and wins a seat in the European parliament, it would unleash panic
in the Labour Party. Such an
outcome would indeed be a cause for alarm. The campaign to boost the turn-out
and stop this from happening needs all the support it can get. Just one seat for the BNP would provide
them with a platform of a kind that no fascist party has ever achieved in this
country. It would not necessarily
herald a breakthrough for the party in British parliamentary elections, but it
would set alarm bells ringing. It is worth considering what has led to such a
dangerous prospect.
The BNP and Fascism: Lessons from the past.
History
does not repeat itself in the same form. There is no chance that the fascism of
the 1920s and 30s will re-emerge and win power in Europe or anywhere else.
Nevertheless, there are sufficient similarities between the present global
financial and economic crisis and that of the 1930s to warrant attention. In
Britain there is an almost unprecedented disenchantment with Westminster
politicians and with parliament. This trend has been evident for some time but
it is more pronounced since the onset of the financial crisis. There is
widespread anger against both bankers and those politicians in government and
opposition who are held responsible for the crisis. Unlike the situation in France and Germany, where there are
substantial left-wing parties and movements and strong trade unions, in Britain
the forces of the left are very weak and disorganized. In the present crisis the trade unions,
severely weakened by legislation enacted under Thatcher and stripped of much of
their earlier support from a strong manufacturing base which no longer exists,
have yet to show their strength. Of the three main political parties, only the
Liberal Democrats are accorded any degree of respect, but, for reasons that are
not altogether clear, this is not reflected in much advance in the opinion
polls. Although it has been
possible to mobilise many thousands against the Iraq war, and more recently in
protests against corporate capitalism and on environmental issues, these
protests have for the most part been inchoate and uncoordinated. This is a
situation in which a fascist movement could gain support.
Historically
fascist movements arose and gained support in times of economic crisis, after
the First World War and in the early 1930s. Appealing to those whose lives had
been shattered, particularly the middle classes, they claimed to be above class
and, at a time when there were strong socialist movements claiming the
allegiance of millions of industrial workers, they emphasised “national” or
“racial” solidarity rather than class solidarity. A common theme, both in Italy and Germany, was the (entirely
plausible) charge of corruption and self-seeking levelled against the political
elites. Disenchantment with political parties that had failed, allowed the
fascists to present themselves as new, young and energetic, dedicated only to
the national interest rather than to sectional interests. Usually, at least in
the first phase of their propaganda campaigns, the fascists claimed to be
anti-capitalist. And of course, fascism claimed to speak for a proud nation
and/or race whose very existence was being threatened by the sinister forces of
one variety or another of “sub-humanity”.
It is worth
noting in passing that, contrary to some claims, fascism nowhere came to power
in genuine democratic elections. Both Mussolini and Hitler were handed power by
representatives of powerful conservative elites. Support for the Nazis was
declining in December 1932 and Hitler never won more than 37% of the popular
vote in Weimar Germany. The combined forces of the right (including the Nazis),
and the social-democratic and communist left exactly balanced each other in
1932. One, but by no means the only, factor in assisting Hitler’s path to power
was the deep division on the left between social democrats and communists. Once
in power, fascist movements facilitated the recovery and growth of monopoly
capitalism.
Fascism
never got very far in Britain. In the most propitious circumstances during the
1930s, Mosley’s British Union of Fascists never succeeded in gaining one
parliamentary seat. The BNP, despite its recently applied mask of
respectability, is in a direct line of descent from the Hitlerite movements of
the 1930s. Even if it succeeds in winning a seat in the European parliament, it
is highly unlikely in any foreseeable circumstances to present a challenge to
the dominant parliamentary parties. However, there is no room for complacency.
There is a very real prospect that in the 2010 general election the Labour
Party will suffer the worst defeat in its post war history and this could lead
to its collapse into recrimination and schism. If this occurs against the background of a continuing
economic crisis with growing unemployment, the BNP’s appeal as an
anti-immigrant, racist party cannot be ignored. This prospect points to the
urgent need to build a clear-sighted movement on the left capable of
challenging effectively the forces of conservatism, xenophobia and racism and
winning the allegiance of all those who feel disenfranchised by New Labour’s
betrayal . 