Daggers drawn in the BNP

JOHN TYNDALL, ex-leader of the far right British National Party (BNP), has been expelled from the party. Luke Smith, a BNP councillor in Burnley has been suspended pending internal 'disciplinary proceedings'.

Both actions appear to be part of an attempt by Nick Griffin, the BNP's current leader, to strengthen his position against growing dissent within the party.

Naomi Byron

Griffin has wanted to get rid of Tyndall for some time. Tyndall is an unwelcome reminder to the public of the neo-Nazi views all long-standing BNP members hold.

But the real reason for Tyndall's expulsion is that his criticisms of the current BNP leadership have gained support from a number of important BNP activists.

Tyndall, leader of the BNP from its founding in 1982 to when he was defeated by Nick Griffin in 1999, has not been prepared to fade from the limelight.

He criticised the current leadership both in his magazine Spearhead and at a number of BNP meetings, and rumours of him launching a new challenge to win back the leadership of the BNP have been growing.

However, there is no real disagreement over the strategy that the BNP should follow: all those concerned, including Tyndall, agree that they have had enough of isolation and marginalisation and want the BNP to reinvent itself as a populist far-right party with a 'respectable' image.

The differences are partly over tactics, but are mostly the petty squabbles and jealousies of thieves falling out.

The suspension of Luke Smith shows that Griffin's real motivation is to protect his own position within the BNP.

Although most of their organisers are still hardcore neo-Nazis, Burnley BNP have been the most successful branch in the country at trying to 'reinvent' the BNP as a far right populist party (to shake off their neo-Nazi image and attract a wider layer of support).

This is the very strategy that Nick Griffin won the leadership of the BNP with.

Violent confrontation

THERE HAS been tension for a long time between the BNP's national leadership and the Burnley branch, who appear to resent 'interference' from the leadership.

According to the BNP national leadership, Luke Smith has been suspended awaiting an internal disciplinary hearing for 'bringing the party into disrepute' by his involvement in some kind of fight with one of Griffin's minders at the BNP's summer camp in August.

To anyone familiar with the BNP's long history of violent confrontation (between fellow members as well as against outside opponents), this charge has the hollow ring of an excuse.

The suspension has made the row between Burnley and Griffin public and damaged the BNP, particularly in Burnley. Luke Smith (whose uncle is Steve Smith, the BNP's Burnley organiser) was elected in May this year as one of the BNP's eight councillors in Burnley, when the BNP became the second-largest party on the council and the official opposition to Labour.

His suspension means that the Liberal Democrats have now taken over as the official opposition, with eight seats to the BNP's seven.

According to the Burnley Express on 22 August, Steve Smith has resigned as BNP branch organiser and Luke Smith has decided to resign as a councillor. While these threats may or may not be confirmed, it's certain that Tyndall is determined to fight his expulsion.

According to Searchlight (the anti-fascist magazine) and The Observer, Tyndall has decided to challenge the decision to expel him in the courts.

Could this be the end of the BNP? This public falling-out will create problems for them. However, while there is no real workers' party to challenge Labour, the BNP or other far right parties - will find it easier to exploit anger against the government for their own right-wing purposes.

A strong socialist alternative is needed to give genuine solutions to the social and economic problems that the BNP is exploiting.

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In The Socialist 6 September 2003:

Teach Blair A Lesson Build a new workers' party