Lutfur Rahman and the BNP

Just in case anyone wishes to use the fact that some BNP supporters in Tower Hamlets are prepared to support him because of the shabby and underhanded way he has been treated by the Labour Party as another piece of mud to sling at him, let me issue the following clarification. 

The BNP at the moment has a bee in its bonnet about party democracy. Many activist members of the BNP have been suspended and expelled for daring to challenge the leadership's handling of its finances.


The general election has now drained its coffers as well as legal costs which could perhaps be better handled.  This is one of the reasons why the BNP do not have a Tower Hamlets mayoral candidate.  Since there is no BNP mayoral candidate, no harm could be done to the party by publicly supporting Lutfur who is now ex-Labour after the shabby treatment meted out to him by the Labour Party, who suspended him without an investigation after Helal Abbas, his rival, made allegations against him.  It is clearly against the rules of natural justice that someone who made allegations against you has benefited from so doing, even if those allegations remain unproven. 

Another reason why the BNP would like to see the Labour candidate Helal Abbas defeated is that he is a campaigner of Hope Not Hate, an organisation created specifically to thwart the BNP.  He is also a former bankrupt, just as Nick Griffin was.  It has been said that people who have been bankrupt tend not to be very good with money. 


It is by no means clear that all BNP supporters and activists would support Lutfur, but those of us who do wish him every success in his campaign.

I also wish to make clear that at no time did Lutfur solicit votes from the BNP.  Those of us who do give our support to him do so without expectation of anything in return and have not been promised anything.

Lutfur's Campaign Team have made the following statements to me.

3 October at 15:06

We welcome support from all parties and all sections of the community, but we cannot form an alliance with any party or the BNP as our pledges and goals are clearly set out in our plans to reach out to all.

14 October at 11:17

"We will not be asking the BNP to endorse us, as Lutfur represents the Labour values which I believe is anti thesis to BNP values. He is being supported by Labour members and a large part of the traditional Labour supporters. You are free to support Lutfur like everyone else, but Lutfur has not and will not ask the BNP for any support. If he does become Mayor, he will work for all the residents of the Borough irrespective of political background."

His BNP supporters wish him the very best of British luck for a successful campaign.