gmb45
10th June, 2009, 06:19 AM
TAKING a deep drag on his roll-up cigarette, with the Union Flag flying behind him, John Street explains why he supports the BNP.
White, middle aged, an ex-miner and now a victim of the recession, it?s no wonder John has been convinced by the far Right party?s promise to get him into work.
?I?m with the BNP all the way,? says John, 42, from Cudworth, outside Barnsley, who was made redundant in February after 15 years in construction.
Check out our slideshow below to see how Britain would look under the BNP.
?They want British jobs for British people. Last year we had a lot of Polish come in taking our jobs. They?ll work for the minimum wage and I?m not prepared to do that, I was earning ?24,000 a year.?
Dad-of-two John, who lives on Jobseeker?s Allowance and his partner?s income as a florist, says there are plenty of people who feel the same.
?I?ve been looking for work but there?s nothing around,? he says, supping his pint outside the Darfield Road Working Men?s Club.
?I?m not lazy, I want to support my partner and two teenage kids. There are a lot of people round here out of work.
?When Thatcher got in again we knew she would close the pits. Then Tony Blair did naff all for us. What have Labour done for us? Nothing.?
Leeds-based IT worker Peter Chukwuenweniwe, 39, moved here with his wife Rita from Nigeria four years ago.
The youngest of his two sons, Chuka, two, was born in Britain.
He says: ?It does concern me that the BNP have got a European seat.
?But I do not agree with the BNP?s policy on race.
?Britain has benefited from expertise from all over the world. I love Britain and believe wherever you live should feel like your home.
?It?s important to feel integrated into a country.
?If the BNP were to get more popular and able to implement their policies I would feel very uncomfortable living here.?
The news that the BNP secured a European Parliament seat here in Yorkshire and Humber might be serious concern to the rest of the country.
Yet in Barnsley, although it is one of the UK?s most ethnically diverse areas, it is hardly the talk of the town.
Apathy rules. Only 32 per cent turned out to vote last Thursday.
But the newly elected BNP MEP, Andrew Brons, would have probably gained a lot MORE than his 16 per cent of the votes had the rest of the town voted.
The main concern here is the economy, and it is not difficult to see why.
On Eldon Street, in Barnsley town centre, nearly four shops within 200 yards are now boarded up, including Lancasters surveyors, established in 1790.
Round the corner, past the market where teens in beanie hats are gathered, more units stand empty.
Single mum Amanda Cunliffe works at a newsagent but she can reel off a list of businesses that have closed down recently.
?One bedding place over there has just shut, another clothes shop over here,? she says, pushing her two-month-old daughter Lily.
Neither Amanda nor her niece Nicki voted in last week?s elections but they can see why 16 per cent of Barnsley?s voters put a cross next to BNP.
?It?s a backlash against all the immigrants here,? says Nicki, 22, who has just graduated in childcare from Barnsley College.
?People don?t like them coming over and taking jobs when they can?t get work.?
Amanda, 39, adds: ?They?re living in houses and getting benefits when the rest of us are all broke.
?Of course you?re going to think like that if you haven?t even got enough money to eat.?
In what seems to be the town?s only trendy wine bar, Blah, a thirtysomething woman ? who wouldn?t give her name ? felt the same way.
She says: ?My husband is a builder and couldn?t find work for four months.
?A lot of people are very worried about their jobs.
?I voted BNP because we need a change and they are offering that.?
Pub landlord Roy Dexter, 55, lost his pub, the Ardsley Lodge, and ?16,000 of savings in February because of the the credit crunch and the smoking ban.
Now he is a full-time carer to his disabled partner Audrey Railton, 50.
Roy says: ?Neither of us voted and we wouldn?t vote BNP but people are of the opinion that neither Labour nor Tories are the answer. People are looking for a change.?
Shami Chakrabarti, director of Human Rights organisation Liberty, said last night: ?I am a professional protester so I understand the protest vote and how people have felt ignored by politicians of all colours.
?But that is no reason for voting for fascists.
?Voting BNP is a very dangerous path to go down.
?We should be able to have our debates without hating each other.
?We should judge each other by our ideas, not skin colour.?
White, middle aged, an ex-miner and now a victim of the recession, it?s no wonder John has been convinced by the far Right party?s promise to get him into work.
?I?m with the BNP all the way,? says John, 42, from Cudworth, outside Barnsley, who was made redundant in February after 15 years in construction.
Check out our slideshow below to see how Britain would look under the BNP.
?They want British jobs for British people. Last year we had a lot of Polish come in taking our jobs. They?ll work for the minimum wage and I?m not prepared to do that, I was earning ?24,000 a year.?
Dad-of-two John, who lives on Jobseeker?s Allowance and his partner?s income as a florist, says there are plenty of people who feel the same.
?I?ve been looking for work but there?s nothing around,? he says, supping his pint outside the Darfield Road Working Men?s Club.
?I?m not lazy, I want to support my partner and two teenage kids. There are a lot of people round here out of work.
?When Thatcher got in again we knew she would close the pits. Then Tony Blair did naff all for us. What have Labour done for us? Nothing.?
Leeds-based IT worker Peter Chukwuenweniwe, 39, moved here with his wife Rita from Nigeria four years ago.
The youngest of his two sons, Chuka, two, was born in Britain.
He says: ?It does concern me that the BNP have got a European seat.
?But I do not agree with the BNP?s policy on race.
?Britain has benefited from expertise from all over the world. I love Britain and believe wherever you live should feel like your home.
?It?s important to feel integrated into a country.
?If the BNP were to get more popular and able to implement their policies I would feel very uncomfortable living here.?
The news that the BNP secured a European Parliament seat here in Yorkshire and Humber might be serious concern to the rest of the country.
Yet in Barnsley, although it is one of the UK?s most ethnically diverse areas, it is hardly the talk of the town.
Apathy rules. Only 32 per cent turned out to vote last Thursday.
But the newly elected BNP MEP, Andrew Brons, would have probably gained a lot MORE than his 16 per cent of the votes had the rest of the town voted.
The main concern here is the economy, and it is not difficult to see why.
On Eldon Street, in Barnsley town centre, nearly four shops within 200 yards are now boarded up, including Lancasters surveyors, established in 1790.
Round the corner, past the market where teens in beanie hats are gathered, more units stand empty.
Single mum Amanda Cunliffe works at a newsagent but she can reel off a list of businesses that have closed down recently.
?One bedding place over there has just shut, another clothes shop over here,? she says, pushing her two-month-old daughter Lily.
Neither Amanda nor her niece Nicki voted in last week?s elections but they can see why 16 per cent of Barnsley?s voters put a cross next to BNP.
?It?s a backlash against all the immigrants here,? says Nicki, 22, who has just graduated in childcare from Barnsley College.
?People don?t like them coming over and taking jobs when they can?t get work.?
Amanda, 39, adds: ?They?re living in houses and getting benefits when the rest of us are all broke.
?Of course you?re going to think like that if you haven?t even got enough money to eat.?
In what seems to be the town?s only trendy wine bar, Blah, a thirtysomething woman ? who wouldn?t give her name ? felt the same way.
She says: ?My husband is a builder and couldn?t find work for four months.
?A lot of people are very worried about their jobs.
?I voted BNP because we need a change and they are offering that.?
Pub landlord Roy Dexter, 55, lost his pub, the Ardsley Lodge, and ?16,000 of savings in February because of the the credit crunch and the smoking ban.
Now he is a full-time carer to his disabled partner Audrey Railton, 50.
Roy says: ?Neither of us voted and we wouldn?t vote BNP but people are of the opinion that neither Labour nor Tories are the answer. People are looking for a change.?
Shami Chakrabarti, director of Human Rights organisation Liberty, said last night: ?I am a professional protester so I understand the protest vote and how people have felt ignored by politicians of all colours.
?But that is no reason for voting for fascists.
?Voting BNP is a very dangerous path to go down.
?We should be able to have our debates without hating each other.
?We should judge each other by our ideas, not skin colour.?