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UK: BNP move brings market politics ban

Roddy Ashworth

East Anglian Daily Times

Monday 21 Sep 2009

Politicians from each group on Colchester Borough Council have agreed to the move after the BNP applied to run a weekly Saturday stall from which to distribute leaflets and recruit members.

But last night the deputy leader of the BNP, Simon Darby, accused the council of “liberal fascism” and said the ban would be counterproductive.

The party was first refused permission to campaign from a market stall in the run-up to the European and county council elections on the grounds that all parties would need to be represented for reasons of political balance.

But after the BNP said it was still interested in taking out the weekly stall after the elections had been held, the council's portfolio holder for street services, Tim Young, decided to review the rules of the town's royal market charter.

Yesterday Mr Young stressed that the new ban - due to be formalised this week - would apply to any organisation registered as a political party with the Electoral Commission.

This includes not only the three main parties, but also minority parties such as the Communist Party of Britain, , the Natural Law Party and the Legalise Cannabis Alliance.

He added: “We have looked at the rules and regulations regarding the market charter and we have decided political parties should not be able to have stalls.

“We have agreement from all the political groups on the council - the market is not a place for handing out propaganda.

“It is a place people go to buy fruit and vegetables and other goods, not to be inundated with political literature.”

However, Mr Darby said that the council was effectively trying to ban political competition from the BNP.

“This says it all, really. Anybody reading this would recognise it as being absolutely ridiculous.

“The other parties must be really fearful of what we are trying to get across. It's just another example of liberal fascism.

“It will backfire on them. The British people have an inbuilt sense of fair play, and they hate this sort of Soviet mentality.”

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