Archant takes BNP cash

twblackwell Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 12:35:45 AM GMT Print-friendly version Facebook

The British National Party have been permitted to advertise in newspapers run by the Archant group, whose titles include the Camden and Islington Gazettes and the Ham&High but also include 20 plus papers across North and East London.



I am a Labour councillor in Camden and find the actions of Archant disgraceful.  It gives the BNP the kind of legitimacy they crave. 

It's not about 'freedom of expression' to take BNP money, as they claim, it's a question of a socially responsible media organisation, often operating in a 'monopoly' situation in the communities they proport to represent, doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.  

This shameless pursuit of profit over principle is unacceptable, and just weeks before an election where only 5% could see the BNP get seats on the London Assembly.

It’s not like Archant is a struggling business paper which needs to get advertising revenue from any source. It is a large media conglomerate.

In December 2003, the Competition Commission gave Archant the all clear to acquire 27 London weeklies from Independent News & Media including the East London Advertiser, the Barking & Dagenham Post and the Kentish Times series.

This is not the first time an Archant title has been soft on the far-right. In 2007 they quoted a BNP spokesperson in a sensationalist story on protests against halal school meals. Last week the Ham&High failed to cover a Searchlight/Hope not Hate day of action with Billy Bragg, despite sending a reporter.

Here in Camden, the council will host a Camden ‘Heros’ awards ceremony jointly with the Camden Gazette and Ham&High on 4 June. This event, to be held at Koko - in my ward-  will give prizes to local people who have improved the community.

I ask, is it right that Camden, or any other authority, co-sponsors an event with a newspaper group which happily takes money from the BNP? Is it consistent with local government's commitment to build better community relations?

One answer to this would be for London councils not to advertise or go into sponsorship deals or advertising with Archant titles like the Gazette series or the Ham & High while they continue this policy.  Also, I hear they are taking a hard line on this and will repeat BNP ad up to the election.

Questioning council advertising deals with Argent doesn't interfere with any freedom Archant have to choose who they treat with, it would just mean that deals are done with the caveat that taking BNP money carries consequences with our own public money, based on decent values. 

In other words, if they say ‘yes’ to BNP cash, they should get a firm ‘no’ from taxpayers’ money. 

Archant made a value judgement, and so can we.

Write to the Chief Executive of Archant, John Fry to protest john.fry@archant.co.uk

Also, join the Facebook group: Stop the Archant Newspaper Group from taking paid advertising from the BNP

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10919218757&ref=mf

Let them know what you think about their decision.


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Archant takes BNP cash | 44 comments (44 topical)

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#1)

by Mike Ion on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 09:42:12 AM GMT


Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#38)

by smad on Mon Apr 14, 2008 at 08:57:49 PM GMT

Of course Archant can take money from whomsoever it chooses.  And the rest of us can decide who we do business with.  I have written to Archant to let them know that my company won't be advertising with them this year as we have for the past 5 years.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#2)

by jljb2 on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 01:39:59 PM GMT

The notion that this newspaper would be to blame if the BNP won a GLA seat is ridiculous - it'd be the fault of a decade in which New Labour has put the concerns of the wealthy ahead of the poor. I'm willing to wager that the vast majority of BNP supporters on May 1st aren't racist, they're just fed up with Labour ignoring them. We've driven decent people into the arms of extremists. How sad.


Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#3)

by Mike Ion on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 02:36:32 PM GMT

I personally think we should always challenge and expose news organisations when they put profit above principle. I have posted about this issue on my own blog (with a link to this story) and have already had some postings (anonymous of course) from BNP supporters.

http://mike-ion.blogspot.com/2008/04/profit-or-principle-bnp-and-archant.html


Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#4)

by jljb2 on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 02:54:47 PM GMT

Yes Mike, it's just a shame the New Labour governments have never been willing to put the core Labour principles of tackling poverty and reducing inequality before their chief concern of appeasing the super rich, isn't it? And as we all know, New Labour never allows Labour principles to be thrown aside in the quest for votes, does it? Maybe if you stood up against that instead, we wouldn't be in this mess. The BNP is not gaining ground because it gets adverts in newspapers, it's winning because many people feel they have been betrayed.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#5)

by doctordunc on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 03:03:20 PM GMT

Recognising the fact that the BNP are taking advantage of a disaffection and disillusionment in some areas is not a reason not to attack the BNP and anyone who assists them.

After all, while some people do go from voting Labour to voting BNP, then is not where most of their votes are coming from.  (There is a bigger danger of the BNP profiting from Labour voters staying at home).  I agree with you that there are not thousands of Nazis and fascists out there voting BNP because they understand what they really stand for.  And I agree with you that, to a certain extent, we may have pushed some people in that direction by taking a core vote for granted, but beyond that I would take this two issues seperately.  The BNP won't get a GLA seat because of a newspaper article.  But it doesn't help.  And if Archant want to exercise their 'right' to take the BNP's money, I don't see why we shouldn't encourage others to exercise their 'right' (including the Labour Party and any public bodies) to deny Archant theirs.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#6)

by doctordunc on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 03:05:43 PM GMT

Sorry that was an appallingly badly proof-read comment.  But I trust you got the general thrust?


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#7)

by jljb2 on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 03:18:13 PM GMT

No, of course I agree. But it appals me that many on the centre-left are willing to take the moral high ground in relation to the BNP, but are then unwililng to put the moral case for the very measures which would prevent the BNP being a problem in the first place - redistribution etc, but also above all a sense that Labour genuinely (not just politically) cares about the poor, that it's on their side. By attacking things like this article, they only hide the real causes.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#8)

by twblackwell on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 03:37:02 PM GMT

Remember this is about Archant group's decision, as well as the BNP.  I agree with arguments about poliicies which encourage more redistribution and opportunity, but let's not get lost here.  Archant / Ham&High can take money from whomever they want, but why should we stand idly by which the BNP try to 'legitimise' themselves as part of their strategy to get more middle class (not working class) voters?

Mike - agree, my blog has got loads of comments from far-right nut jobs too. 


Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#9)

by jljb2 on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 04:33:05 PM GMT

Well this strikes me as posturing for social justice, rather than looking at real problems and solutions. The BNP is above all legitimised by the disenfranchisement of traditional Labour supporters - people who support the BNP do not need newspaper ads to give them confidence in their views, as they have a legitimate grievance anyway. The way to de-legitimise the BNP is by making sure people have no reason to vote for them - until then, it will for many people be a valid choice - and frankly who can blame them?


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#10)

by doctordunc on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 04:43:43 PM GMT

Oh I can blame them.  There's plenty of material out there about the real nature of the BNP.  While I agreed with your earlier suggestion that not everyone who votes for them is a fascist, I would suggest that almost everyone who votes for them is aware, to a greater or lesser extent, of the vile and racist nature of the party and is making at least a relatively informed choice to cast their 'protest vote' in that knowledge.  I wouldn't blame anyone for casting protest votes, but voting BNP is never an innocent, blameless act.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#11)

by doctordunc on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 04:46:25 PM GMT

(Just to be dialectical, or something) On the other hand, I remember an elderly relative of mine voting BNP because she thought she was meant to vote for 'the British party' and she was horrified when she was told what they stood for.  And a student of mine asked in class this week what the BNP stood for and one of her friends said 'they're racist' and she was really shocked and said, 'why aren't they illegal?'

So I accept not everybody knows what they're about.  But I would still maintain the overwhelming majority do now.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#12)

by jljb2 on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 05:05:32 PM GMT

Yes, I'm saying I understand it, not that I excuse it. Though if you look at BNP policy, there's plenty I agree with: nationalisation of monopoly utilities, tax hikes on outsourcing companies, return of hospital cleaning in-house, full student grants etc etc. Of course much of it is couched in racist rhetoric, and the whole thing is based on repellent ideas, but just as I vote Labour despite disagreeing with large amounts of our policy, I don't think it's at all unfeasible that most BNP voters simply see the party as being 'on the side of people like us' rather than voting for them because of their racist policies. They know the BNP won't get the power to implement repatriation etc, but they think that at least they'll get someone who puts representing their views before toeing a PC/right-wing party line.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#14)

by doctordunc on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:20:24 PM GMT

I'm afraid that a lot of BNP voters see 'being on the side of people like us' and 'voting for them because of their racist policies' as being more-or-less the same thing.  I think we often fall into a trap of thinking a) the BNP vote is predominantly working class (it varies in different parts of the country, but their vote has tended to be predominantly lower middle class; voters for whom the 'PC' bit of Labour and Tory programmes would be of a great deal more concern than the 'right-wing' bit); we also fall into the trap, because they can have local successes, into thinking they are a significant body of opinion.  They only make any impact at all in local elections, often with terribly low voter turnout, and even where they win it is generally with a small percentage of the popular vote (and a miniscule percentage of the potential electorate).  That is not to say we shouldn't be worried, but to say that we shouldn't be led.  The mistake our government (and the Tory party too) have often made is to respond to the apparent BNP threat by making right-wing noises that might appease BNP supporters.  The proper response would be to expose them for what they are: a fascist party.

There is no doubting that the BNP have made a bit of a play for the disaffected Labour vote, but I trust that disaffected Labour voters have more sense than to fall into the arms of Nazis.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#16)

by jljb2 on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:31:14 PM GMT

I agree about the class thing to an extent - there are teachers, artists and all sorts on their GLA list - and certainly in rural seats they are a middle class group, but in the east end/essex region, I don't think that holds. Also, in recent weeks they've had 10 councillors elected unopposed, which says a lot. But my point is that people're not falling into the arms of a fascist party, they're falling into the arms of a party that appears to listen to them, rather than preach at them or ignore them. I think that's a lot more significant than their policies; that said, polling shows the majority of people agree with BNP policies until they know what party it is. That sense of illegitimacy has protected us up til now, but as the sense of disenfranchisement increases, it can only hold out so long - at some point (in some places - can't see it happening in Liverpool say, although Lab turnout is hugely down) people will start to want to have a say again.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#13)

by twblackwell on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 05:27:00 PM GMT

jljb2 Re: 'posturing for social justice' - we'll lets not have demonstrations against things we don't like, let's just look to examine the 'underlying causes.'  This is a very passive approach.

Presumably while the Nazi party was building itself in the late 1920s you would have disagreed with social democrats protesting against them, focusing presumably on a fuller analysis of the causes of discontent?

Come on!


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#15)

by jljb2 on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:21:10 PM GMT

Er no, I was saying that you were choosing a rather banal and insignificant issue on which to make a stand, rather than protesting against the failures of the govt to address the issues at the heart of the problem. I never said we should simply look at the underlying causes - we know what they are, we need to act on them. You may even further alienate BNP supporters by appearing to act in an ultra-PC, anti free-speech fashion: whatever you think of that opinion, that's the way they'll spin it. Personally I think you're making mountains out of molehills.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#17)

by doctordunc on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:43:45 PM GMT

I don't take BNP spin on free speech very seriously when their activists have my photo on a website telling people to beat me up if they see me.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#18)

by doctordunc on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:56:57 PM GMT

Furthermore (I initially wrote fuhrermore!!!) nobody has some inalienable right to buy newspaper column inches.  It isn't a freedom of speech issue: Archant newspapers have the choice of whether they choose to accept all comers for their advertising space.  Labour authorities have the choice of whether they wish to advertise in a publication that has carried advertisements for fascism.

It's like all the ridiculous banging on about the Oxford Union thing being a free speech issue.  As if there's some sort of right to be invited to speak at the Oxford Union (nobody's ever invited me, does that mean my freedom of speech is being constantly breached?)


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#19)

by jljb2 on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 07:42:13 PM GMT

Hehe! I'm sorry Dunc, I'm not sure what point you're making...that's probably me though. I'm not sure all this claiming that the BNP is 'not a legitimate party' helps anyone - they can be repellent and yet legitimate at the same time, surely? If they're standing for elections, and winning, then the voters are conferring legitimacy upon them. Legitimacy is linked to democratic process, not political belief - unless the process itself is illegitimate, or the votes are obtained under false premises (but then all parties do that to a degree). Obviously if violence etc enters into it then that's another kettle of fish, but I think that we're better off taking them seriously as another party against whom we have to position ourselves to win voters, like the tories or libs. We cannot simply keep saying that BNP voters are 'wrong' to vote BNP - we have to give them a reason not to.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#21)

by doctordunc on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 08:11:06 PM GMT

But the main reason not to vote for them is the party itself.  As such they should be exposed for what they are, and their ability to disguise their real selves should be challenged whenever possible.  In other words, the Labour Party could put up a Tory monkey in a wig (I'm not entirely sure this hasn't already happened), people would still be wrong to vote BNP.

I'm not saying they should be wiped off the ballot paper.  I'm saying I THINK people should choose not to publish them, not to give them a platform, not to do anything that makes them seem normal or legitimate or make their views appear anything but what they are. And I sure as hell think nobody should vote for them!  And I'll try and persuade people of my opinion.  That isn't actually infringing anyone's freedom of speech.  Lots of horrible people are shouting unpleasant garbage all the time; I suppose they have the right to (so long as they don't slander anyone or incite violence) but they have no automatic right to be broadcast or published - nobody has.

(I do wonder, however, why individuals have the full protection of the law but races of people have to put up with collective slander from the likes of the BNP)

On the 'legitimacy is linked to democratic process' and 'we're better off taking them seriously as another party against whom we have to position ourselves' points - well people vote Buckethead.  Does that democratic process mean we have to take Buckethead seriously?  Treating the far right as legitimate does not seem to have helped the fight against it in mainland Europe.  Far from it, the far right are much more successful there.  They make a lot of noise here; they get far more attention than parties who get a lot more support than them do; but a fringe they remain and let's keep it that way.  In the 2005 General Election, three times as many people voted UKIP than voted BNP; many more people voted Green than BNP.  At the end of the 2007 council elections, the BNP had 10 councillors nationally, only 3 more than the Cornish Nationalists; while the Greens had 62 and Residents' Associations 67. 


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#22)

by jljb2 on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 09:39:51 PM GMT

Well, we'll see after May 1st how much we need to worry. But if Buckethead is winning elections, we probably should take him seriously! Nothing about democracy ensures the 'right' outcome - 'what could be more democratic than a lynching' as Schumpeter would say. Regardless of our view of them, an elected BNP representative is just as legitimate as one from any other party in democratic terms. Though of course their views may  be morally 'illegitimate'. However, if, as you claim, you trust people to make up their own minds, then surely you should advocate publicisation of BNP views? Let's face it, if most of us were thinking rationally instead of due to family/tribal/tradition loyalties, we wouldn't be voting Labour! So we shouldn't expect others to make a more measured assessment than we do ourselves.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#25)

by doctordunc on Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 10:49:52 AM GMT

They may, despite their internal problems, make some gains in May.  And there'll be lots of reasons for that, but some of them will be: an apparent normalisation owing to them having adverts in newspapers, invited to the Oxford Union, the BBC having an extended feature on their mayoral candidate on their website, etc. along with many other parties (and also newspapers, etc.) trying to get votes (or sell units) by making insinuations about race, immigration, etc. that the BNP then go and say directly.  The insinuated message and the direct message are both wrong and need to be challenged forcefully.  We can't just 'look to ourselves'.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#27)

by jljb2 on Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 01:39:18 PM GMT

But advertising only works on fertile ground. Does a BNP advert appeal to you? No, because you don't have the same issues/grievances as the BNP supporters. Does a Labour advert work on a staunch Tory - obviously not. We have to accept that some of the BNP support is based on legitimate grievances - such as the 'too much, too fast' Eastern European migration - and deal with those grievances. I really don't think the Oxford Union is that influential in Barking to be honest...And let's face it, not all BNP policies are racist: many are more left than Labour. We simply do not know which policies people are supporting them for. My best guess is that the majority will be because of immigration. But being against immigration is not racist; I wholeheartedly favour caps on internal EU immigration (with perhaps an expansion of asylum). Not because I dislike Poles, but because we have higher priorites than providing jobs and services for people - many with degrees - from other prosperous countries. The PC-liberal-left blanket promotion of immigration is all very well if you're getting a cheap nanny for your Hampstead townhouse, but it's not so good if your child is getting less attention in class because many of the kids speak no English. We have to address these concerns, or we're digging our own grave. The BNP gaining seats and credibility may be just the wake-up call New Labour needs to stop ignoring the people it's there for. Politics is a free market, and you can't expect people to keep voting for you with no return on their investment.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#30)

by doctordunc on Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 09:25:26 PM GMT

Well I disagree with you on the policy questions.  And strategically too, because if you go down the route of conceding the odd point to the fascists you further legitimise them (as some of our ministers have found out to their cost).  I also think 'talking them up' has that effect too.

It is not that the voters keep a close eye on who's invited to the Oxford Union, it's the cumulative effect of an apparent normalisation.  These people are Nazis.  They have close links with openly Nazi, pro-Hitler groups in mainland Europe and the US; their candidate list reads like a "who's who" of racially-motivated criminals; former candidates have been arrested for terrorism; current candidates have spoken out against the demonisation of rape...  Anything which skates over this and normalises these repulsive fascists is wrong.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#31)

by jljb2 on Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 11:14:34 PM GMT

Well, I'm advocating caps on EU immigration as a social justice issue: it is wholly wrong that more immigrants have degrees than native Britons, and we should be retraining our unemployed instead of filling vacancies with cheap, skilled overseas labour. The fact is that so long as there's a ready stream of cheap East Europeans, there's no need for companies to raise wages or retrain our workers in order to fill vacancies. That's wrong: our poor and unemployed are more important than the Polish middle class from a social justice perspective. I don't say this in order to appease BNP supporters, but because it is the right thing to do.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#23)

by twblackwell on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 11:54:10 PM GMT

Well, that's your opinion and you're entitled to it.  Frankly I find it at tad aloof.  As a local councillor I've been contacted by local people who are disgusted by the carrying of an advert and are glad other people have taken a stand.

They might spin it as anti-free speech, but if they do then they are missing the argument, as I fear you are.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#28)

by jljb2 on Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 04:05:13 PM GMT

Well - don't take this as an insult, just a frank comment! - I just think it's a little arty-farty to harp on about this kind of thing when people have real practical problems that they need your help with.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#29)

by twblackwell on Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 09:12:12 PM GMT

Er, of course people have practical problems - I spend quite a long time dealing with them at my surgeries. 

What I am objecting to here, in addition to my complaints about the position low-income people find themselves in, is that their local paper has just taken cash from the BNP - a party which would seek to use injustice to promote their racist ends.


I find your 'anti-protest' stance really a bit bizarre.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#32)

by jljb2 on Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 11:15:33 PM GMT

I'm not remotely anti-protest, I just find all this liberal posturing a little silly - playing Nelson Mandela when no real injustice has been done.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#33)

by twblackwell on Mon Apr 14, 2008 at 12:06:39 AM GMT

Yeah well, sit on your hands why don't you.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#34)

by jljb2 on Mon Apr 14, 2008 at 12:52:44 AM GMT

No ta, I'd rather just try and help us get a Labour party which actually addresses the real issues, instead of faffing around with PC non-issues.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#35)

by BF on Mon Apr 14, 2008 at 04:54:58 PM GMT

Non-issues?

If the ad helps the BNP onto the Assembly and there are more racist attacks as a result it won't be a non-issue, people's lives could be at stake. 


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#36)

by jljb2 on Mon Apr 14, 2008 at 05:19:34 PM GMT

We've already discussed this above...The BNP will not get elected because people run adverts - there are bigger causes which we're not addressing. Of course I'd prefer it if there weren't such adverts, but there's no principled democratic argument against them. If anything legitimises the BNP, it will be voters, not newspapers. I'm not sure about BNP representation leading to increased racist attacks - it's equally plausible that attacks might go down due to the activists having somewhere to vent their spleen in public. We'd need to look at research to be sure.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#20)

by writingwrongs on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 08:02:47 PM GMT


Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#24)

by Laski on Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 10:28:13 AM GMT

My initial reaction is not one of shock and horror; nor one of anger and rage; or one of fierce resentment.

The erosion of moral value in the race for capitalist profit is not a new concept. In the cut-throat clamber for the peoples disposible income, financial reward is king.

What has happened here is that Archant have not been strong enough to say no to something that is wrong, when faced with a cheque. Instead of trying to make them reverse their descision, it should be changed from one of profitable gain into one of financial loss.

People need to be made aware of the products that this company provides, and be convinced not to hand over coin until Archant display a more head-over-coin advertising strategy.

 If you live within circulation of one of their regional papers, tell your friends; see if your local representatives can include it in their message; inform people who advertise in their free papers, and those who buy their paid publications. If there are any public monies making its way into Archant coffers, this should be the first port-of-call.



I think people will care enough about this issue to make the right choice, if they know what they are paying for.


Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#26)

by treborc on Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 12:12:01 PM GMT

I do not think the working class, low paid, the sick and the disabled have a party at the moment, the BNP is no answer, will me staying at home help the BNP perhaps I doubt it, but I cannot help Labour either stay in power.


Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#37)

by lastword on Mon Apr 14, 2008 at 05:39:12 PM GMT

Then go out to vote and spoil you're ballot paper.  It's TURNOUT that matters.  We need people to go to the polls and vote for any other party but the BNP.  This will stop them gaining the 5% they need.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#39)

by doctordunc on Tue Apr 15, 2008 at 06:32:00 PM GMT

Archant have dropped the ads this week, so that's good news anyway.


Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#40)

by Laski on Tue Apr 15, 2008 at 06:48:55 PM GMT

Was there a statement or article to confirm this mate?


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#41)

by doctordunc on Tue Apr 15, 2008 at 07:08:52 PM GMT

Re-posting from Luke Akehurst's blog:

Statement by Jules Pipe, Mayor of Hackney:

"I am very pleased that Archant, the publishers of the Hackney Gazette, have taken the decision not to publish election adverts for the racist BNP this week. I hope that their decision stands for the rest of this election and beyond, and call upon them in the strongest terms to confirm this.

I would like to congratulate the editors and staff of the Hackney Gazette and East London Advertiser for refusing the initial adverts, and also for convincing the executives of the Archant newspaper group that this was the responsible course of action.

The freedom of the press allows the media to choose what it does and does not publish and to take a particular editorial stance on an issue; the concept of freedom of speech cannot be used to claim that a newspaper must publish all material offered to it with the only criterion being legality.

Those out electioneering for the upcoming London mayoral election have invariably encountered disbelief or disgust when the issue is raised on the doorstep. The many messages of protest that I have seen from residents, and people’s readiness to sign the petition organised by Labour councillors, are an endorsement of Archant’s decision to align themselves with the views of the overwhelming majority of the local community."

So - I can't find anything official from Archant, but it seems to be official.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#42)

by Laski on Tue Apr 15, 2008 at 07:47:19 PM GMT

Cheers mate.

Thankyou for letting us know. Here's hoping this is a permanent move from them.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#43)

by twblackwell on Wed Apr 16, 2008 at 01:31:37 AM GMT

Only in two of the papers they own in the east end - there is no commitment from the titles Archant own elsewhere in north and east London.


[ Parent ]

Re: Archant takes BNP cash (#44)

by AlanJi on Fri Apr 18, 2008 at 08:48:48 PM GMT

1) Archant publishes the Barking & Dagenham Recorder

2) In north east London, BNP Cllrs have been elected in wards largely built by the LCC: Dagenham, Harold Wood, Hainault and Debden. These areas are now less than half Council housing.

3) I think their main base of support is people who fear dropping out of the working class.

4) It reallly is possible to meet people who think everyone new to their street or block is a tenant of the Council and every black person new to their street is new to the UK. They really haven't noticed that the Owner-occupiers and the private tenants have been there for 20-30 years.

5) Barking and Dagenham now has the lowest house prices in London and these are attractive to owner-occupiers of African descent selling their previous house a short distance away.


Archant takes BNP cash | 44 comments (44 topical)