On the ground in Barking and Dagenham

Barking and Dagenham has yet to announce its general election result, but BNP leader Nick Griffin has already admitted defeat in his bid to become MP for the area. Our eye on the ground in Barking and Dagenham, Wendyl Harris, gives us the inside story on the campaign to keep the BNP vote down.

I went out to Barking after work this afternoon and spent about four hours going around local neighbourhoods encouraging them to vote. Arriving in Barking, there is a very tangible atmosphere of tension in the air; people of all backgrounds seem to be walking around in groups, not tarrying; all the tube stations were co-staffed with police officers; large advertising billboards featured the BNP logo though all were also noticeably vandalised.

There were three of us knocking on doors – a white middle class female teacher, a middle aged Turkish man, and myself – in predominantly poor and very mixed neighbourhoods where almost everybody took their time to open the door, and only then after considerable curtain twitching and trepidation on the doorstep. Our Turkish companion had the hardest time as many women from Asian backgrounds seemed uncomfortable with a man on their doorstep, and in contrast (since he lived locally) he was in turn frightened on occasion when white people opened the door. This in itself, for a townie, is both an oddity and evidence of the serious social fears the BNP have created that the local population is struggling with such an insidious fear that seems to have influenced the very way people approach each other in the first instance.

That said though, we really didn’t meet with any particular problems your imagination allows for on doorsteps. No white thugs setting their mastiffs on us nor people of ethnic backgrounds taking umbrage to the ‘do-gooders.’ Overall, once people understood why we were there – that is to say, not campaigning on behalf of any party but campaigning to encourage people to go and vote to keep the BNP out – we were received quite positively and most people were enthusiastic to do just that.

But once we hit Eastbury ward people started telling us of what they called intimidating behaviour outside their local polling station, a primary school on Dawson Avenue. These complaints ranged from ‘large groups of BNP men standing blocking the gates into the school’ to ‘being heckled.’ Several people said this didn’t just come from the BNP though but also from a Lib Dem standing outside the gates. In fact, one younger white couple were so upset by the Lib Dem heckling they said it made them feel that they might ‘prefer to vote BNP.’

In any event, we went round to the school and did observe large groups clustered around the school gates, certainly many men wearing BNP rosettes. There were about twelve plus other parties, and who certainly did look quite intimidating. In addition there were a number of cars pulled up across the school ‘no parking’ chevrons in front of the gates which gave it the appearance of a blockade. Very few people were going into the polling station although a great many of them were hanging out around neighbouring houses and in the streets looking on.

Two of us approached and BNP rosetted men turned to watch us, nudging each other though they did move to let us pass. Images of US civil rights marches flashed through my overly fertile brain. Inside I spoke to the Returning Officer, gave her my name and reported what we had been told. She confirmed that she’d had a number of complaints already. I asked why the police hadn’t been called but didn’t get a clear answer. All this was just before 8pm.

When we left the polling station several of the BNP rosetted guys followed us so we got in the car and drove off, with one of them leaning forward and glaring at us in what was quite a frightening threatening manner.

I reported the matter to the police by telephone and did not receive an answer about their intentions, and also to Hope Not Hate HQ as well as Unite Against Fascism. UAF took the matter seriously and a big gaggle of women piled into cars and drove round there. After making their presence known quite assertively the BNP left though by this time it was about 9pm. However, as soon as the BNP left people started flocking to the polling station, drifting over at first and then arriving in droves until there was really quite a queue. You could almost hear the audible sigh of relief even though really very little was actually said.

We were all a bit jumpy by then, returning to our HQ at Jazzy Jakes Caribbean cafe, with several guarding the outside and a couple of nervous moments when groups of shaven headed men went past; over active imaginations again. But probably the most interesting aspect of the whole evening was the general atmosphere of welcome from so many locals in Barking to people like us who definitely looked like we really didn’t belong there. From groups of teenage black kids to older white geezers in suits and all points in between, people were smiling, relaxed, joking and friendly to us; everyone that is but the white men in the red, white and blue rosettes.

Tags: Barking and Dagenham, BNP, General Election 2010, Nick Griffin