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British leaders discuss lepen Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-276508,00.htmlhttp://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-276508,00.html
British leaders urged to fight racist advance
By Tom Baldwin and Russell Jenkins
An anti-National Front demonstrator in Marseilles yesterday with a message for French voters
BRITAIN’s political leaders will hold emergency discussions today to decide how to fight right-wing extremists seeking to emulate the success of Jean-Marie Le Pen in France.
Gurbux Singh, the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, has arranged talks with Charles Clarke, the Labour chairman, Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, as well as Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory leader, or Oliver Letwin, the Shadow Home Secretary. He will present them with an open letter calling for a “united front against racism, xenophobia and the politics of disunity”.
The talks follow Sunday’s shock defeat of Lionel Jospin, the French Prime Minister, at the hands of M Le Pen and the National Front in the country’s presidential elections.
Nick Griffin, chairman of the British National Party, predicted a “knock-on effect” yesterday that could secure a breakthrough in next week’s local government elections. He said he was convinced that his party was ready to “follow the same trajectory” as the French National Front. He hopes to win council seats in northern towns like Burnley or Oldham where there was racial violence last summer.
David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, signalled that the French National Front’s success was the “most dramatic representation yet” of the far Right’s advance across Europe. He believes that centre-left governments, including that of Lionel Jospin in France, have allowed extremists to prosper by failing to adopt policies on street crime and asylum that command the confidence of the public.
The Home Secretary is expected to drive home his message tomorrow in the Commons during a debate on his Asylum Bill, which proposes the establishment of a series of accommodation and detention centres for would-be refugees. The Tories are launching a local election campaign today on law and order with a clutch of Shadow Cabinet members touring police stations in London to highlight street crime.
Mr Clarke told a local government press conference that while the French result was a cause for concern he did not believe that the BNP was on the brink of a breakthrough in Britain. “There are particular circumstances in each country which have to be taken into full account before we can draw comparisons of that type,” he said. “We do take the threat of the BNP seriously. We think it is a highly localised threat in the case of a small number of authorities.”
Mr Singh’s letter to Tony Blair, Mr Duncan Smith and Mr Kennedy described the French election as “a salutary wake-up call for Britain’s political leaders”. He suggested that Britain was no different from other countries in Europe, saying: “We too face the threat of far right-wing groups trying to seize the political momentum, capitalising on ordinary people’s dissatisfaction with mainstream politics.
“Next week, at the local government elections, mainstream political parties must work together to make sure Britain does not suffer the same outcome as France. The alternative will lead to a fracturing of our society, further dissatisfaction and unrest, and at worst, mayhem and chaos on our streets.”
He calls on the parties to “put aside their differences and work for a common goal” by building bridges between communities and engaging voters on issues such as poor housing, unemployment, education and crime. “The first step has to be the main parties working together to present a united front against racism, xenophobia and the politics of disunity,” he adds.
Labour MPs such as Phil Woolas (Oldham East and Saddleworth) and Peter Pike (Burnley) have already called on constituents who feel disillusioned with the Government to vote for anyone but the BNP. Suggestions that some candidates could stand down to help rivals to head off the BNP, however, were dismissed by all parties last night.
Lord Razzall, the Liberal Democrat campaign chief, criticised Mr Woolas and Mr Pike for giving extremists publicity. He said: “The best way of dealing with the BNP is to ignore them. They are insignificant and should be treated with the contempt they deserve.”
Mr Blair and Mr Duncan Smith did join forces, however, to urge French voters to reject M Le Pen in the presidential elections. The Prime Minister was due last night to talk to M Jospin and President Chirac, who faces a final round run-off against M Le Pen.
Mr Duncan Smith said: “I consider this to be a very worrying development indeed. Whilst I am not one to dabble in French politics, I do wish Mr Chirac, for all our sakes, the best of luck. I hope he succeeds and succeeds overwhelmingly.”
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