Election letters

In the same edition, tucked away at the bottom of a column was a small report about the death of two more British soldiers, from places not too distant from York. Yet on the front page, and also on page five, was another biased article about the British National Party (BNP) which, were it to have been a candidate from another party, would have been either ignored or even condoned. Two more of our boys coming home in body bags is upstaged by a non-story just to score a political point.

Why is it that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown can live in London, yet represent places hundreds of miles away, when a BNP candidate can't stand for election in two places, even though the chances of winning both elections together are slim? If I were to be elected in both then I would give up my job and commit myself full-time to the dual responsibilities.

Also, who is Ben Drake to comment on the BNP when he doesn't know the slightest thing about us? Should he not comment on the fact that the unions have done next to nothing while British jobs have been sent abroad, rather than comment as some kind of "expert" on the BNP?

Ian Dawson, Acomb BNP candidate, Ouseburn Avenue, Acomb, York.

Editor's note: The British soldiers were, in fact, from Scunthorpe and Grimsby - towns way beyond the circulation area of The Press. As a local community newspaper, we concentrate on issues in our part of York, North and East Yorkshire. A story of a candidate standing for election in two cities 200 miles apart would have been newsworthy regardless of whichever political party was involved.

* LABOUR, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors are said to be worried about the threat posed by the BNP at the council elections on May 3, and so they should be. More and more people are getting fed up with the four main parties: there is virtually no difference between any of them.

Both the BNP and the UKIP are picking up more supporters and voters from "middle England", from pensioners, business people, self-employed people, the professional classes, the unemployed, housewives and sporting fraternity.

It is much more than a protest vote. Neither the BNP nor the UKIP are just "single issue" parties any more. Both are prepared to discuss and have definite policy or issues that concern many voters and topics the other four will not or dare not mention.

This is a good thing; it is democracy in action. People want choice, they are utterly browned off with spin, lies and deception, political correctness, lack of logic and common sense and, most of all, the view that "Britain is a great country to live in - so long as you are not English."

Voting will still be low, but with both BNP and UKIP fielding about 1,000 candidates each, their share will not be insignificant. The media are wrong to attack the BNP and UKIP - the faults and culprits lie elsewhere.

David Quarrie, Lynden Way, Holgate, York.

* The Liberal Democrat leader S Galloway alludes to the BNP as "extreme right-wing" in The Press of April 5.

I think this is a misleading description. It is not whether you are right-wing or left-wing that matters, but whether you have the correct answer to a problem. As a BNP candidate for the Hull Road ward, I prefer to be described as a nationalist, because I believe in putting British people first in jobs and housing, etc. Since this country is the homeland of the British people it is only natural to put them first, and not in the least a "peculiar view of life", as Mr Galloway says.

Trevor Brown, (BNP candidate for Hull Road ward), Newbury Avenue, York.

* On behalf of York Conservatives, may I thank Coun Carol Runciman for highlighting our policy on dental care for primary school children (Election Letters, April 20).

Any help in getting our pledges over to the electorate is greatly appreciated, and perhaps she or one of her colleagues will highlight another one of our excellent policies.

Her comments regarding the cost of our policy are somewhat incorrect but hey, a party that loses £2 million pounds on the sale of the Barbican site plus the loss of a County Standard Swimming Pool cannot be expected to understand finances in any shape or form.

John C Galvin, Ash Street, York.

* It was disappointing to read Mr Hollinrake's letter, which implied that he was standing for election in the Clifton ward to give "business" a voice in the council chamber.

By contrast, I'm standing for election in the Clifton ward to give local residents a much needed, and louder, voice in the council's decision-making process. Mr Hollinrake may find that business and politics do not mix. Perhaps you can tell us why you didn't seek election where you live, or at least where your business premises are located?"

Matt Reid, Lib Dem candidate for Clifton Ward, Wigginton Terrace, York.