Blasting The Nasty Party

In another sign that the government is heading for a pounding at the June 4th Euro Elections, Labour has evoked the spectre posed by minor parties as several prominent local figures expressed concern about their continued ability to motivate voters.

Martin Salter said less than eight per cent of the vote is required to win a seat under proportional representation and any reduction in his party's vote, which gained one of the eleven south-east regional seats in the last Euro election, could allow others in.

Anneliese Dodds was more desperate and urged supporters who stayed away last time to reconsider, and Jo Lovelock cited an example from 15 years ago warning that community relations could be 'poisoned' by a visible representative of public opinion.

And Labour provides an example of how it is using resources to further it's national electoral agenda by organising a local forum to focus on how to spend a growing allocation of government funds to tackle extreme political attitudes.

Meanwhile, the consensual view of other parties is that the tactic of scaring people with the perceived threat of gains by fringe groups is counterproductive as it gives them the publicity they crave, rather than offering any real reasons to go to the ballot box and vote positively.

Former Labour MP Jane Griffiths slams her former colleagues for attempting to bully voters and legitimising the beliefs of those they disagree with.

Local maverick Howard Thomas points out that the issues addressed by smaller parties shouldn't be ignored, as this creates a breeding ground for dissent.

Which is exactly what is done on BracknellBlogs, who the dissect claims made in a recent BNP election pamphlet.

Oranjepan asks:
Do you know who your Euro representatives and candidates are, and more importantly, what they stand for?