someone asked me the other day why we were planning to leave london.

this is a huge part of it. the bnp has managed to win a seat on the london general assembly, meaning that they won over 5% of the vote.

i don’t care that people voted for a conservative mayor. i care that people voted for a representative of the british equivalent to the neo-nazi party, or the ku klux klan. they’re sickening, and they make my skin crawl and they’re now part of my elected government.

can you imagine a member of the kkk being elected in new york, or l.a.?**

i’ve mentioned here many times the increasing backlash against immigrants in the u.k. it’s been steadily and dramatically rising since both the 7/7 bombings, and the expansion of the e.u. to include several eastern european countries. people are scared of muslims, and resentful of the influx of eastern europeans they see as stealing “their” jobs (for the benefit of my american readers, it’s very similar to the anti-mexican sentiment in the u.s., except that in this instance, the immigrants are legal). none of this has been helped by the fact that the government has not handled either situation terribly well.

this 5% is just the tip of the iceberg. the economic and religious fear only serve to foment hatred and intolerance, and there’s much more below the surface. the bnp is only saying what a lot of people are thinking.

which means it’s time to go.

**this election also points out the larger demographic disparity between the “two londons”. inner london, which is much more economically and racially mixed, and outer london, which comprises the more populous, whiter and wealthier suburbs.

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