Postmen delivering BNP leaflets

I think anyone who abuses a postman because they don't like what he's delivering is a twat of the highest order - talk about shooting the messenger! As far as delivering the leaflets per se is concerned, I'm afraid I think postmen (or whatever the gender neutral terms is, lol) should unfortunately have to suck it up - as you say, the organisation is legal and has the right to campaign.

Did you read Charlie Brooker's excellent piece in teh Grauniad today?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/18/charlie-brooker-bnp-racism

What Mrs Jess said ?

That said, I am yet to receive a BNP leaflet through the door but when I do I know it's going to make my blood boil. Their new anti-ghurka stance will hopefully infuriate enough people so that they don't get a seat, although am not too hopeful of that.

I agree with this completely, although it doesn't really help the postmen. Maybe the solution is tough penalties for people who are mean to postmen.

I love CB.

Hvae to agree with Sophie. Posties represent an organisation that has taken on this contract, and presumably been paid for it.

Absolutely. Bus drivers already have this sort of protection and it should be extended to all public servants.

WEES - like it or not, the BNP is a perfectly legal political party with several dozen elected representatives, including a seat on the London Assembly. They've presumably put up the necessary deposits, and I'm assuming they've bent over backwards to ensure that nothing in their literature infringes the law. Therefore the postmen have no valid grounds for refusing delivery.

But because they have no valid grounds for refusing delivery, it's clearly ludicrous to make them scapegoats, any more than newsagents who were contractually obliged to sell the Sun in the wake of its Hillsborough coverage deserved being vilified.

Hmmm, as I've said I agree the BNp have a right to campaign. I don't however agree that postmen have no grounds to refuse to deliver if they're genuinely at risk of being verbally and perhaps physically abused- like all employees they're entitled to be safe at work.

True - and Royal Mail are normally very good on this (or they were when I temped for them years ago) - taking action against aggressive dogs etc.

When I was a casual postie, the posties were allowed to refuse to deliver leaflets, it was an extra on top of the mail, and you got paid per leaflet. I don't know if that's changed now.

Too right. I'm shocked that some people think Posties should like it or lump it tbh.

And it's questionable in some circles that the BMP should have the right to campaign. So whatever is legal is okay?, no questions asked?

I'd far rather than people are educated why the BNP spout hateful nonsense rather than prevent them from spouting it in the first place. We need to deal with their attitudes out in the open rather than supress them.

I've recieved a leaflet telling me to make sure I vote on the 4th of June. It says it doesn't matter who I vote for as long as it's a mainstream party to help prevent the BNP winning seats.

It contains a few choice quotes from the BNP as well.

Obviously if leaflet delivery is casual work that they can take on or not, as they please, there's no issue. It doesn't sound like that's the case here, though.

I think we need to separate the posties' right to work without fear of abuse from their obligation to do the job - and clearly it's the people doing the abusing that are the problem here, not the postmen or even, imo, the BNP.

?

*Tchoh*

Fascists love it when things like this happen. It "proves" that "themmuns" have their evil claws in every facet of society.

It's a toughie, isn't it? I think the line to be taken here is to make sure that anyone who subjects the posties to any sort of unacceptable behaviour is held to account for that (shouldn't be too hard to track them down, eh?? assuming the abuse is happening on the doorstep).

I'm with the others who say, repellant though their beliefs are, denying them a platform only adds to their power. I say bring them on, it's not as if their block headed opinions exactly stand up well to reasoned debate.

I don't think they get much support up here though, thankfully. Sadly, the SNP seem more than happy to fill the need for a xenophobic victim-mentality.

I came home to find our BNP leaflet had been delivered, and was delighted to see not only that the Spitfire is still unmistakably Polish but that they're also championing D-Day, one of the most successful examples of assorted nations banding together to help defeat fascism.

I'm not quite sure why they're so keen on bigging up the Somme and Dunkirk, though - those weren't exactly glorious British military triumphs, were they?

And, in response to the "Rockabilly" Brooker and similar dangerous rebels - some of them have been allowed to use the internet ? (warning -this is a link to a pretty unpleasant BNP style blog, as tweeted by one Charlton Brooker himself)

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Depends on the standard by which you measure. Dunkirk anyway was arguably a success, albeit in retreat. The inability of the opposition to do the same in reasonable order probably shortened the war. Although I take your point.

I'm just upset by a bunch of cunts like that thinking any event in the history of the United Kingdom, at war or otherwise, has anything to do with their philosophy.

Yes, I was also pleased to receive my BNP flyer this morning, complete with polish spitfire. I've actually been wanting to receive one so I could laugh at the huge *** up they've made.

Oh, it's not just a BNP-style blog - it's actually written by someone claiming to be the BNP's legal adviser. ?

I don't know about you, but I'd personally hesitate before employing a semi-literate cretin as my legal adviser, since the effectiveness of a legal argument tends to revolve around its level of linguistic precision. But maybe that's just me.

If further proof were needed that they're a shower of shite, this would have done it for me https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/5336891/BNP-war-hero-Johnson-Beharry-only-got-medal-because-he-is-black.html

I had the honour to attend a function at which Beharry V.C was a speaker about 18 months ago and also had the good fortune to have a chat with him after... And get my copy of Barefoot Soldier signed.

Top bloke. Genuinely seems not to understand why he got the award... But he's still bloody proud of it.

You really couldn't make it up - it seems that some of the people featured on the BNP leaflet aren't actually British. ?

On the brightside, the success of Front National in France did wonders for mainstream politics there, maybe we could garner the same. Although I won't hold my breath.

What a charmer. Particularly liked his followup blog, which was picked up by this enterprising chap:

http://www.hurryupharry.org/2009/05/18/lee-barnes-loses-it-again/

I heard about this on radio 4 and my immediate reaction was - perhaps unusually - to be appalled that posties can refuse to deliver your post on grounds of conscience. fair enough, they need protecting from people who abuse them (the abusing public should be prosecuted - idiots should recognise the difference between an author and a messenger) BUT since when does the postman get to censor the mail I receive? I completely object to the BNP's politics, but I don't expect the postman to intervene so I never get to hear it. I choose whether or not to chuck it in the bin, not him.

I think there's major issues about free speech here. It's not the same thing, but I live in a serious labour stronghold- if the conservatives sent out a totally thatcherite leaflet, does he get to object to me getting that as well? It might be completely against his conscience to deliver it, but it's my bloody post.

I'm afraid I have to hold my hands up and say that my eyes slid off the page after the first few lines of that blog, and I didn't read any more ?

Legal advisor ? oh deary deary me. Do all their arguments rest on the accusations that people are rockabillies, beatniks or other undesirables I wonder?

whilst I completely agree with the sentiment behind your post, I do think businesses have the right to refuse revenue streams, and if they accept them and an emplyee refuses to comply, thats an internal issue. There are many companies the BNP could pay to deliver their leaflet- RM might be the most attractive, but they are a business, not a vehicle to secure free speech.

whilst I completely agree with the sentiment behind your post, I do think businesses have the right to refuse revenue streams, and if they accept them and an emplyee refuses to comply, thats an internal issue. There are many companies the BNP could pay to deliver their leaflet- RM might be the most attractive, but they are a business, not a vehicle to secure free speech.

Whilst I in turn completely sympathise with the sentiment behind your post, it looks as though you're arguing that the BNP should be given special treatment, which would send out a worryingly mixed message.

I don't think it's them that's "sending out" the leaflets as such - I believe they're entitled to a mass leaflet delivery as a by-product of standing for election, filling out the necessary forms and putting up the necessary (and hefty) deposits. As I said above, although they're a bunch of ludicrous clowns (as emphasised by their unwittingly multicultural leaflet!), they are also a legitimately constituted political party, and if they've done everything by the book, their leaflets should also be delivered - and in exactly the same way as everyone else's.

I received mine this morning and have to say, I really enjoy the quote about British Soldiers being abused on the streets by "Muslims".... ?