As Tony Blair found out any planned, smooth hand over of power to be done in a date in the future rarely works out. As soon as a previously 'rock solid' leader says he is going to stand down, his supporters start looking for alternative guys to follow. Then sides form and the whole thing begins a life of its own and it snowballs. I doubt this will end smoothly or happily.
The light at the end is a train coming.Originally Posted by For_England
If re-elected he'll say no one can run it so he has generously decided to stay on to popular acclaim. By then all the people he discussed it with today he'll have executed.
If not re-elected he'll decide he's got all he can get out of it and go leaving a wreckage.
It's just like Blair getting out when the thing was going on the rocks.
I can't believe anyone takes this ancient snake oil 'retirement' gambit seriously.
Actually the tactic appears in Gladiator. Marcus Aurelius has been 'dying for ten years'. So no need for rivals to murder him then (in theory)!
Me three...
britishfreedom [dot] org - British Freedom Party
Very True, we need to ensure the reformers are united as one force!
britishfreedom [dot] org - British Freedom Party
Green Arrow reports: "so it was true, the world does end in 2012, boo hoo"
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold
Jim Dowson claimed to the members that the BNP membership had exceeded that of UKIP, yet its not even 14,000 but UKIP's last known had it around 15,000. MORE LIES EXPOSED!
britishfreedom [dot] org - British Freedom Party
Well, I think this is meant to appease the reformers. If accepted, it would preserve party unity and bring about a transition that might be amicable to all. However, he can't be trusted, and short of some solid gesture of good will - such as an amnesty on all those involved in previous rebellions, he probably isn't worthy of trust. Furthermore, it's a waste of three more crucial years of party building. Judging from the reception here, no one is going to go for it. Instead, the hounds smell a scent, and have sniffed out weakness, and are going for the kill. All I can say is - happy hunting.
An excellent post, if I may say so. Really, the question is best considered in Darwinian terms. After a major electoral reverse, does the BNP’s middle management grasp that the party must adapt or die? If not, then the party deserves to fail, and will fail.
The experience of the National Front after the May 1979 general election suggests that the BNP will lose a large number of its members at the end of this year, and suffer a major slump in donation income in the meanwhile, as demoralised members drop out or become inactive. If that is to be avoided, a thorough rebranding and relaunch is needed, under a new leadership team.
The present leader has been in control of the party for almost eleven years and has evidently run out of ideas. He refuses to accept responsibility for the party’s electoral debacle, even though he has had complete control over every aspect of its affairs for more than a decade.
In that time the party has haemorrhaged most of the few talented men and women that it ever attracted in a series of purges instigated by its current chairman (Mike Newland and the Edwardses in 2000, the “Decembrist” rebels in 2007, Michaela MacKenzie, Jeremy Wotherspoon and others in 2009, Eddy Butler soon to follow?)
None of these people are coming back under Nick Griffin’s leadership. Nor has new talent come forward to replace them. It’s interesting to see the mediocre Paul Golding once again promoted beyond his very modest abilities, as Griffin reconstructs his advisory council to include his own daughter, who is perhaps being groomed to take over the party in 2013: shades of Marine Le Pen.
Personally I would not be sorry to see the BNP fail and a new democratic nationalist party emerge, the phoenix rising from the ashes. Those with more affection for the BNP than I have must face facts. Either Griffin goes, or the party lapses into a third rate personality cult worthy of a mad African dictator. Your call.
Last edited by George Smiley; 23-05-2010 at 11:24 PM.
ˇLlora, llora urutaú, en las ramas del yatay . . . ya no existe el Paraguay donde nací como túˇ
Someone younger and without baggage, that would rule out Andrew, Simon, Johnathan, Richard....anymore?“It will be time to make way for a younger person who does not have any baggage which can be used against the party.”
No leadership challenge then? Who's his favourite younger person?“This is going to take at least 18 months to implement and after that I intend to hand the party over to someone who will be able to drive support up to where it can be a serious contender for power,” he said.
His plan, with a false leader?- The way that the BNP fights elections is to be revolutionised.
Hold on a minute, Simon told us this was a lie??- The Truth Truck is owned by the BNP, contrary to internet rumour-mongers, a fact confirmed in person by the BNP treasurer who paid for the vehicle, Jennie Noble.
Doubters, explain?- Mr Dowson does not take a commission on any membership applications or other transactions which run through the call centre in Belfast, once again contrary to internet rumour-mongers.
oh yes, of course. I thought there was something more to it.
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