The BNP bogeyman is the favoured weapon of the No to AV campaign. Its latest campaign video focuses on the potential power of “unpopular fringe parties” to have undue influence over results in certain constituencies.
“The people who vote for the unpopular fringe parties could end up having the deciding vote,” warns the video’s voiceover, above an ominous soundtrack. “In over 30 constituencies at the last election, BNP voters could have decided which candidate won the seat. It isn’t right.”
The main thing that isn’t right, however, is No to AV’s claim that BNP voters could have decided the results in more than 30 constituencies.
The video warns that in some areas the BNP votes outnumber the majorities of the winning candidate. The accompanying press release lists the 35 seats where “BNP votes” have “the greatest change [sic] of swinging an election”.
This is a statement which, as well as being misspelled, is more than a little disingenuous.
One of the constituencies listed is Hampstead and Kilburn, which was carried by Glenda Jackson with a tiny majority of 42. With a turnout of 52,822, under AV the winner would have required a total of 26,411 votes or more (provided every voter had listed a preference for every candidate). The Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem candidates got 17,332, 17,290 and 16,491 votes, respectively.
The BNP, however, got a whopping 328 votes. Even if they voted en masse for another candidate, the mainstream candidates would still be a good 8,000 votes short of the required amount. In other words, “BNP votes” will have barely any influence at all, never mind swing the election. Despite No to AV claims that AV will see parties pandering to BNP voters, Jackson will not be shoving anti-immigrant propaganda through the letter boxes of Hampstead’s leafy suburbs just yet.
It’s a similar story in Sheffield Central. Labour won with 165 more votes than the Lib Dems. The BNP’s 903 votes are significant in such a tight election. But not nearly as significant as the 6,414 votes cast for Conservative, Green, Ukip and independent candidates. The preferences of BNP voters in Sheffield Central cannot swing the election – Tory and Green votes can.
Only in Dagenham could “BNP votes” alone push a candidate above the 50 per cent threshold – as the graphic in the video suggests would happen under AV – giving the Labour MP Jon Cruddas a larger majority. So, let’s give the video a more accurate headline: “Under AV, the people who vote for the unpopular fringe parties could end up having the deciding vote – in Dagenham.”
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