Hi John,

HOPE not hate is well known for its campaign to defeat the British National Party (BNP) in Barking and Dagenham in 2010, when, over the course of three months, we distributed 355,000 newspapers, leaflets and letters across the borough in a bid to stop the far right party from winning control of the council. 

The mobilising of 541 people for one day of action, who together delivered 92,000 newspapers in four hours, was the biggest single turnout of any party or campaign group in the 2010 General Election campaign. The heavy defeat of the BNP in the election contributed to the party imploding.

In more recent years, as far as elections go, the far right has been in the wilderness: but at this year’s local elections in May, things are looking very different. A potent combination of crises including the pandemic, rising political distrust and soaring living costs has created fertile ground for the growth of far right ideas.

For the first time in several years, there are genuine electoral threats from the far right. But we know if we work together we can send them packing - we’ve done it before and we can do it again.

Can you chip into our local elections fighting fund to defeat hate on 5th May?

Even where fascist groups aren’t running, they can still do huge damage while campaigning. This includes Patriotic Alternative (PA), the largest fascist movement operating in the UK today: they’ve launched a competition between branches to see who can deliver the most leaflets and gain the most press coverage. This is a disgusting attempt to sow hate and shape the narratives of the election, without pushing for any particular candidate.

These groups don’t care about the areas where they’re running or campaigning. They’re opportunistic, heading wherever they think they have the best chances of whipping up hate and division.

We know from experience that one of the biggest factors in the electoral success of far right groups is low voter turnout, and that’s where we’re focussing our efforts.

Some of the plans we’ll be able to roll out with your support include: 

• Monitoring far right candidates and intelligence sharing to support local anti-far right organising 
• Running data-driven digital campaigns to encourage young people and minority communities to turnout to vote, including targeted ads in areas where far right candidates are standing 
• Community organising in target areas to spread messages of hope and reject the division sown by far right candidates
• Commissioning polling on attitudes to voting to support efforts to mobilise target groups at the local elections
• Bringing together a range of influencers, organisations and community groups to coordinate and amplify each other’s voter registration and ‘get out the vote’ efforts

Can’t donate right now? Please send us any far right leaflets coming through your door to [email protected] or the address at the bottom of this email (and here’s a list of other ways you can get involved).

Thank you for everything you do,

Nick

Nick Lowles
CEO, HOPE not hate

PS. If you’re not already, please register to vote and encourage everyone you know to do the same - you have until 11:59pm on 14th April in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and until 11:59pm on 18th April in Scotland. Together we can defeat hate on 5th May - register today: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote