The main reason I would vote BNP is because of issues such as this

Good point Peter...it does make you wonder.

The reason is they, "the labour left", want democracy to be what they want it to be. Just as with free speech. You can say what you like, so long as "they" agree with it.

Unfortunate headline Courier...you'd hardly call a school "Plumber school" if a plumber was on the board of goveners.

Peter,the reason Linda Riordan is now belly aching about the BNP,is that she knows she has stabbed our Labour Leaders in the back that often,that we are now unfortunately about to lose this seat of ours in Halifax at the next Election,so what better way for her than to pontificate from high about the BNP school Governors integretity,when her own shambolic selfish aims have destroyed what was once a safe Labour seat.

The main people bellyache about the BNP is because they are ignorant, nasty, and racist. I would suggest that is the reason one would not want a BNP councillor as a school governor. The sooner this travesty of a 'political' party is wiped out the better, and the way to do so is to completely refuse to deal with them, as with the London Assembly. Do people really not remember the National Front?

MandyBaker, I dislike the BNP a great deal, but I dislike fascism more.

MandyBaker, hardly a day passes by without this subject being brought up. Sadly, reasoned debate is always sacrificed at the altar of blind idiocy and misinformation (from both sides of the fence). All i know is that in his pre-election campaign, the now Cllr Bates struck me as the most able and passionate of all the candidates. He displayed none of the adjectives you attribute to his party (and by association, him). This keenness to deliver for his ward is the sole reason i voted for him. If he fails to represent us in the town hall or if he suddenly shows signs of megalomaniacal genocide i promise i'll take my vote elsewhere. We have a saying up here about taking people as we find them. Maybe things are different in 'that London'.

Nothing about Cllr Bates' political leanings should preclude him from doing the job of school governor.By this ridiculous argument we could say that Labour MPs should resign. After all, their party is responsible for the shambles of the last 11 years.

What REALLY worries me about people like yourself, MandyBaker, is the language you use when calling for the BNP to be 'wiped out'. I appreciate you think you're doing the right thing and have nothing but the best intentions, but such comments show a glaring lack of knowledge of the fundamentals of a democratic system. Democracy is absolute, whether we agree with the outcome or not, and childish 'no platform' stunts are an insult and an affront to it. My advice to you: Don't jump on bandwagons if you don't know where they are heading. History is full of people who have silenced opposition 'for the greater good'. It never ends well...

Mandy Baker,the BNP will definitely have my vote for the first time at the next Election,rather than vote for Linda Riordan,who will want to carry on her crusade with the Cabal of Trotsky's in Parliament,canvassing under the Labour banner,they are nothing but a set of hypocrite's who are systematically trying to destroy a Great Labour Government.