Reply #50: Oldham was stoked by the BNP [View All]

who are a very small party - in most of the country. It certainly doesn't bear out your accusations against Hague. Though your final citation doesn't hold the view that the BNP politics were solely to blame - he calls it 'simplistic'.

Also note that the race riots in 2001 came both before (May, Oldham) and after (June, Burnley; July, Bradford) the election. They weren't attempts to intimidate voters or candidates.

So yes, I'd say this was not 'election-related violence'. The CRE mention neither elections nor political parties; 'Evangelicals Now' only talk about the BNP; and all 3 citations say this has been a long standing problem.

It came from racism and social problems that have built up over years. I don't think it's directly comparable, or relevant, to the reports from Zimbabwe.