Tory 'Black farmer' rejects BNP at hustings
Updated on 24 April 2010
The campaign in the Wiltshire seat of Chippenham is being overshadowed by a row over whether the British National Party (BNP) candidate should join hustings debates, writes Katie Razzall.
To invite the BNP or not to invite the BNP - that is the question in Chippenham. The incredibly close fight in this new Wiltshire seat is being diverted by an argument over whether the BNP candidate should be invited to hustings.
The 'Black Farmer', as he's known, is the Tory candidate for Chippenham. This fedora-wearing sophisticate and successful sausage manufacturer, Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, refuses to share a platform with the BNP. He told me "this is a point of principle, they've got no mandate here and I don't want to legitimise them".
He's persuaded his Labour opponent to join him. Greg Lovell says it's been his most difficult decision of the campaign. But he agrees: "There's a difference between sitting on the stage and all of us talking about health, for example. It normalises them. I'm worried it will act as a Trojan horse for their views."
The BNP candidate, Michael Simpkins, says they're "scared". He's making the most of this. He turned up a recent hustings uninvited, took a chair from the audience and joined the panel - until the police were called.
At another, he stood outside, bible in hand, to protest his lack of an invitation. He told me he's not standing because Mr Emmanuel-Jones is black, in fact, he says he doesn't "hate black people". When I asked him why he was standing for the BNP in that case, he said the BNP are portrayed wrongly by the media.
Chippenham Candidates
Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones Conservative
Samantha Fletcher Green
Duncan Hames Liberal Democrat
Greg Lovell Labour
John Maguire English Democrats
Julia Reid UK Independence Party
Richard Sexton Christian Party
Michael Simpkins British National Party
The trouble, here in Chippenham, is that the row has become party political. The Liberal Democrat candidate, Duncan Hames, isn't signed up to the BNP boycott - he says he doesn't like the BNP but says, particularly in this era of dissatisfaction with politicians, he doesn't want to dictate the terms of debate. He says "I'm there to co-operate. If other candidates make a fuss, it doesn't help us move on."
This Sunday, the BNP has been invited to a hustings. Its organisers have told Mr Emmanuel-Jones, his decision not to debate with the BNP is "incompatible" with holding public office. He's demanding they retract that, and the row between principle and freedom of speech rumbles on.
