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Falling Standards   » Permalink  |  TrackBack (0)

I've ranted here previously about how the Standards Board for England is a waste of time and money. They seem to be going out of their way to prove my point. The British National Party in Barking and Dagenham issued a leaflet saying that social housing on the Fanshawe estate was allocated with "75% given to Africans" and that...

"residents are being told they do not qualify to go to the top of the housing list because they can speak English and their families live in Britain. So, if you're native British, speak English and your family live in Britain, you will be put at the back of the queue. Is this fair?"

The leaflet was from BNP councillor Richard Barnbrook and it asked residents to contact the Director of Customer Services and complain. The Director, David Woods, referred the letter to the Stadards Board saying it was wilfully inaccurate, breached the Council's Code of Conduct, and was disrespectful to him.

The Standards Board have refused to investigate Mr Woods complaint, and in reply to his appeal, the Board's Chief Executive, David Prince, said,

"Unless the leaflet can be considered to be capable of amounting to incitement to racial hatred, it is unlikely that Councillor Barnbrook can be considered to be in breach of the Code of Conduct.... It would likely need to be proven that the leaflet intended to cause a violent reaction against Africans."

He went on to add that it was "part and parcel of political life that members and officers may disagree overe the interpretation of council policy."

And with those words Mr David Prince should just have signed his own redundancy cheque. Incitement to racial hatred is illegal in any event, so why should anyone need to complain to this ridiculous quango about it. Also, as the Local Government Chronicle says in an editorial, it is difficult to comprehend this response to the Barnbrook case "when set against, for example, the strenuous efforts the board made to investigate London Mayor Ken Livingstone."

Given that I am currently under investigation by the Standards Board, (one can only assume they perceived Unity's image as being designed to ferment race hatred), I suppose you could say I should keep my head down and say nothing.... but I'm not going to do so. I thought the Standards Board was a joke when it was set up, and nothing I have seen since has changed my mind. Scrap this quango now!