Editing British National Party (section)

=== Nick Griffin's leadership (1999–2014) ===
[[File:Nick griffin bnp from flickr user britishnationalism.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Nick Griffin at a BNP press conference in Manchester in 2009]]

After the BNP's poor performance at the 1997 general election, opposition to Tyndall's leadership grew.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=53}} The modernisers called the party's first leadership election, and in October 1999 Tyndall was ousted when two-thirds of those voting backed [[Nick Griffin]], who offered an improved administration, financial transparency, and greater support for local branches.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2008|1pp=75–76, 101|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=55}} Often characterised as a political chameleon,{{sfn|Griffin|2011|p=201}} Griffin had once been considered a party hardliner before switching allegiance to the modernisers in the late 1990s. In his youth, he had been involved in the NF as well as [[Third Position]]ist groups like [[Political Soldier]] and the [[International Third Position]].{{sfnm|1a1=Griffin|1y=2011|1p=196|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=66}} Criticising his predecessors for fuelling the image of the BNP as "thugs, losers and troublemakers",{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=71}} Griffin inaugurated a period of change in the party.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=55–56}}

Influenced by Le Pen's National Front in France, Griffin sought to widen the BNP's appeal to individuals who were concerned about immigration but had not previously voted for the extreme-right.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2008|1p=123|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=67}} The BNP replaced Tyndall's policy of compulsory deportation of non-whites to a voluntary system whereby non-whites would be given financial incentives to emigrate.{{sfnm|1a1=Driver|1y=2011|1p=142|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=68}} It downplayed [[biological racism]] and stressed the cultural incompatibility of different racial groups.{{sfnm|1a1=Driver|1y=2011|1p=142|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=68}} This emphasis on culture allowed it to foreground [[Islamophobia]]; following the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001, it launched a "Campaign Against Islam".{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=68}} It stressed the claim that the BNP was "''not'' a racist party" but an "organised response to [[anti-white racism]]".{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=103}} At the same time Griffin sought to reassure the party's base that these reforms were based on pragmatism and not a change in principle.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2008|1p=102|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=68}}

Griffin also sought to shed the BNP's image as a [[single-issue party]],{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=67}} by embracing a diverse array of social and economic issues.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=70}} Griffin renamed the party's monthly newspaper from ''British Nationalist'' to ''The Voice of Freedom'', and established a new journal, ''Identity''.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=114}} The party developed community-based campaigns,{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=67}} through which it targeted local issues,{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=70}} particularly in those areas with large numbers of skilled white working-class people who were disaffected with the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] government.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=73}} For instance, in [[Burnley]] it campaigned for lower speed limits on housing estates and against the closure of a local swimming bath, while in South Birmingham it targeted pensioners' concerns about youth gangs.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=74}} In 2006, the party urged its activists to carry out local activities like cleaning up children's play areas and removing [[graffiti]] while wearing high-vis jackets emblazoned with the party logo.{{sfnm|1a1=Goodwin|1y=2011|1p=74|2a1=Trilling|2y=2012|2p=134}}

Griffin believed that [[Peak Oil]] and a growth in Third World migrants arriving in Britain would result in a BNP government coming to power by 2040.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=170}} 
The close of the twentieth century produced more favourable conditions for the extreme-right in Britain as a result of increased public concerns about immigration and established Muslim communities coupled with growing dissatisfaction with the established mainstream parties.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=9–10}} In turn, the BNP gained rapidly growing levels of support over the coming years.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=10}} In July 2000, it came second in the [[Bexley London Borough Council elections#1998–2002|council elections for the North End of the London Borough of Bexley]], its best result since 1993.{{sfnm|1a1=Sykes|1y=2005|1p=139|2a1=Trilling|2y=2012|2pp=95–96}} At the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]] it gained 16% of the vote in one constituency and over 10% in two others.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=10}} In the [[2002 United Kingdom local elections|2002 local elections]] the BNP gained four councillors, three of whom were in Burnley,{{sfnm|1a1=Sykes|1y=2005|1p=138|2a1=Copsey|2y=2008|2p=144|3a1=Goodwin|3y=2011|3p=11}} where it had capitalised on white anger surrounding the disproportionately high levels of funding being directed to the Asian-dominated Daneshouse ward.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|pp=133–134}} This breakthrough generated public anxieties about the party, with a poll finding that six in ten supported a ban on it.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2008|1p=142|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=11}} In the [[2003 United Kingdom local elections|2003 local elections]], the BNP gained 13 additional councillors, including seven more in Burnley; the party received over 100,000 votes in this election.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2008|1pp=124, 145|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=11|3a1=Trilling|3y=2012|3p=118}} Concerned that much of its potential vote was going to the [[UK Independence Party]] (UKIP), in 2003 the BNP offered UKIP an electoral pact but was rebuffed.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=154}} Griffin then accused UKIP of being a Labour Party scheme to steal the BNP's votes.{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=155}} It invested much in the campaign for the [[2004 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|2004 European Parliament election]], at which it received 800,000 votes but failed to secure a parliamentary seat.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2008|1p=150|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2pp=12–13}} In the [[2004 United Kingdom local elections|2004 local elections]], it secured four more seats, including three in [[Epping, Essex|Epping]].{{sfn|Copsey|2008|p=154}}

[[File:Protesters gathering at the BBC TV Centre 2009-10-22.jpg|thumb|Anti-fascist protestors demonstrating against [[Question Time British National Party controversy|Griffin's appearance]] on ''[[Question Time]]'' in 2009]]
For the [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005 general election]], the BNP expanded its number of candidates to 119 and targeted specific regions. Its average vote in the areas it contested rose to 4.3%.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=11}} It gained significantly more support in three seats, achieving 10% in [[Burnley (UK Parliament constituency)|Burnley]], 13% in [[Dewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Dewsbury]], and 17% in [[Barking (UK Parliament constituency)|Barking]].{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=11}} In the [[2006 United Kingdom local elections|2006 local elections]] the party gained 220,000 votes, with 33 additional councillors, having averaged a vote share of 18% in the areas it contested.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2008|1p=167|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=12}} In Barking and Dagenham, it saw 12 of its 13 candidates elected to the council.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=2}} At the [[2008 London Assembly election]], the BNP gained 130,000 votes, reaching the 5% mark and thus gaining an Assembly seat.{{sfnm|1a1=Woodbridge|1y=2010|1p=44|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=12}} At the [[2009 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|2009 European Parliament election]], the party gained almost 1 million votes, with two of its candidates, Nick Griffin and [[Andrew Brons]], being elected as Members of the European Parliament for [[North West England (European Parliament constituency)|North West England]] and [[Yorkshire and the Humber (European Parliament constituency)|Yorkshire and the Humber]] respectively.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2011|1p=1|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=13|3a1=Trilling|3y=2012|3p=152}} That election also saw extreme-right parties winning seats for various other EU member-states.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=13}} This victory marked a major watershed for the party.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=13}} Amid [[Question Time British National Party controversy|significant public controversy]], Griffin was invited to appear on the [[BBC]] show ''[[Question Time]]'' in October 2009, the first time that the BNP had been invited to share a national television platform with mainstream panellists. Griffin's performance was however widely regarded as poor.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2011|1p=4|2a1=Copsey|2a2=Macklin|2y=2011|2pp=86–89|3a1=Goodwin|3y=2011|3p=13|4a1=Trilling|4y=2012|4pp=168–169}}

Despite its success, there was dissent in the party. In 2007 a group of senior members known as the "December rebels" challenged Griffin, calling for internal party democracy and financial transparency, but were expelled.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=93}} In 2008, a group of BNP activists in [[Bradford]] split to form the Democratic Nationalists.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=80}} In November 2008, the BNP membership list was posted to WikiLeaks, after appearing briefly on a weblog.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=21 March 2009 |title='BNP membership' officer sacked |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7956824.stm |url-status=live |access-date=23 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326060319/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7956824.stm |archive-date=26 March 2009}}</ref> A year later, in October 2009, another list of BNP members was leaked.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Booth |first=Robert |date=20 October 2009 |title=BNP membership list leaked |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/oct/20/bnp-membership-list-wikileaks |url-status=live |access-date=20 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130044736/http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/oct/20/bnp-membership-list-wikileaks |archive-date=30 January 2013}}</ref>
[[File:2010 UK general election, British National Party vote share.svg|thumb|British National Party (BNP) vote share in the 2010 UK general election.]]
Eddy Butler then led a challenge to Griffin's leadership, alleging financial corruption, but he had insufficient support.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=94}} The rebels who supported him split into two groups: one section remained as the internal Reform Group, the other left the BNP to form the [[British Freedom Party]].{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=94}}
By 2010, there was discontent among the party's grassroots, a result of the change to its white-only membership policy and rumours of financial corruption among its leadership.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=13–14}} Some defected to the National Front or left to form parties like the [[Britannica Party]].{{sfn|Goodwin|2014|p=901}} [[Anti-fascism|Anti-fascist]] groups like [[Hope not Hate]] had campaigned extensively in Barking to stop the area's locals voting for the BNP.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=14}} At the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]], the BNP had hoped to make a breakthrough by gaining a seat in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], although it failed to achieve this.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|pp=2–3}} It nevertheless gained the fifth largest national vote share, with 1.9% of the vote, representing the most successful electoral performance for an extreme-right party in UK history.{{sfnm|1a1=Goodwin|1y=2011|1p=14|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2014|2p=887}} In the [[2010 United Kingdom local elections|2010 local elections]], it lost all of its councillors in Barking and Dagenham.{{sfnm|1a1=Copsey|1y=2011|1p=3|2a1=Goodwin|2y=2011|2p=3}} Nationally, the party's number of councillors dropped from over fifty to 28.{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=3}} Griffin described the results as "disastrous".{{sfn|Goodwin|2011|p=3}}