[From Sadiq's regular e-newsletter - sign up here]

On Thursday June 4th it is the elections for the European Parliament.

In this week’s email, I’m going to ask you to do something I don’t think I’ve ever done before. That is, I am asking you to vote on Thursday even if you do not vote Labour; instead I’m asking you to vote for a mainstream party to stop the BNP winning any seats in the European Parliament.

The European Parliament is elected on a proportional representation (PR) system. This means that the 8 seats in London are allocated depending on the proportion of votes each party receives. The more people that vote, the harder it is for the BNP to win a seat.

Let me be clear – BNP candidates might now wear suits, and look reasonable. They may not use overtly racist, anti-semitic, xenophobic, Islamophobic or homophobic language – but as Sunday’s Observer highlighted – scratch the surface and they’re still the same nasty far-right extremist party they always have been. If the BNP win a seat in the European Parliament, this will give them credibility, hundreds of thousands of pounds of tax payers money and an opportunity to build links and form coalitions with other fascist parties in Europe.

Do we really want the BNP to be sharing best-practice and getting ideas from other far-right fascist parties from across Europe?

Labour has a good record in Europe. Our MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) have been trying to make sure that the EU works for all Londoners – from protecting consumers from rip-off prices, dangerous goods and poor environmental standards to working to protect Londoners from cross-border crime.

However, I am not asking you to necessarily vote Labour on Thursday – please just vote for any one of the mainstream parties, and make it as difficult as possible for the BNP to win a seat in the world’s most diverse and brilliant city.

Until next time.

Best wishes,

Sadiq