The far-right are feeling sore

Southend: The end of Dowson’s EDL ambitions?

Jim Dowson

, the cashed-up leader of the tiny Britain First Party is counting the cost this morning of his party’s disastrous foray into the world of the EDL at war.

Having spent a great deal of his time and energy courting the EDL, his decision to bankroll yesterday’s disaster in Southend as well as a poor showing by the English Dems in Rotherham, has got poor old Jim worrying that he’s losing his Midas touch.

This would appear to have got Jim issuing daft threats against us, and his party’s nominal Chairman, Paul Golding, threatening our photographer yesterday. This is not the way forward, Jim. Complaining about “illegal” Mosques while you use your “Guesthouse” as a “church” is a bit rich. Even for you.

Dowson’s disaster in Southend (he didn’t attend himself) will not be as expensive as the time he told the BNP to fight Marmite, but the mere fact it was a wash out has got Nick Griffin smiling.

Griffin is telling everyone that the BNP is “back in town”, but only a gullible fool would believe him. My colleague Nick Lowles has taken that argument to pieces here:

The party may have come third in Rotherham last week, but they are a long way from being anywhere near where they were in 2009. They also came third in parliamentary elections in Barking in 2005 and 2010.

With that in mind, Griffin is putting heavy pressure on his former colleague Andrew Brons to hand his seat in the European parliament back to the party he is no longer a member of.

Let’s hope Patrick Harrington does not think he’ll have any chance of getting the seat. After the spanking he took on Friday because of his “union” Solidarity not being entirely honest with people, a photograph allegedly of him that is doing the rounds today would suggest, sitting anywhere would be hard for him at the moment…