Babyshambles bassist Drew McConnell has urged London residents to vote in the upcoming local elections on 1 May, in order to block BNP members from winning seats in the London Assembly. As you Londoners may well know, as well as voting for Boris or Ken or Brian or Sian on election day, you also to get to vote for who sits in that slightly mysterious and generally anonymous thing they call the London Assembly.
Speaking to the NME, he said: "The London Assembly elections happen every four years, and last time the BNP were just 5,000 votes off getting a seat. That might not sound like a lot, but 5,000 votes is actually just 0.1 per cent! The polls are predicting the BNP to win two seats this year, which would be disastrous. As I understand it each elected member is given an office, £400,000 a year funding and, most terrifyingly in the case of the BNP, legitimacy and a platform from which to spout their vile hatred right into the heart of our nation's capital".
These comments coincide with the 'Love Music Hate Racism' carnival, which takes place this Sunday in London's Victoria Park. McConnell will appear at the event as part of a new band featuring Reverend And The Makers' Jon McClure and former Arctic Monkeys Andy Nicholson.
"Hopefully the LMHR carnival will go some way to stopping [the BNP winning seats]. We know we're only musicians, and we can't change the world armed only with guitars and bad haircuts. But there's nothing wrong with having a go, eh? If 100,000 people turn up to our event, they might just go and vote on 1 May, too. We won't get fooled again!"