The 2012 Organisers' Conference, held in Coventry on Saturday the 4th February, covered a wide range of topics with the emphasis on reaching out to the public and building the party.

50 delegates braved an atrocious weather forecast to take part in training and discussion sessions including; the GLA and local election in May; the wave of Mayoral and Police Authority contests to be held in many parts of the country in November; the work of local fund holders and what they need from other officials to do their jobs well; the party accounts and current, massively improved, financial position; setting up and running a successful high street table top stall; building voice of freedom sales; how to become a parish councillor; the importance of postal votes; and the forthcoming internal elections to the National Executive Committee.

Uplifting and unifying

The very positive meeting was chaired by National Organiser Adam Walker, who kept things moving along at a cracking pace in order to ensure that as well as plenty of time for questions and answers at every stage, everyone was able to head for home half an hour early before the weather closed in!

Tens of thousands of the new Heat or Eat leaflets were bought and taken away for distribution in a big push over the next few weeks while the subject couldn't be more topical.

"Everyone really enjoyed the Conference," says Mike Jones, "there's a tremendous spirit of unity in the party again and a determination to build for the future and get back to winning. One of the highlights for me was the short testimonial from a local man Derek, who told us how easy it had been to collect more than 50 postal votes from family and friends. We're putting a lot of effort into building our postal vote block in my part of London to, and it's great to see other people doing the same in their area."

"It's no secret that the British National Party was fighting for it's very survival last year," Nick Griffin MEP told the Conference, "and the media and our opponents are still trying to write us off. but the facts and figures, and the lies that they are using, are now two years out of date; we've come through that dark time, we've stabilised our financial position, we're now clearing the last of the debts, and while doing all of those things, we've produced and honed new tactics and tools for growth, such as table top petitions and the building of our postal vote block.

"As a result, while the various little splinter groups and wrecking operations, which were making so much noise and promising so much last year, have all been still-born or have fallen apart, we're not only still here, but we are unified, confident and ready to take advantage of all the external circumstances moving our way."

Street Activism:

National Organiser Adam Walker entertained everyone present as he set out and demonstrated the best, and worst, practices for organising and participating in table top stalls as part of the party's ever increasing street activism.

With the continuing use of table top petitions as a manner for meeting the public, a wide range of points were discussed, including the need to always be presentable, polite and engaging, and to ensure that our message is received loud and clear.

Party Finances:

National treasurer Clive Jefferson gave the delegates a detailed update of the Party's greatly improved financial state, and our agreement with the electoral commission, not only for the submission later this month of the 2010 accounts, which are overdue owing to circumstances beyond his control, but also for the early submission of the 2011 accounts, which will show very clearly that the financial difficulties and accounting difficulties of 2009 and 2010 have been put behind us.

"The figures in the 2010 audit are frankly dire," said Mr Jefferson, "and when the Commission publish them at the end of the month, we must expect the controlled media to go to town with headlines saying that we are finished. But the thing to remember is that they reflect the situation as it was two years ago, and not the reality as it is today. We've turned things around and now we are moving forward again."

Building up Voice of Freedom sales:

Mark Badrick, a keen and longstanding local activist from Coventry talked about the ease, and necessity, of building up a Voice of Freedom paper round in the local area. This monthly, face to face local contact ensures not only a regular income for the branch or group, but also the key knowledge of where the local supporters are, perfect for example for when a local election is called, and solid nominating signatures are required.

Election Addresses and Literature 2012:

Cllr Clive Jefferson and Head of Publicity Charlie Wythe gave a presentation on our new, targeted, local and national election addresses and key literature for the forthcoming elections. Everyone present was enthused and delighted with the range and professionalism of the literature now on hand to all our candidates.

Postal Votes:

The importance of the postal vote, and how it is now the key to winning in local elections, was impressed upon the Conference by Cllr Clive Jefferson, the National Elections Officer. Cllr Jefferson regaled the tale of how, at one local election late last year, from a turnout of 1,500 voters, only 400 people voted on the day.

Labour, who have been building their postal votes for the last eight years, have these local elections in the bag without getting out of bed come Election Day. Now, by building our own postal voting base, we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that we are not caught out again. It will of course take time to catch them up, but this is the one way that we will get back to winning.

Derek Evans, a local activist, then briefly described how easy it had been for him to sign up 50 of his friends and family to postal votes in just two months, and encouraged everyone else to do the same.

Becoming a Parish Councillor:

"This point can never be reiterated enough" Cllr Doug Ward told the room as he described the ease and importance of becoming a parish councillor for the British National Party.

This grass root entrance to politics, in the largely non-political environment of a local parish, is essential to help those keen local activists, and future higher level Party councillors, develop the confidence and practical experience they need in order to flex the political muscle of the Party.   

GLA 2012 elections:

The Party's determination to fight our best ever campaign to win again in the Greater London Assembly election at the start of May was highlighted by the announcement of a full schedule of dates for Days of Action in The Capital, and special fundraising events all over the country.

Also explained were our plans to involve the whole Party in a targeted mail-shot campaign which will mean that people in every region can help us reach London voters without having to spend large amounts of time and money travelling. A good turnout of key London officials at the conference reflected the enthusiasm and high work rate of our London organisation.

Being a Fund Holder:

Regional Treasurer James Mole gave an interesting and at times humorous account of the role of a fund holder, common mistakes some make, and how every organiser and official can assist their fund holder in carrying out their duties in the best manor possible.

Election of Officials to the Executive Committee:

Nick Griffin and Clive Jefferson explained further development of our plans for the creation of internal elected Regional Councils, which in turn are going to elect Regional Organisers, and hence the Party's governing body later this year.  

A striking feature of the whole day was the high level of audience participation and the constructive feedback on various of the proposals under discussion. Everyone present headed for home knowing more about the way ahead, and confident that we are on the right track again.

Popular and enthusiastic newcomers

"It was really good to see how much of a contribution is now being made by relative newcomers to the Party's core team," says World @ 8 presenter Lynne Mozar. "After a year in the role of Regional Treasurer, James Mole speaks with authority and understanding and it's reassuring to know that the Regional Treasury operation - and hence our local funds - are now in such a safe pair of hands.

"Charlie Wythe's professionalism shines through in all the publicity material the Party's centre is now producing for us. Mike Badrick showed how, with a bit of imagination and a lot of dedicated hard work, Freedom can be a really powerful tool for building the Party in your local area; his inclusion of everyone in his round in a block of lines in the National Lottery is simple but really clever as a way of retaining buyers for our paper.

"I'd heard Cllr Doug Ward speak about parish level politics at the November Voting Members Conference, but he still managed to give us so much new information and inspiration in his talk today."

The Conference ended with a both reflective and rousing closing address by Party Leader Nick Griffin, this was filmed by British National Party Television and you will be able to see that on this website very shortly.