Thread by @voice_wales

THREAD:

Who is UKIP MS Neil Hamilton & Why Do His Political Ambitions Alarm anti-Racists?

The Senedd member for the Mid and West Wales region likes to make out he’s not part of a corrupt political establishment, but he became a household name associated with sleaze. 1/13

In 1994, in what became known as the cash-for-questions affair, he took bribes in return for asking questions in parliament on behalf of wealthy clients and introduced a lobbying firm to a tobacco giant for a £6,000 “commission” fee. 2/13

When the story broke in The Guardian newspaper, Hamilton tried to sue. The “Neil Hamilton Fighting Fund” that was used to finance the prosecution was stumped up by a gang of millionaires with axes to grind against the source of the story, Mohamed Al Fayed. 3/13

One of these was Taki Theodoracopulos who since has loudly declared his support for the Greek fascist party Golden Dawn. Hamilton lost the case & later had his appeal thrown out.

His relationship with racists and fascists continued, however. 4/13

In 1998 Hamilton was pictured giving a speech to the pro-Apartheid South African group the Springbok Club, headed up by a neo-Nazi ex-National Front activist and who wish for a return to the brutal and deeply racist Apartheid system. 5/13

His action went hand-in-hand with his comments calling the African National Congress (the party which led the struggle against Apartheid) as “a typical terrorist organisation” and going on to attack the BBC over a tribute to Nelson Mandela. 6/13

As a leading figure in UKIP, he welcomed so called ‘alt-right’ personalities into the party in 2018, among them a man accused of sending rape threats to an MP, a man with links to a racist online forum, & another personality who defended paedophilia. 7/13

This group of candidates was heralded by the UKIP MS who said he will “look forward to them developing truly dank memes that will trigger lefty luvvies”, a gimmick to try and beckon young recruits into the new incarnation of the party. 8/13

Now he hates BLM, falsely branding George Floyd - the black man who was murdered by a white cop kneeling on his neck, sparking a wave of global protests - a “career criminal, armed robber, and drug dealer.” All of these baseless claims are anti-Black racist tropes. 9/13

He is no doubt angry that the movement against racism under the BLM banner took Wales by storm in May and June, and amassed huge levels of support from across the whole of the country.

But anti-refugee racism in particular has been normalised in society. 10/13

Just in the past couple of weeks news broke that the Tory government may try to use nets or a wave machine to push back boats of asylum seekers, even though a 16 year old boy from Sudan died in August trying to get to Britain. This is the context Hamilton operates in.

11/13

Most recently he has been promoting a group where members have been seen calling for a race war. Some people dismiss him as a joke, but he won election in 2016 & came 3rd in the Newport West by-election in 2019. He remains a threat to the anti-racist cause in Wales.
12/13

To know more read these two important pieces by Mark S Redfern:

Hamilton's Links to Far Right & Fascists in Wales: bit.ly/354gGxM

The Real Story of Neil Hamilton: bit.ly/350RsRa
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