This year, the fascist British National Party (BNP) took a record number of council seats rising from 21 to 49, in the largest vote ever for a fascist party in Britain.

The BNP is a fascist party standing in the tradition of Hitler's Nazis whose rise to power resulted in the murder of millions of Jewish, Black, lesbian and gay and disabled people, Roma and Gypsies, trade unionists and political opponents.

Fascism stands for the systematic elimination of whole communities and the complete destruction of democracy and human rights. Leading BNP members deny the reality of the Holocaust, calling it a 'hoax', have labeled disabled people as 'genetically inferior' and have convictions for violent criminal offences. The BNP calls for an 'all-white Britain', something that could only be achieved through mass violence.

BNP leader Nick Griffin has a conviction for incitement to racial hatred, and a BNP youth leader, Tony Wentworth, pleaded guilty to causing fear and provocation to violence when he contested an election in Salford University Students' Union in 2003. London nail bomber David Copeland was a former BNP member and said 'my aim was to cause a racial war ... then all of the white people would go and vote BNP.'

The BNP's growth is being fuelled by racism, and where the BNP hold council seats racist attacks increase. According to the Racial Equality Council in Barking and Dagenham, where the BNP won 12 seats at the local elections in May, racist incidents have leapt by 84.6% since 2002.

The BNP is also seeking to build support for fascism and race hate among students and young people. A BNP 'Student Association' has been established, and fascists have contested students' union elections.

The Unite Against Fascism (UAF) campaign exists to bring together all those who face the threat of the BNP - Black, Muslim and Jewish communities, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, disabled people and women - in alliance with the trade unions, students and all anti-fascists. By challenging the racism on which the BNP is feeding, and mobilising everybody threatened by fascism, communities in places such as Millwall and Oldham have been able to drive the BNP back electorally.

Students can make an important contribution to opposing racism and fascism. With the BNP set to contest further local elections in May, it is critical that we get active now to stop the BNP.

What you can do:

• Raise awareness of the threat of the BNP - hold a UAF stall on your campus or invite a UAF speaker to your students union.
• Set up a Unite Against Fascism campaign in your college or university.
• Run a voter registration campaign on campus before the election and encourage students to use their vote to stop the BNP. Get involved in local activities to mobilise the anti-racist vote.
• Join UAF and get your students union to affiliate.

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