White Backlash, 'unfairness' and justifications of British National Party (BNP) support

In 2005, Roger Hewitt published White Backlash and the Politics of Multiculturalism. Using qualitative research conducted in Greenwich, London and via an engagement with political and media discourses, he traced the emergence of a new theme within white racism. This article will outline the origins and development of 'white backlash', from Conservative MP Enoch Powell's infamous 'Rivers of Blood' speech in 1968 through Thatcherism, and examine the re-emergence of notions of 'unfairness' to whites as a result of the actions of both New Labour and the British National Party (BNP). Using qualitative interviews with BNP voters in Burnley, Lancashire, England, the way in which individuals sought to 'justify' their actions with recourse to notions of 'unfairness' and 'equality' will be examined. It will be suggested that BNP supporters viewed multiculturalism and its perceived allies, positive discrimination and political correctness, to be the harbingers of a policy that institutionalized the exclusion of white residents. © The Author(s), 2010.