BNP Leader says: 'This is a Christian country and Islam is not welcome'

“This is a Christian country and Islam is not welcome, because Islam and Christianity, Islam and democracy, Islam and women’s rights do not mix. “That’s a simple fact that the elites of Europe are going to have to get their heads round and deal with over the next few years.”

These are the words of Nick Griffin, the leader of the racist and virulently anti-Muslim British National Party, who won a seat representing the North West region in the European elections, to Sky News on the night of his victory.

The BNP’s two European Parliament seat wins will mean that Griffin and Andrew Brons will enjoy an annual salary of over £80,000, furnished offices in Brussels and Strasbourg, and a staff budget of £190,000 a year. The total financial boost given to the BNP from Thursday’s election is estimated at £4m a year. That’s £4m of taxpayers money that will go to a party that explicitly and unabashedly foments anti-Muslim hatred.

The electoral turnout in the UK this year stood at 34.27%, below the EU average of 42.94% and even below the turnout in 2004, 38.52%.

For those lamenting the BNP’s gains and what it means for the future of community relations in the UK, one can only ask, where were you when the polls opened on Thursday?