Lollypop Louise will run against BNP Barnbrook in Barking & Dagenham

By John Gray

Unison London NEC member (and local school crossing officer) Louise Couling, is to stand against the BNP Councillor and London Assembly member, Richard Barnbrook, in next year’s local council elections in Barking and Dagenham in East London. She will be joined as Labour candidate by Graham Letchford and James Clee.

At a recent London Unison regional committee it was announced that Louise, the no-nonsense East End grandmother and committed anti-fascist, will be one of three Labour Party candidates in the Goresbrook Ward who are standing against Barnbrook and his BNP colleagues.

Louise describes herself as an ordinary working class trade unionist who fiercely represents her predominantly low-paid women members. She is also a super-proud true Brit who hates fascism.

At the meeting Louise called for support from all parts of Unison in the upcoming battle in all those communities who are facing the scourge of the BNP. I’ll post more details on LabourList soon on how you can help her, the local Labour Party or the anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate, who will also be campaigning in the area.

Despite some members of the Unison committee being, let’s just say “not over fond” of Labour, the overwhelming majority were really pleased and wholly supportive that a leading London Unison female activist was directly taking on the BNP.

It was a shame, but also somewhat amusing, that while we were trying to be positive and inclusive the East Sussex member of the committee who should have known better, decided to launch a divisive rant about New Labour being the real cause of the BNP rise in East London, to which I heard one person quip, none too seriously under their breath: “this is the first time I’ve ever heard the Barking and Dagenham Party described as “New Labour”.

To celebrate Louise’s selection, here’s a skit made by icepicker100: