User:Emeraude/Lawrence Rustem
Lawrence Rustem is a British political activist.
Born Timucin Rustem,[1] he later adopted the name Lawrence. Rustem is of half Turkish Cypriot and half English ancestry. In 1991, he joined the far-left Anti-Fascist Action,[2] but then subsequently joined the far-right British National Party (BNP).
BNP activist[edit]
Rustem was made Chairman of the "Ethnic Liaison Committee" of the BNP,[3] a group set up in 2001 to co-ordinate work between the party and "non-British people with similar aims".
He studied politics as a mature student at Greenwich University, where his presence caused controversy. The NATFHE, the university lecturers' union, called for his expulsion from the University, on the grounds that his presence could encourage racist campaigning there.[4]
He unsuccessfully stood for election as a local councillor in the Colyers Lane ward of Bexley.[5] He then stood for Parliament in the Dagenham constituency in the 2005 UK General Election where he received 9.3% of the votes. In the 2006 local elections he was elected as a councillor for the Valence ward of Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council. In the 2010 General election, he contested the Greenwich and Woolwich constituency for the BNP[6] and lost his seat on Barking and Dagenham Council in the 2010 local elections.
Rustem supported Eddy Butler in the BNP leadership challenge in 2010, complaining of the negative impact of Nick Griffin on voters.[7] In 2011, he was suspended from the party[8] and left the party later in the year.
Elections contested[edit]
UK Parliament
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 general election | Dagenham | BNP | 2,870 | 9.3 |
| 2010 general election | Greenwich and Woolwich | BNP | 1,151 | 2.8 |
London Assembly elections (Entire London city)
| Date of election | Party | Votes | % | Results | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | BNP | 90,365 | 4.71 | Not elected | Multi-members party list[9] |
| 2008 | BNP | 130,714 | 5.3 | Not elected | Multi-members party list |
European Parliament elections
| Year | Region | Party | Votes | % | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | London | BNP | 76,152 | 4.0 | Not-elected | Multi-member constituency; party list |
References[edit]
- ^ Evening Standard 15 April 2008
- ^ Birchall, Sean, Beating The Fascists: The Untold Story of Anti-Fascist Action Freedom Press (2010) p329
- ^ "BBC News - Programmes - Under the skin of the BNP". news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Phil Baty, "Union calls for ban on BNP man", Times Higher Education, 1 November 2002, accessed 20 March 2009
- ^ Bexley Council Election Results 2002 Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "BBC News - Election 2010 - Constituency - Greenwich & Woolwich". news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ BNPLeadership2010 (1 July 2010). "Lawrence Rustem On The Leadership Challenge" – via YouTube.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Suspended « BNP REFORM 2011". 17 March 2011.
- ^ "lonasscand". 3 June 2004.
External links[edit]
Category:Living people
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:British National Party politicians
Category:Councillors in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
Category:English people of Turkish Cypriot descent
Category:English far-right politicians