Music

Billy Bragg "the village fool" says British National Party

by Ciaran Thompson

It’s probably pretty typical for musicians renowned for being outspoken about political and social matters to receive hate mail now and then, but something has been happening in the English village of Burton Bradstock, home to Billy Bragg, that has been described by residents as “quite bizarre.”

According to the Guardian, about 30 anonymous letters have been sent out to Bragg’s neighbors defaming and accusing him of being a hypocrite for enjoying a wealthy lifestyle while expressing socialist views.

The village post office manager, who received one of these typed letters, said it “was a racist rant at Billy Bragg. We thought we were the only ones to have been sent it but over a few days it became clear that about 20 or 30 people had also got one.

“A lot of the people were quite horrified by it. It wasn’t overly aggressive and didn’t include death threats but it wasn’t nice. The letter claimed he was anti-British, pro-immigration and called him the village fool.”

Bragg has said he believes the letters are the work of a disgruntled British National Party (BNP) supporter because of his previous work campaigning against the party and setting up a website encouraging tactical voting.

“I have campaigned against the Tories in West Dorset for the past 10 years, but they have never stooped so low as to randomly circulate hate mail in the hope of undermining my credibility,” Bragg said. “This pathetic attempt at intimidation reminds voters that the BNP are not like any other political party – their methods betray them.

“I’m sorry if anyone who received this letter was disturbed by its contents,” he continued. “My advice to any recipients is to throw it in the bin where it belongs. I will continue to campaign against racism wherever I find it, comfortable in the knowledge that, after 11 happy years living in Burton Bradstock, people here have already made up their minds about me, one way or another.”