Green Party candidate for the North West region Gina Dowding, also a Lancashire County Councillor, will today be speaking at a rally in Burnley for a community preparing to resist messages of hatred and xenophobia.
Reports suggest that Stephen Yaxley Lennon, AKA Tommy Robinson, is coming to Burnley, and is likely to be in the ward of Green councillor Andy Fewings.
Andy is organising a rally in conjunction with local anti-racism organisations offering solidarity and support to the community and a strong anti-hate message.
He has invited Gina Dowding, lead candidate for the North West and a Lancashire County Councillor, to address it.
Gina said: "We have seen this carrier of the message of hate going from place to place across the North West, from Liverpool to Oldham, Warrington to Preston, seeking to fan the flames of bigotry.
"Now he is trying Burnley. But this town has already demonstrated that it is united against the poisonous fiction that people can't stand together.
"The BNP has died in the town and shows no signs of making a comeback. Instead the Greens are rising, and following the local elections this month are now the second-largest group, by voteshare, on the Council."
Gina added: "The Green Party stands for everything that he doesn't. We stand for hope not hate, for unity not division, for finding solutions to problems not blaming others for them.
"The Green Party, from local councils through to Brussels, offers positive leadership that looks to a brighter future, celebrating diversity."