Stephen Gash

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thumb|200px|right|Stephen Gash
Stephen Paul Gash (born 25 April 1953) is an English nationalist and anti-Muslim activist. He is a spokesman for the Stop Islamisation of Europe network and a member of the English Democrats Party. SIOE Stop Islamisation of Europe, accessed 24 November 2008.
==Background==
Gash lives on the outskirts of Carlisle in Cumbria, less than nine miles south of the Scottish border. In May 2006 when he stood in the Carlisle City Council Elections he was referred to as ‘a writer’. Posted on www.englishdemocrats.org.uk on 5 April 2006. accessed on 21 May 2009 via Google's cache of 8 Mar 2009 08:08:15 GMT. This description also appears in the article A Richardson, ‘English Democrats to contest first city seat’, Cumberland News, 4 April 2006 A little over a year later a press release from the English Democrats referred to him as a doctor who ‘has spent most of his working life in various fields of biological research such as cancer, physiology and microbiology followed by a spell in financial services.’ Copy of English Democrats Press Release, '', 10 July 2007. Accessed on 21 May 2009 via Google's cache of <http://www.englishdemocrats.org/news.php?subaction=showcomments&id=1184088176&archive=1193302316&start_from=&ucat=1&.> (16 Mar 2009 05:33:35 GMT)
==Letter writer==
Gash is a prolific letter writer and has written dozens of letters to newspapers advocating an English parliament, opposing the EU, and promoting other English nationalist issues. A search of the Lexis Nexis newspaper database conducted on 21 May 2009 revealed 68 letters from Gash published in UK newspapers since 2005. 48 of those letters were published in local newspapers in the north of England, seven in the West Country, two in the Birmingham Post and two in Glasgow’s The Herald. Nine were published in national newspapers.
In his earliest letters Gash refers to himself as a member of the National Council of the Campaign for an English Parliament. The last mention of his affiliation to that group was in a letter published in October 2005, ‘Let's be proud of our national flag’, Western Daily Press, 14 October 2005; Page 13 although he continued to make mention of the group in letters until November 2006.‘England needs its own Parliament’, Western Daily Press, 27 November 2006 From January 2006 onwards, Gash identifies himself as a member of the English Democrats Party.The first mention in his letters on Lexis Nexis is: Northern Echo, 7 January 2006; p. 12
The English Democrats Party was set up in November 1999 and is led by the solicitor Robin Tilbrook. Electoral Commission, Register of political parties, English Democrats Party According to its website the key issues for the party are immigration, english identity, The EU and political correctness. Screengrab of English Democrats Website, 25 May 2009, 06:18
==Electoral politics==
In May 2006 Gash stood as an English Democrats candidate in the Carlisle City Council Elections. He stood in the Conservative dominated ward of Belah and won 247 votes. The Labour candidate won 435 votes and the Conservative candidate 976. Gash beat an independent candidate who received only 138 votes. ‘Council election results’, Whitehaven News, 5 May 2006
In July 2007 Gash stood for the English Democrats Party in the Sedgefield by-election which followed the resignation of Tony Blair as a Labour MP. A party press release stated that: ‘With the backing of his party [Gash] is seeking to establish a coalition of the original counties of Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland to highlight the real North/South Divide which exists between Scotland and Northern England.’ English Democrats Press Release, '[ENGLISH DEMOCRATS ANNOUNCE CANDIDATE FOR SEDGEFIELD BY-ELECTION]', 10 July 2007 accessed on 21 May 2009 via Google's cache of <http://www.englishdemocrats.org/news.php?subaction=showcomments&id=1184088176&archive=1193302316&start_from=&ucat=1&.> of 16 Mar 2009 05:33:35 GMT Gash came eighth with 177 or 0.6 per cent of the votes. Ask Aristotle: Gash, Stephen, guardian.co.uk, accessed 24 November 2008.
In May 2008 Gash stood as a candidate for the English Democrats "Putting England First" Party in the Carlisle City Council Elections. He stood in the Conservative dominated ward of Belah and won 176 votes. The Labour candidate won 431 votes and the Conservative candidate 1,212. Carlisle City Council, Election Results 2008, accessed 21 May 2009
==Stop Islamisation of Europe==
thumb|150px|left|Anders Gravers and Stephen Gash in London in 2008. Picture by Simon Wedege Pedersen.
In 2007 Gash became involved with a group called Stop Islamisation of Europe (SOIE), which had been founded that year in an attempt to build on the success of Stop Islamisation of Denmark (SIAD), a group led by Anders Gravers. Anti-Islamic movement hits the rocks, by Anne Jessen, Originally published in Searchlight, August 2008, reprinted at Islamophobia Watch. Gash along with Anders Gravers has now become a leading figure in the group.
In November 2007 Gash and Gravers set up a limited liability partnership called Sowloon LLP registered to Gash's home address in Carlisle. According to the partnership's Annual Returns filed on 16 January 2009 Gash and Gravers are the only two 'designated members' of the partnership. Sowloon LLP, , filed at Companies House on 16 January 2009
==Views==
In November 2008, Gash was interviewed by the US Christian Broadcasting Network:
:::"One of the worst things that is happening in England is that people are being ignored," Stephen Gash said.
:::Gash helps lead a grassroots group called SIOE, Stop the Islamization of Europe, which has a chapter in Britain.
:::"They're discriminating against the majority people in Europe now in favor of the Islamists and Muslims." he added. "The way we're going, we're going to be taken back to the stoning age. That's what's going to happen to this country." Can Britain Survive Multiculturalism?, by Dale Hurd, CBN News 13 November 2008.
Gash proclaims he is not racist, adopting as his tag-line this: 'racism is the lowest form of human stupidity, but Islamophobia is the highest form of common sense'.
==Affiliations==
*English Democrats Party
*Stop Islamisation of Europe
*Stop the Islamisation of Europe - England
==Publications, Contact, Resources and Notes==	 
===Publications===
===Contact and social media===	
:Address: 9 St Augusta View, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9RB 
:Phone: +44 122 854 7317
:Email: sioe.nsh@btinternet.com
:Facebook: Stephen Gash
:4 Freedoms Stephen Gash's page
:@Stephen_Gash
===Resources===
*Gash's My Telegraph Blog
===Notes===
Gash, Stephen
Gash, Stephen
Gash, Stephen
Gash, Stephen