Today we launch Hope not Hate 2010 in the Daily Mirror – the paper’s annual campaign against racism in politics.

This year has been a mixed one. It is nine months since Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons were elected as UK representatives in the European Parliament – a profoundly depressing moment for British politics.

But their election has also given the world a chance to see what they actually achieve once in power – answer, not very much for their constituents.

This year’s battle lines are already drawn, with the BNP particularly targeting the East London constituency of Barking & Dagenham in the general and local elections.

Not content with his MEP’s post in the North-West of England, Griffin is also now standing for MP in Barking against Labour’s Margaret Hodge.

Next door, meanwhile, in the new constituency of Dagenham and Rainham, Labour’s Jon Cruddas is also in a three-way battle with the BNP and the Conservatives. And in nearby Thurrock, the BNP will be building on the17.5 per cent of the vote it achieved during the European elections.

Most worrying of all, the BNP could win their first council in the area. They already have 12 councillors in the Borough. This is a fight British politics cannot afford to lose. Should they win overall control, they would be in charge of a £200 million budget with areas of schools, social policy, kids in care – many of the most vulnerable people in society – being shaped by their ideology.

There are good reasons why the BNP is flourishing in the area. The former industrial hub where Ford employed 40,000 car-workers, is now running at eight per cent unemployment. The BNP’s scapegoating falls on fallow ground at a time when faith in mainstream politics is running desperately low.

So, in terms of the general election, the battle is on in East London, but also in Stoke-on-Trent South and Stoke-on-Trent Central, Nuneaton, in Warwickshire, and Amber Valley, in Derbyshire. Ed Balls’s seat of Morley and Outwood will be the BNP’s main focus in Yorkshire. Elsewhere in Yorkshire, the BNP will look for good results in Barnsley Central and Rotherham, while in the North East, Bishop Auckland and Sedgefield are key BNP targets.

Meanwhile, the council elections on May 6, the BNP may contend up to 1,000 seats.

All of which gives the Hope not Hate campaign a lot of work to do over the next seven weeks.

The good news is that four years into the Mirror’s partnership with Hope not Hate we have some incredible grassroots support in the key battlegrounds, as well as tens of thousands activists all over the country.

You’ll be hearing from us on this blog, on the main Hope not Hate site, and in the Daily Mirror, as we keep you informed about the campaign day to day.

We will bring you positive stories about our brilliantly diverse country, messages from our celebrity supporters, and also keep a close eye on the BNP.

If you would like to help us directly, please do get involved by going to www.hopenothate.org.uk and joining our campaign.

In recent months we have already seen the BNP’s first London Assembly member and first MEPs.

Don’t let Britain wake up to its first BNP council or first BNP MP on May 7th.

Follow @mirrorhope and http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/hope-not-hate/ for more info