>BNP: WE'RE ON OUR WAY
>5/5/2006- Supporters of the far-right BNP claimed the party was "on its
>way" after picking up extra council seats across England. The British
>National Party's gains were most dramatic in Barking and Dagenham in east
>London where it became the second biggest party, seizing 11 of the 13 seats
>it fought with one ward still to declare.
This is being vastly overplayed here. The BNP are a serious threat, but mark this: Respect got 12 councillors in Tower Hamlets, 3 in Newham, one in Birmingham and a lot of very strong seconds and thirds across the country where they stood, as well as 26% of the votes across Newham and a very good second place in that borough's mayoral contest. Naturally, despite the fact that Respect's Tower Hamlets result was better than the BNP's Barking & Dagenham result, the former are getting not a tithe of the publicity this gaggle of low-rank Nazis are getting. There was a bit of self-fulfilling prophesy in Margaret Hodge's puffing of the BNP before the election, such that local Labour activists are disgusted and the fascists have felt obliged to thank Labour for the free publicity.
Noticeably, the BNP ate into Tory and Lib Dem votes as much as Labour - in fact, the trend in recent years has been for them to get more lower-middle class Tory votes than working class Labour votes. Even where they have picked up seats in Labour heartland areas, it is typically from the conservative suburban enclaves rather than urban working class centres. Of course, a lot of those who voted BNP are simply unaware of the extent of their fascism and violent past, so exposing that will be crucial in Unite Against Fascism campaigns in the future. Other thing is, BNP councillors have an atrocious record in local governance, often failing to attend most meetings, engaging in behaviour that gets them disciplined, having to resign etc.
There's no surety that these present pockets of strength for the fascists, based as they are on lies and hysteria, will translate into future growth.
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