BNP doubles number of council seats

The British National party (BNP) has warned it is a rising force in politics after more than doubling its number of council seats in yesterday's local elections.

Leader Nick Griffin said he expected to have up to 50 seats across England after all the votes were counted, and insisted the far-right party would "in due course" have enough support to form a government.

The BNP's main gains have been in Barking and Dagenham, where they won 11 seats to become the second biggest party, but they have also won seats in Sandwell, Stoke on Trent, Epping Foreign, Pendle, Broxbourne, and Redditch and Solihull.

Mr Griffin said it had been a "fantastic night" for the party, and insisted the BNP had appealed to people who "have been at the back of the queue too long".

"None of the opposition [parties] are laughing today – they're petrified of our results, and even more scared of our potential. We've come from nothing to this in three or four years, but you've seen nothing yet," he told BBC News 24.

The increase in representation, while not matched by any significant leap in national support, which remains small, has prompted widespread concern.

Work and pensions secretary John Hutton said last night's result "sends a message to all the parties that we must fight the racists", adding: "As a society we've got to stand very firm against the racists – they have no respectful place in British society."

Sabby Dhalu, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism, said the result was a "disaster for democracy" and warned it must be a "wake-up call" for all the main political parties.

"There has never been a more important time for a united national campaign against the BNP – a fascist organisation that peddles racist lies. When they have been elected previously, racist violence has soared," he added.

However, Mr Griffin rejected the racism charge, saying supporters of the BNP were simply "voting for fair treatment", adding: "We're here primarily to represent our people, but if people of ethnic minority have got problems, our councils will help them as well."

The vote for the BNP last night was a "revolt against what our liberal elite have imposed on us," he continued – before warning that, as the official opposition in Dagenham, the BNP now had a "democratic mandate" and would not be deterred from using it.