Poll finds growing support for BNP

One in four voters would seriously consider voting for the British National party (BNP) in the forthcoming local elections, according to a new poll.

The YouGov survey for the Daily Telegraph finds 13 per cent of voters are "seriously considering" supporting the far-right party, while eight per cent who would never have previously considered such a move, are now.

Concerns that Britain is turning into a "foreign country" are cited by almost 75 per cent of those considering voting BNP – which include three per cent who have already voted for the party – while the rise of Islamic fundamentalism is also a major factor.

However, a further 64 per cent said they believed the major political parties did not stand up for Britain in the way they should, a point highlighted by home secretary Charles Clarke last night.

"I think the answer [to growing BNP support is] fundamentally about dissatisfaction with conventional politics rather than because of increasing racist sentiment in the country," he told Question Time.

"It’s been an issue for a long period of time…there’s a significant group of people in the country who don’t feel we the parties are engaging with their concerns enough in their particular community."

He said the only answer was to come up with a clear set of policies on migration, asylum, crime and anti-social behaviour – which he insisted Labour had done.

"Unless we actually make a difference in constituencies and communities up and down the country by the time of the next election, then it could indeed become a very serious issue," Mr Clarke warned.

But speaking on the same programme, shadow chancellor George Osborne pointed out that the BNP only had 21 councillors out of 27,000 across the country, saying they received "wholly disproportionate media coverage".

The issue has received widespread interest in the wake of report suggesting a quarter of Londoners were considering voting for the party, and the admission by children's minister Beverley Hughes that this trend showed growing alienation with traditional party politics.

"I think that the publicity that they attract…feeds into their kind of hate politics. It gives them the publicity upon which they thrive," Mr Osborne said.

However, he admitted: "There are communities that feel deeply dissatisfied, deeply left behind by the rest of society and it’s a fear of the other. They place their fears and their anger on the latest arrivals."

This was why "good immigration controls" were needed, to reassure people of the benefits of a properly managed system, he said.