BNP take London council seat
The British National Party (BNP) has won its first council seat in the capital for more than a decade.
It took the East London seat of Barking and Dagenham Council’s Goresbrook ward with a 407 majority over Labour.
The far-right party polled 1072 votes to the Labour Party’s 602. The Conservatives received 111 votes, the Liberal Democrats 85 and the Greens 59.
Turn-out was a low 28 per cent.
The BNP last held a council seat in London in 1993 when the Isle of Dogs, also in east London, was briefly in BNP hands.
BNP officials say that this victory makes the party a “main player” in east London for the next general election.
Responding to the news, in his capacity as the chair of Unite Against Fascism, the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, called on Londoners to wake up to the risk posed by the BNP.
He said: “These results show the BNP is now a bigger threat than ever before. Every progressive Londoner should wake up and join the movement to stop the BNP because they threaten everything which makes London such a wonderful diverse city.”
“The BNP is a fascist party. Wherever they are elected racist violence increases. Every concession to racism or Islamophobia by mainstream parties assists the BNP.”
