The extreme right British National Party (BNP) on Friday was celebrating a rise in support in local elections across Britain, saying it showed that voters were fed up with immigrants and asylum seekers.
While only contesting seats in a small portion of the 176 local authorities nationwide, the BNP greatly increased its presence from 24 councillors previously, with the results still being finalised.
Eleven out of 13 BNP candidates put forward in Barking and Dagenham, a constituency east of London, won seats with one more ward still to declare.
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labour Party maintained control of the overall council but its MP for the constituency, Margaret Hodge, looked to be in trouble for publicly forecasting a strong BNP showing.
Labour officials believe her comments damaged the party’s chances and helped the extreme right gain support. They are now considering disciplinary action against Hodge, Britain’s domestic Press Association reported.
Voters in the central England towns of Stoke-on-Trent, Sandwell and Solihull also chose BNP candidates to join their local authorities.
The party’s leader, Nick Griffin, said the polls — unlike a general election — enabled people to reveal their feelings about local concerns.
”There are genuine concerns about issues relating to immigration, asylum and multiculturalism,” Griffin told the BBC.
He noted that his members fared well against the main opposition Conservatives as well as Labour.
”The British people in these areas are saying we have had enough of the whole multicultural experiment especially as it is financed with our taxes without our consent,” Griffin said.
Despite its relatively good performance, the BNP remains a marginal party nationwide, dwarfed by the main parties. – Sapa-AFP