BNP lose Millwall seat (1)
01 January 1991
BNP lose Millwall seat
artdoc July=1994
An unusually high turnout of voters - over 65% - in Tower
Hamlets, east London, saw the defeat of both the fascist British
National Party (BNP) and the ruling Liberal Democrats in the May
local elections. The council was regained by the Labour Party
which lost control of it ten years ago.
The BNP stood eight candidates in Tower Hamlets, hoping to
capitalise on the chaos that accompanied the election of Derek
Beackon, in the Millwall ward, last September. Three of their
candidates, including Beackon, stood in Millwall where they
increased their number of votes but only took 28% of the overall
total. Three other BNP candidates gained 23% of the vote in the
Holy Trinity ward.
The defeat of the BNP, and the Liberal Democrats - who had been
criticised by their national party for their openly racist
tactics - owed a great deal to an alliance of community groups
and political activists who worked to ensure a large turnout of
voters. A team of election observers from Liberty also helped to
ensure that the intimidation of Asian voters by BNP thugs, that
characterised the September poll, was not repeated.
In neighbouring Newham, where no far-right candidate had stood
since 1974, the BNP fielded five candidates. In the same wards
five official Conservative Party candidates stood as
Conservatives Against Labour's Unfair Ethnic Policies (CALUEP).
Despite vigorous campaigning by the Newham Monitoring Project,
the BNP averaged 33% in the Beckton ward and 24% in Custom House
and Silvertown; the combined racist vote, of the BNP and CALUEP,
was greater than that of the Labour Party who narrowly retained
their hold on Newham council.
The importance of the east London elections to the BNP was
indicated by their attempt to present their candidates and party
in a respectable light. This began with the prescription, in the
run-up to the elections, of Combat 18. This move backfired and
resulted in an ongoing and bloody feud between the two groups
that left several key BNP activists and one of their election
candidates hospitalised.
Elsewhere in London the BNP stood candidates in Hillingdon and
Hounslow in west London, and in south London. None of these
candidates received a significant vote although Jenny Oliver,
their candidate for Sutton, has been accused of breaking election
law by falsifying her nominees. William Hitches, their candidate
in Greenwich, south London is reported to be facing assault
charges after punching a rival candidate.
Outside of London the BNP focused its attentions on the north,
although none of its candidates made a significant impact. David
Bruce, the BNP's deputy leader, got 10% of the vote in Rosedale,
Hertfordshire.
Of the other far-right parties the National Front (NF), boosted
by a £100,000 windfall left to the party on the death of a
member, concentrated its campaign in the midlands. The NF has
lost most of its support elsewhere in the country to the BNP.
Several of its candidates got around 10% of the vote.
The minuscule Third Way, led by Patrick Harrington, stood three
candidates, only one of whom got above 2% of the vote. Several
fascists stood as independent candidates, the notorious nazi,
Tony Malski, getting 19% of the vote in Redbourne, Herfordshire.
Statewatch, vol 4 no 3, May-June 1994