Labour shrug off BNP scare

Nuneaton Town Hall remains in Labour hands - but only after the borough came within a whisker of having its first BNP councillor.

Pub landlord Alwyn Deacon, the British National Party candidate, was just 112 votes away from causing a massive upset in the by-election in Bedworth's Bede ward. He polled 546 votes, with Labour's Val Richardson claiming the seat with 658 votes.  The Conservatives were pushed into third place.

After falling just short of an historic victory, Mr Deacon, who runs Eliot's pub in Nuneaton's Abbey Street, pledged: "I'll be back."

Simon Darby, the deputy leader of the BNP, said: "This is one of, if not the best area in the country for new memberships and, as this is the first time we have run in a council election here, we have had a lot of interest."

Jubilant Labour are playing down the BNP's remarkable first bid in the borough by saying the near-miss was based on a "protest vote."

North Warwickshire MP Mike O'Brien, whose constituency embraces Bedworth, said: "I am not surprised that they picked up protest votes. They brought in people from all over the country to canvass in Bedworth. I'd prefer to concentrate on the collapse of the Conservative vote.  It has gone through the floor. They are on their knees in Nuneaton and Bedworth."

Val Richardson, the successful Labour candidate, was not at the count to savour her triumph. Her husband had whisked her away on a surprise holiday in Egypt to celebrate her 60th birthday.

The result means Labour retains overall control of the borough council. Had Labour lost the seat, Nuneaton and Bedworth would have become a hung council for the first time in its history.

The make-up of the council remains Labour 17 seats, Conservatives 15, and Liberal Democrats, one. Despite the snow, there was a 36 per cent turn-out.

icCoventry