A crop of local by-elections in the north-west of England and north Wales last night brought no cheer to the British National Party, which voters decisively rejected in four out of the five wards where it stood candidates.
So dire was the BNP's performance that at the time of posting nothing has been published on its main news webpage. Presumably its so-called news team are having problems working out how to spin the bad tidings. While the wait goes on the party faithful have been thrown a bone in the form of a gloating "analysis" of the UKIP's dismal performance on Thursday night. Tucked away on its "Regional Voices" page the article is entitled "UKIP’s week of unremitting woe" and speaks of a "hat-trick of disasters" for the anti-Europe party - epithets which might equally well be applied to the BNP's own showing, which the article (unsurprisingly) manages never to mention!
The only vaguely bright spot for the BNP came in Rossendale Irwell ward, where the party's percentage vote rose slightly over last May's. Irwell was the scene of the BNP's greatest efforts in Rossendale, where it also fought Goodshaw and Whitewell wards. From a base of 26.25% of the vote in May, the vote in Irwell rose to 27.55% - an increase of only 1.3%, giving the racist party third place and disappointing many members who believed the BNP could take the seat or at least come second.
Elsewhere in Rossendale, the BNP scored 7.52% in Goodshaw and 7.29% in Whitewell, where it has not fought previously.
In Liverpool Warbreck ward the party lost ground, having scored 4.72% in May, falling slightly to 4.47% on Thursday. While the BNP will plead that Warbreck is not suitable territory for a party of its type, the fact remains that Warbreck is exactly the kind of ward in which it should be making an impression if its claims to electoral progress are to have any validity. As it is the 146 votes and 4.47% garnered is little different from that obtained by racist parties in Liverpool in the 1970's.
The BNP's attempt to establish itself in Wales saw it contest Conwy Borough Council's Mochdre ward, to very little effect. Out of 663 votes cast the BNP gained a measly 35, or 5.28% of the vote.
While we accept the local factors and local personalities play an important part in local elections, what is abundantly clear from the latest crop of results is that the BNP's electoral stall - readily evident in the May elections - has become part of a fixed trend.
Earlier this month we reported on the Loughton Alderton ward by-election, where the BNP retained the ward by the skin of its teeth but suffered a 5% loss of votes, pointing out that though the party might crow about its "success" a 5% fall-off was a serious matter that could not be avoided or explained away.
The party's propagandists will have a harder time explaining away Thursday's poor performance, in which the only crumb of comfort was a 1.3% increase in a seat where they hoped for more. We have no doubt, however, that Griffin's men will come up with something plausible enough to reassure the BNP faithful in their continuing belief that, somehow or other, only with Nick Griffin at the helm will the BNP make electoral progress - despite the fact that by any standards, what Nick Griffin is presiding over can hardly be called "progress".
Results (percentages in brackets):
Goodshaw (Rossendale)
Lab 632 (59.40)
Con 300 (28.20)
LibDem 52 (4.89)
BNP 80 (7.52)
Total 1064
Whitewell (Rossendale)
Lab 399 (31.97)
Con 152 (12.18)
LibDem 606 (48.56)
BNP 91 (7.29)
Total 1248
Irwell (Rossendale)
Lab 379 (37.16)
Con 312 (30.59)
LibDem 48 (4.71)
BNP 281 (27.55)
Total 1020
Liverpool Warbreck
Lab 1796 (54.99)
Con 40 (1.22)
LibDem 1024 (31.35)
BNP 146 (4.47)
Ind 131 (4.01)
Green 45 (1.38)
LLCP 32 (0.98)
UKIP 52 (1.59)
Total 3266
Conwy Mochdre
Lab 303 (45.70)
Con 159 (23.98)
BNP 35 (5.28)
Plaid 166 (25.04)
Total 663
September 14, 2007
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16 comments:
Yep. Collett's leaflets and publicity skills are really successful. The BNP are really storming the country.
The only party that will stop Islam from taking over Britain is the BNP. For somebody like Denise G, who is openly gay, to gloat everytime the BNP loses an election is a bit like a Turkey cheering for Christmas.
Some plonker on Stormfront was talking up Mochdre (an area I know quite well) as a good prospect for the BNP; his reasoning was:
it's a working class area, with few jobs, and low pay - and the influx of Eastern Europeans is hitting locals hard
Mmmm, he got that one wrong didn't he ????
The BNP always ignores the bad and shouts what it considers to be good from the rooftops. These results are rubbish and just show how disregarded the party is by all but a small minority of the population.
The decline of UKIP is significant.In the next Euro elections who will the former UKIP voters give their votes to?
Trouble is the Nutzies tend to go boozing and in thier befudled state the think they hear multiple voices saying that they are correct.
Mind you that is not quite as good as a County Election in Kent some years ago where the NFer gained 7 votes. 3 less than those alledged to have signed the nomination papers !
For somebody like Denise G, who is openly gay, to gloat everytime the BNP loses an election is a bit like a Turkey cheering for Christmas.
Has something I said upset you?
Again.
Why will the UKIP vote go to the BNP? Their voters are usually ex Labour and Tory not Nazis. What makes you think the BNP will outpoll UKIP in the European elections? Voters identify UKIP with a national issue like Europe more than they do the BNP which is why they do badly in council elections.
Nothing on the BNP news page, so I guess they must be embarrassed. There is a couple of items in Regional Voices. Seems they had a go at getting on Rhyl Community Council and are trying to make out it was a real council. Plus they've got the Liverpool result and guess what... difficult area... UKIP did worse than us... Twats. Why don't they just tell the truth, they could only find 146 morons to vote for them?
anon said.....for somebody like Denise G......what on earth has Denise Gs sexual preference got to do with it, you really are one sick little muppet, your brain(if you have one) wants washing out with soap.
When are you going to realise the 'party' is over, no money, no votes, no leadership.
Old Sailor mentioned an NF candidate who only got 7 votes (despite ten electors having signed their nomination papers).
When the BNP breezed into our area, claiming they were "neck and neck" with Labour for the seat, I made a point of checking the 10 signatories on their nomination papers. They came from one very small area of the (large) ward. This meant one of two things:
a) their support was so strong that they could find 10 supporters in one small area
b) they had just knocked on doors and said "please sign this" (did they even make it clear what people were actually signing?)
After the election I checked how many of the ten had voted.
Answer ..... 1. Out of 10. 10%.
By the way, it was the Lib Dems who were "neck and neck" for the seat - BNP well adrift.
A word to the wise...
I have zapped a number of comments from BNP supporters who think they can take the sting out of the LUAF blog by turning this section into a circus by flooding it with what are (presumably) humourous postings unrelated to the topic in hand. It's a standard BNP distraction tactic we find on forums all over the internet.
On my own blog there is no platform for any racist, other than in the most exceptional cirumstances. Here at LUAF comment policy is very much more liberal.
Even so, on my watch here those BNP people who think they are going to turn comment sections into a joke are mistaken. Keep to the topic or don't bother at all - I can zap it quicker than you can type it.
Well said Denise. These muppets have been getting away with murder on here. They've got their own blogs, more than we have, so let them go there to take the piss.
On topic, it seems to me that the BNP really has peaked. Are there any pending by elections where they are fighting in places they've already stood, so that we can get a comparisson?
Referring to the BNP pre-Griffin, on the front cover of August's VoF, it says
"Derisory votes of less than 3% in most elections contested..."
Out of these five elecltions, four only managed 4%, 5%, 7% and 7% respectively. Not that great an improvement in nearly ten years.
"The old BNP was going nowhere, membership was stagnant and the Party was in decline..."
No change there then - the membership is still stagnant. It follows up with a little fib.
"Today, the British National Party’s 65 councillors are a testament to the transformation
of the Party’s fortunes..."
That figure includes the parish councillors who got in without a single vote being cast. Real councillors are 49, which is less than the party had this time last year. What was that about stagnant?
One reason the BNP isn't saying a dickie bird about these results is because the only half way good result came in an area where BNP members supported Chris Jackson. I reckon Fingers wouldn't have been too pleased if they'd won in Irwell and there's probably trouble on the way for any pro Jackson branch that does better than average.
@ Terry B
A number are coming up next week.
An interesting one will be Brandwood (Birmingham), where the BNP have previously fought the seat. In May they took just short of 9%, which (if my maths are correct) was a fall of about 4% on their previous outing. Just to add to the fun, the NNP are also standing.
There's also Nuneaton's Abbey ward, where serial BNP candidate Alwyn Deacon is standing. Deacon gave us a bit of a shock in Bedworth's Bede ward, and recently stood in Bedworth's Slough ward.
The full list of elections that will concern us is as follows:
Birmingham Brandwood:
Con 2646
Lab 2231
LibDem 730
BNP 588
Green 448
Worcester St Clements:
Con 879
Lab 409
BNP 281
Green 209
Southend Shoeburyness:
Con 788
Ind 658
Lab 481
BNP 315
LibDem 107
Wigan West:
Lab 1388
Con 563
Community Action 560
BNP 402
Copeland Harbour:
Lab 656 574 556
Con 412 403 385
Nuneaton Abbey:
Lab 736
LibDem 676
Con 480
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