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I have commented previously on the BNP's delusional claim that they are benefiting from a "quiet revolution" - one reflected by the party's increased success in contesting local authority by-elections, and in garnering votes.
February 7th provided further evidence that their claims are, indeed, delusional.
A by-election in a Surrey parish, which the BNP's "blonde bombshell campaigning mum" failed to win, despite huge media coverage, rather distracted attention from eleven rather more important by-elections that day to County, Borough, District and city Unitary Authorities. To have so many by-elections on a single day is unusual, doubtless related to a reluctance to issue the necessary paperwork over the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
So what happened on "Super Thursday"? Well let's start with candidates nominated:
Conservative 11
Labour 8
Lib Dem 8
UKIP 5
Green 5
Independent 2
BNP 1
English Democrats 1
Hardly a sparkling performance by the BNP! And who actually won the seats? Conservatives 6 (down 2), Lib Dems 2 (no change), Independents 2 (up 2), Labour 1 (no change). So no good news for the BNP there.
Share of the vote? Well, the average vote per candidate was as follows:
Independents 52.5% (but only two candidates - and both won!)
Lib Dems 44.5%
Conservatives 40.5%
Labour 17.3% (pretty miserable)
BNP 15.0% (but only one candidate)
UKIP 10.2% (depressed by a miserable 1.7% in one seat)
Green 5.1%
English Democrats 3.6% (in a seat they'd polled 17%+ last time)
Now I'm sure some in the BNP will crow about beating UKIP and the Greens, and "almost equalling the Labour party of government", but that would be deeply wishful thinking. The reality is that on that single day UKIP managed to poll 10%+ in three wards (two in Lancashire and one in Staffordshire), and 9.1% in a fourth (in Great Yarmouth - recently "graced" by a visit from Nick Griffin). UKIP also fielded five times as many candidates as the BNP. The Greens had a similar success in fielding candidates, but three of their candidates polled under 5% - the others achieved a slightly better 8.3% and 9.7%. Many of us may be sympathetic to parts of the green "programme" but - for whatever reason - their electoral fortunes are at present are pretty grim outside a very small number of areas.
It was a poor day for Labour, though their percentages were depressed by very low votes in true blue Hertfordshire (4.7%) and Wiltshire (a truly awful 2.0%), and in Portsmouth where an extraordinary Lib Dem campaign reduced the Labour vote to 10.6% on a 28.5% swing from the Conservatives to the Lib Dems.
The BNP? One candidate in the whole country, in a ward with no Lib Dem candidate, and just 15.0%. That quiet revolution sure is quiet!
14th February Postscript
There were four further by-elections on 14th February - three in England and one in Scotland. In England the three major parties fought all three, Independents and Greens two, BNP and the Popular Alliance (a fragment of Veritas !) one each. Again, not a great BNP achievement. Denise has already summarised the outcome in the Burton ward which saw the only BNP intervention, and I agree with the posted comment that it was a bit of an "in between result". Not good enough to be an encouragement to the BNP; but not bad enough to cheer us too much!
The two other by-elections were in Labour-held seats in Preston and Waltham Forest - and it must be cause for concern for the BNP that they were unable to find a mug (I'm sorry, I mean a committed local activist) to contest each seat! Preston is, of course, in the North West - which has a dynamic new Regional Organiser ... one Nicholas Griffin. He really needs to get his act together or he'll be purged. And the failure to find a candidate in Waltham Forest doesn't bode well for the LGA/ Mayoral polls in May (not that it upsets me you understand). In the event it was the Liberal Democrats who seized the initiative, a 13% swing in Waltham Forest (seat gained) and a 15% swing in Preston (Labour majority reduced to just 23).
The Scottish by-election, for Moray Council, was contested by ten candidates, and resulted in an SNP gain from Independent. Though there was no far-right involvement the result is worth listing for sheer novelty value:
SNP 884 (35.1%)
Ind 845 (33.5%)
Labour 459 (18.2%)
Ind (no 2) 278 (11.0%)
Con 223 (8.8%)
Lib Dem 53 (2.1%)
SSCUP 37 (1.5%)
UKIP 20 (0.8%)
Ind (no 3) (16 0.6%)
Ind (no 4) 1 (0.0%)
(Yes, that is 1 vote for the fourth Independent! And SSCUP stands for Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party!)
February 18, 2008
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5 comments:
The primary problem as far as the BNP goes is the lack of knowledge regarding the political process on the part of the average man and woman in the street. Had people fully understood the political process - or even partially understood it - any crowing would soon be seen as the empty boasts they are.
Nice to see another reader article on here. it's great that you have reader input but I'd like to see a lot more of it.
Wait .... if I put my ear to the floor I can just about make out the faint rumblings of the BNP Morlocks from the depths of the public sewers ...
We're kept up to date on here by LUAF's election reports which have been showing nothing doing for the BNP mostly.
How will LUAf be covering the locals in May?
The only quiet revolution in the bnp is the way the rebels have lost their stomach.
Every rebel who supports Bumbrook in the GLA elections, is a turkey voting for Christmas.
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