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Stoke-on-Trent is meant to be a jewel in the crown for the BNP - why else would they parachute Simon 'Stoke - is that near Barking?' Darby into the Stoke Central constituency?
However, with the publication of the nominations for the City Council elections (also on May 6th) we can see that the wheels are not so much coming off, as bouncing through the hedge at the side of the road!
All twenty City Council seats have a single seat up for re-election. Labour and the Conservatives are fighting all 20. Liberal Democrats 19. Independents (Stoke has lots of different Independents) 18. UKIP 10.
And the BNP? Six candidates. Six. Three of whom are existing sitting councillors. Hardly a sign of strength.
And in Darby's 'target' seat of Stoke Central, supposedly the second-best BNP prospect in the whole of Britain, they are contesting just three of the seven wards. No normal political party would consider failing to field a full slate of local election candidates in what is supposedly a key target constituency. But then, as we all know, the BNP is not normal.
There's a further interesting detail. One of the six towns which make up the City of Stoke-on-Trent is Longton. Its two wards (North and South) have long been considered the BNP's heartland in the area. It elected the first BNP councillor in 2002. In 2007 Griffin himself attended the Stoke count because he expected Longton North to become the first ward in Britain to elect a full slate of BNP members in three consecutive elections (they didn't). In 2008 they polled 25.8% in North; 19.4% in South.
And in 2010 they are contesting neither seat!
Meanwhile, in the Abbey Green ward of Central they face their own former group leader (Alby Walker); in Weston & Meir North (South constituency) they face an EFP candidate. The local elections are going to be rather overshadowed by the general election, but the results in Stoke-on-Trent could prove to be very interesting on May 7th.
April 10, 2010
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9 comments:
This is great news, but, even if the BNP do lose in Stoke, there's no room for complacency - these morons are nothing if not survivors, and we need to make sure their humiliation is as complete as possible
Keep on piling on the pressure!
"And the BNP? Six candidates. Six. Three of whom are existing sitting councillors. Hardly a sign of strength"
Only two are existing councillors, Phillip Sandland in Bentilee and Townsend and Anthony Simmonds in Weston and Meir North. It would have been three but Alby Walker of course left the BNP.
The EFP will be a big threat though in Longton North especially
with Mark Leat, the former BNP councillor for the ward, as their candidate.
He polled quite well as an independent last time and helped split the BNP vote.
If you look at the photos on Darby's pathetic blog, it appears he is the only Fascist activist in the area.
It will be interesting to see if the Neo-Nazi EFP stand a parliamentary candidate in Stoke as well.
Another fine article. Thanks, Iliacus.
Well it just goes to show what a bunch of nob eds the BNP are. Stupid.
Anon,
You're correct - two are existing councillors. I misread my own notes! [Old age - the eyesight goes first. Then the hearing. Pardon?]
Earlier in the week you cross-posted an article from (I think) the Guardian. It describes Darby delivering leaflets in Blurton.
Er, Blurton is in Stoke South, not Stoke Central.
Buy that man a map.
Or, on second thoughts, perhaps not!
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