[British] Tories get best result since 1992 [in local elections]

The Conservatives look to be on course for their best local election performance since they last won national power in 1992.

On the projected share of the votes if the local polls were held nationwide, the Tories are on 40%, ahead of the Lib Dems' 27% and Labour's 26%.

As well as net gains of more than 200 seats, the Tories have won control of councils like Crawley and Merton.

There have been Tory wins in areas such as Shrewsbury & Atcham, Bassetlaw and Mole Valley.

The party's win in Crawley stripped Labour of control of the town for the first time since the early 1970s.

And the Tories picked up Ealing from Labour in what is seen as a "bellweather seat" for general election prospects.

Conservative chairman Francis Maude told BBC News 24: "None of us are... saying we are about to storm into Downing Street.

"This is a good start...it looks like where we are is at the top end of people's expectations."

But in St Albans, Hertfordshire, the Tories lost a seat to the Liberal Democrats on the length of a pencil.

After three recounts in Wheathampstead ward each had 1,132 votes, and the seat was won by the party that picked the longest pencil.

The Tories also lost Gosport to no overall control, with the Lib Dems making gains.

Among the councils the party has so far held are Tamworth in Staffordshire - where they gained five seats from Labour - and Brentwood in Essex, where they gained six seats from Liberal Democrats.

It is the first electoral test for Conservative leader David Cameron since he became leader last December.

But Lib Dem frontbencher Ed Davey said the Tories had failed to make inroads in cities such as Manchester and Liverpool.

'Bout right, I reckon.

BNP is always vilified by the Al-Beeb (and pretty much everyone else) as a very Right wing, neo-Nazi party. 'Right-thinking' (as per the liberati) people are expected to condemn them out of hand, which is generally what happens. Never mind the matter of Freedom of Speech or the Right to Hold a Different Opinion!!

However, I did read Lord Tebbit's (Lady T's right-hand man)recent letter in the Telegraph of April 21st on the British National Party's policies. Apart from the so-called racist (what isn't nowadays? The term has been so cheapened it is almost meaningless) agenda against multiculturalism, 'Asylum seekers' and other vocal minorities such as Muslims, the remainder of their agenda is pretty LEFT-Wing.

He quotes that there is plenty of anti-capitalism, opposition to free trade, commitments to "use all non-destructive means to reduce income inequality", to institute worker ownership, to favour workers' co-operatives, to return parts of the railways to state ownership, to nationalise the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and to withdraw from Nato.

Other pre-local election comment on the BBC News website adds that BNP Leader Nick Griffin also called for EU withdrawal, the restoration of capital punishment and an end to immigration.
He said British troops should be pulled out of Iraq and used to patrol Dover and the Channel Tunnel to keep out illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.
He pledged to introduce "firm but voluntary incentives for immigrants and their descendants to return home".
He said the main issue at this election was for the British to regain control of their own country.
Mr Griffin also wants the reintroduction of national service and said everyone who had undergone it should be required to keep a modern assault rifle at home.
"It's there to shoot burglars with if they want, it's there to shoot people who invade this country if they want, and if in the end a tyrannical government wants to usurp the rights and freedoms of the people it is there to use against the government as well," he said.
He added that this would disprove the "smear" that his party was totalitarian.

Read it all at:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4476279.stm

But form your own opinions. Try consulting Wikipedia under 'BNP'. The item reflects comment from a number of positions - for and against.

re :BNP is always vilified by the Al-Beeb (and pretty much everyone else) as a very Right wing, neo-Nazi party.

LOL But they are a Right wing, neo-Nazi party.

They may sound right on certain things, but it always is if you know you have no real chance of power.

For a party that is strong on law and order, they have quite a lot of cons in there party and even representing them in local elections.

Al-Beeb ... I love it!

Of course the BNP will be called 'racist' for merely standing up for British sovereignty, so it's a near meaningless charge from the multiculturalists...
Their voting strength is probably just anti-EU/globalization/immigrant vote akin to Pat Buchanan voters here.

It's a pity the Tory Party cant be distinctly free-market Thatcherite at the right time, and also co-opt the BNP with a clear pro-Brit sovereignty position ... now it their chance to come back.

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