Posted on 05/03/2002 8:05:04 PM PDT by Spar
Right-Wing Wins British Elections
Fri May 3, 3:51 PM ET
By BETH GARDINER, Associated Press Writer
BURNLEY, England (AP) - The anger that once exploded into riots in this ramshackle northern English town made itself felt again this week, more quietly but with equal power.
Voters put three far-right anti-immigration candidates from the British National Party on the city council, prompting outrage in the political mainstream and fear among many foreign-born residents.
"A stain on the town," proclaimed the local Lancashire Evening Telegraph.
"Good luck to them," said Geoffrey Haworth, a BNP supporter.
David John Edwards, Carol Hughes and Terence Grogan took three of the Burnley Council's 45 seats, the extreme-right party's first electoral victories in nearly a decade.
They were the only successful candidates among 68 the BNP ran in local elections around England on Thursday. The Labor Party easily retained control of the council in Burnley, a town of about 90,000.
The small BNP victory — less than two weeks after an impressive showing in France by right-wing candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen _had no national significance in balloting for almost 6,000 seats on 174 English town councils.
The elections, which were followed as a barometer of public opinion but had no significance for national government, went well for Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites)'s Labor Party, which had feared public disenchantment over rising crime and failing services. Labor had some modest losses and the mainstream opposition Conservatives made modest gains, but not enough to signify that the Tories were making a comeback as a credible threat to Labor.
The BNP concentrated heavily on Burnley and a handful of similarly rundown former milltowns where unemployment and racial tensions run high.
Party leader Nick Griffin lauded the victories as a major step forward, saying Friday they marked the beginning of a right-wing resurgence.
"It's a tremendous breakthrough," he said after Grogan's win was announced. Griffin predicted "an explosion of growth, new membership, new branches and particularly come (elections) next May, hundreds of winnable seats."
Many disagreed, pointing to the BNP's dismal showing nationwide and arguing that Burnley voters had supported the party because they were dissatisfied with the status quo, not because they hated outsiders.
"They've got poverty problems, they've got drugs problems and if you turn around and say 'those people over there are the problem' some fools listen," said Terence McCabe, 29.
Shahid Malik, a Burnley Labor Party official, said mainstream parties had to counter such scapegoating.
"We've got to expose the BNP for the Nazis that they are so they aren't able to hoodwink the people as they did last night," he said.
The BNP, which advocates sending immigrants back to their countries of origin, sought to capitalize on the mistrust that burst into violence last summer
White and South Asian teens clashed in Burnley and several other northern towns, the country's worst racial violence in years, throwing bricks and firebombs and jarring the nerves of Britons who see their country as tolerant and harmonious.
The party's candidates told voters that the 7 percent of Burnley residents who are from minority groups received a disproportionate share of public resources, money that should be going to whites.
Mainstream leaders called the charge a lie, but voters in neighborhoods that supported the BNP repeated it again and again.
"The white people have voted because they want their share ... a fair share," said Kenneth Shapcott, who whooped and clapped when Grogan's victory was announced. "Burnley town council, by their racialism-in-reverse policies, are fully responsible."
Shocking!!
Nick Griffin, British National Party leader, gives the victory sign as he leaves the grounds of Burnley Football club, following a recount of votes for local elections Friday May 3, 2002. The recount resulted in the BNP, Britain's main right-wing extremist party, gaining three council seats in Burnley, one of four cities in northwestern England that suffered racial riots last year. (AP Photo/Max Nash)
Is there any wonder why journalists rank below ambulance-chasing lawyers and used car salesmen in the public esteem?
Check out this Real Player audio on the BNP site:
http://www.bnp.to/dambust.ram("We're the Dam Busters!")
Liberals must hate that.
It always astounds me the way liberals get so wrapped up in promoting their fantasy of the wonderfulness of "diversity" that they manage to blind themselves even to their own best interests and loudly defend people who would kill them first if they ever took over. Sort of like Casey "I live in a penthouse" Kasem's support for Nicaraguan commie, Daniel Ortega. Casey would have been first in line for the firing squad (#1 With A Bullet!) if his pal ever took over America. Say, maybe that's a good reason to elect him...
Our hard working Chairman declared Victory this morning as votes were still being counted in Burnley.Nick Griffin spent a solid five hours on Friday morning conducting interviews with the World's media who had descended on the small Lancashire town of Burnley. CNN, BBC, ITN, French, Italian and American crews were all eager to capture the atmosphere in the town as Nick Griffin conducted a drive around in the BNP battlewagon.
The mood amonst BNP voters in the town was described by observers as one of "elation".
The Chairman conducted further interviews on the village green in Worsthorne, a setting that is "typically English" and sums up an image totally at odds with the media portrayal that the BNP can only win in rundown inner city areas.
The party may not have taken as many wards as some had expected and indeed we all hoped for, but taking 3 wards in Burnley is a victory for the British people. It is a victory for common sense. It is a poke in the eye for the biased elements of the media who used their wealth and position to tell blatant lies about the BNP. We applaud those journalists that used their pens to write as fairly as they could about us and thank them for their coverage. We utterly condemn the wealthy plutocrats like Rupert Murdoch, Richard Desmond and Michael Green and their political pawns in the Labour Party who abused their positions to influence the outcome of these elections.
Back to the BNP's successes last night. In addition to the outright wins the party has seen seen the average vote almost double overall.
Highlights
- David Edwards takes Cliviger in Burnley
- Carol Hughes takes Rosegrove in Burnley
- Terry Grogan takes Gannow in Burnley
- Second place in Dudley (Castle & Priory) (26%)
- Second place in Oldham Chadderton South (29.89%)
- Second place in Wigan 22.9% which has never been contested before!
- Second place in Bexley Northend, our 3 candidates averaged 21.3%
- Third place in Sandwell Princes End,(24.6%) pipped by just 7 votes by the Tories.
We have only just begun the enormous task of restoring power to the British people. We have been heard and our voice will not be silenced. The British people demand better from our elected politicans.
Our campaign to win a future for British children is only just beginning!
My, the Brits do like a lot of government, 45 council seats for a town of 90,000.
It not a fluke either, the 174 towns mentioned average over 34 council seats per town.
My city has a population of about 55,000, we have 6 city council seats.
Because the liberal media are so confused by all of this that they're losing their minds?
Even below politicians and telemarketers.
There is nothing more Communist than having the people involved in the government.
Clamp down on the masses. Long live the state.
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