Blogging from the Highlands of Scotland
'From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step' - Diderot

Friday 3 May 2002


BRITISH NATIONAL PARTY (BNP) WIN 3 SEATS IN BURNLEY LOCAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS

The BNP, considered by most people to be a right-wing, racist and ‘fascist’ Party (and they are homophobic, too!), have won 3 of the 45 seats in the local elections held yesterday (2 May 2002) in Burnley, Lancashire in the north of England.

This is a pretty disgusting result, and one wonders what the good people of Burnley can have been thinking of. Apparently one of the Wards to which a BNP councillor has been elected is described as a middle-class and prosperous one. This should have come as no surprise, in my view – despicable views are not the province of any one socio-economic group and it is a delusion to have believed they were.

Whilst it is awful what has happened, it should not be overblown – I doubt if 3 out of 45 councillors will be able to do more than be a pin-prick in local decision-making. On the other hand, the BNP came 2nd in a number of other Wards where it had a candidate, so it would be wise not to be complacent.

Burnley, where the council is heavily dominated by Labour councillors, was the scene of clashes between white and Asian youths last summer.

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