The British National Party makes gains in local elections

Telegraph:

Supporters of the far-right BNP claimed the party was "on its way" after seizing 11 of the 13 seats it contested in Barking and Dagenham in east London, and getting councillors elected in Stoke-on-Trent, Sandwell and Solihull in the West Midlands.

The British National Party's dramatic gains in Barking and Dagenham meant it has become the first council in the country to have the BNP as the second biggest party.

Richard Barnbrook, the BNP's London organiser, who gained one of the seats on the council, said voters had decided the time was right to choose the BNP.

"People now are no longer standing back saying we may think about voting or we dare not say BNP because it is a dirty word," he said.

In Sandwell in the Black Country, one of the West Midlands' most deprived boroughs, three more BNP councillors were elected in addition to one already on the council from the previous elections. All three gains were at the expense of Labour.

Two of the seats were won in the Tipton area, which has a large ethnic minority community and is also home to three Britons who were held at Guantanamo Bay.

BNP members cheered and taunted Labour opponents as the results were announced.

Jubilant winning BNP candidate Simon Smith said: "I am pleased to have won in Tipton because it is a very Anglo-Saxon and traditional area."

Fellow BNP victor Russell Green added: "After tonight's results we can all see that the BNP is on its way.

"It is plain to see that the vast majority of us are sick and tired of the dishonest and self-interested politicians that are ruining our communities and our country."

The BNP also claimed a shock win from Labour in Solihull when it won the Chelmsley Wood ward by 19 votes, securing its first seat on the council.

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