A dreadful week for the BNP

posted by: Nick L | on: Friday, 8 February 2008, 16:13

It has been a dreadful week for the BNP. Two councillors have resigned, the House of Lords rejected an appeal by BNP members Chris and Barry Roberts in a case against Searchlight and last night the party failed to secure a by-election victory despite the best efforts of the Daily Mail and the BBC.

And just when they thought it could not get any worse …it did. Today two High Court judges threw out a claim by a defeated BNP candidate who had challenged a council election result last May. The BNP’s John Rowe got the same number of votes as Labour candidate Paul Re

ynolds in the Rosegrove and Lowerhouse ward. Lots were drawn and Labour won.

Rowe took the case to court, ably backed by his close friend and BNP councillor Sharon Wilkinson. To their dismay the BNP has refused to financially support the case, though they were quick to claim credit late last year when it appeared that the election result would be overturned.

At the centre of the dispute was one ballot paper which had been awarded to Labour but which Rowe’s legal team insisted should have been discarded. The judges ruled in favour of the Returning Officer and the original outcome stands.

This leaves Rowe facing a legal bill of £30,000. More significantly, it might also spell financial ruin for Sharon Wilkinson as she was backing Rowe’s bid. Wilkinson is up for re-election this year, perhaps she will reconsider this now.