Surprise resignation of BNP councillor

Searchlight by Sonia Gable | Wednesday, 21 October 2009

A British National Party councillor in Nuneaton has resigned 17 months after he was elected, leaving the party with only one representative in the borough. Darren Haywood cited “job commitments” as the reason he could no longer represent Camp Hill ward.

The resignation means there will be a by-election on 10 December, which the BNP is expected to contest.

Haywood’s sudden departure came as “no surprise” to local Labour and Conservative leaders, who claimed that he did not carry out his duties properly to the people he was supposed to serve.

Andrew Burtenshaw, chair of Nuneaton Conservatives said: “The people of Camp Hill have been let down by a faceless BNP councillor. Up and down the country, BNP councillors have a shocking record of failing to deliver for the residents that they serve.”

Councillor Dennis Harvey, leader of the Labour group, said that he knows only too well the lack of service given by Haywood as he also represents the Camp Hill ward. “This does not come as much of a surprise,” he said.

“As far as I know, Mr Haywood has attended no meetings of the council since June and the BNP have shown an abysmal interest in representing Camp Hill since their candidate was elected in 2008.”

Alwyn Deacon, the BNP’s West Midlands organiser, defended Haywood saying “He has resigned for his work commitments, he could have stayed on but he felt that it was only fair to give the electorate the choice to decide who they want to represent them because, as a result of his work, he was not able to do that. He has to work, he has a mortgage to pay and he didn’t think it was fair on the people of Camp Hill to suffer because of this.”

Presumably Deacon thinks that a councillor, a part-time role, having a mortgage is an exceptional circumstance.

Haywood’s resignation brings the total of BNP councillors nationally down to 57, including the three county councillors elected in May this year. The BNP always claims to have over 100 councillors but this figure includes parish, town and community councillors, many of whom were elected unopposed.

Since May 2008 the BNP has only won two council by-elections, in Boston and Sevenoaks, despite contesting up to four by-elections almost every week.

Their victories did not add to the party’s total as two BNP councillors have quit over the same period. Colin Auty in Kirklees left the BNP in July 2008 and resigned his seat shortly afterwards. John Gamble in Rotherham had the BNP whip withdrawn in April 2009 and now sits for the England First Party. In 2007 four BNP councillors left the party, one resigned his council seat and one was booted off the council for non-attendance.