BNP loses another Loughton seat

by Sonia Gable | Thursday, 10 December 2009

The BNP failed to hold a seat on Loughton Town Council in its strongest Loughton ward today. The Loughton Residents’ Association (LRA), which had not previously contested the ward, took the Loughton Broadway seat by 23 votes in a by-election caused by the resignation of a BNP councillor.

In a four-way fight, Katie Nicholson for the LRA won 257 votes against the BNP's 234 and Labour’s 204. The Conservative candidate took 75 votes.

The victory is important because Broadway is the BNP’s strongest ward in Loughton, where the party once had six district councillors. In 2008 the BNP lost seats in Loughton Fairmead and Loughton Alderton. In May 2010 the BNP’s second district council seats in those two wards are up for election, together with one of its two Loughton Broadway seats. The town council defeat today gives hope that we can defeat the BNP in all three wards in May and reduce the BNP representation on Epping Forest District Council to one.

Redbridge and Epping Forest Together (REFT), the local community anti-fascist campaign, produced a leaflet for the campaign, which was distributed by local activists to every home in the ward on Sunday 6 December. It highlighted how the BNP has been promoting division and race hate in the area and has achieved nothing for the community.

The BNP bussed gangs of activists into the area in an attempt to retain the seat and desperately attacked the REFT leaflet on the day it appeared. The gangs were back on polling day, bringing out supporters to vote. It was to no avail.