Forthcoming by-elections

| Wednesday, 7 June 2006 Source: Searchlight

The BNP is fielding candidates in five English council by-elections later this month.

Christopher Lawrence Hill is contesting a Lancaster City Council by-election in Skerton West on 22 June against Conservative and Labour opponents. The election follows the death of a Labour councillor. Hill is a mature student at Lancaster university.

Also on 22 June, Liam Birch is standing for the BNP in a Plymouth City Council by-election in Southway ward. Birch, who is a student at Plymouth university, faces opponents from Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Greens and UK Independence Party.

At the election for one vacancy in the ward on 4 May the Conservative candidate narrowly beat Labour in a three-cornered fight. The by-election will be hotly contested as a Labour victory would enable the party to regain control of Plymouth council.

The BNP did not contest any of the 19 Plymouth wards on 4 May, despite claiming to be very active in Devon.

On 29 June Philip Adam Marshall is the BNP candidate in a City of Lincoln Council by-election in Moorland ward. He faces Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and UK Independence Party opponents. The ward elected a Conservative councillor on 4 May against only a Labour opponent.

Tameside Metropolitan Borough has by-elections in two wards on 29 June and the BNP is contesting both of them. Anthony David Jones is standing in Denton South and Paul Hindley in Stalybridge North. Both face Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green opponents.

In May the BNP fought five Tameside wards, took more than 20% of the vote in four of them and came second in three. Neither of the current vacancies are in wards where the BNP stood in May.

The BNP is expected to field a candidate in a by-election in the London Borough of Redbridge on 13 July in Bridge ward following the death of a Conservative councillor. Julian Leppert is the sole BNP councillor in Redbridge and can be expected to remain so after the by-election.

Searchlight welcomes any information from readers about council by-elections as they are generally announced with little publicity.