BNP comes second in by-election

| Friday, 14 July 2006 Source: Searchlight

The British National Party came close to winning a second seat on Redbridge council in a by-election in Bridge ward on 13 July. Danny Warville, the party's counter-intelligence officer in London, came second in what had been a safe Conservative ward, taking one third of the vote.

The BNP had not stood in the ward in May considering it not one of the party's best prospects. But in a by-election the BNP was able to concentrate local resources, pushing out six or seven different leaflets. One has to wonder how Warville's election agent managed to do this within the election expenditure limit of just over £1,000.

The BNP leaflets picked up a number of genuine grievances about Redbridge's Conservative administration and mixed them with several outright lies about council spending being concentrated on "immigrant" Ilford rather than "white" Woodford, which includes Bridge ward. The final leaflet attacked the head teacher of a local school for admitting pupils from Tower Hamlets – the implication being that they are black – instead of local children. The fact that admissions are controlled by the council not the school passed the BNP by, or perhaps it was deliberate.

A large group of anti-fascists distributed copies of Searchlight magazine in the ward, organised by the local community group Redbridge and Epping Forest Together. This seemed to upset the BNP, perhaps because of the large numbers of news items in the magazine that exposed the true nature of the BNP as Holocaust deniers, criminals, hypocrites, woman-haters and losers.

Warville himself was absent during some of the campaign as he appears to have been promoted to the posse of minders for Nick Griffin, the party leader. Strangely the BNP leaflets were silent on any personal details.

Griffin returned the favour by visiting the ward on polling day before heading for a rally in Dagenham attended by around 100 people.

After the election the Conservative victor, Councillor Hinds, said, "I pay tribute to the honourable and good-natured campaigns run by the Greens, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties and I would like to thank the voters of Bridge ward".

The BNP fared far worse in an Ashfield council by-election in Hucknall West ward on the same day. This seemed to be a better prospect as the area has been a hotspot for BNP violence and threats to its political opponents in the past. Michael Clark came bottom in an election that the Liberal Democrats won and the Conservatives failed to contest.

Bridge ward, Redbridge Borough Council, 13 July 2006

Turnout 30.3%

Hucknall West ward, Ashfield District Council 13 July 2006