-Caveat Lector- Euphorian spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.
To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk BNP snatches council seat in Straw constituency David Ward Friday November 22 2002 The Guardian The British National party claimed yesterday that it had "delivered a snub of epic proportions" to Labour after snatching a seat on the council in Blackburn, the Lancashire constituency of the foreign secretary, Jack Straw. In the shock result, BNP candidate Robin Evans, a 38-year-old builder, won a byelection in Mill Hill ward with a 16-vote majority after two recounts. The victory prompted memories of the 1970s when the National Front had three councillors in Blackburn. It also brings the BNP's national tally of seats to four. In May the party picked up three council seats in neighbouring Burnley but failed to make headway in Oldham or Bradford. Although some commentators feared the result could indicate the onward march of the BNP in the north-west of England, local politicians and community leaders were swift to play down its significance in a town where race relations have been strong in recent years and where there was no trouble on the streets during the race riots summer of 2001. They suggested that the BNP had exploited both hostility to Islam after last year's attacks on the US and the national debate about asylum seekers. "This result will not obstruct our efforts to build a more tolerant, multi-religious community in the town," said Mr Straw. "The politics of racial exclusion can have no place in British society and all mainstream parties will now have to work harder to defeat it." Ibrahim Master, chairman of the Lancashire council of mosques, described the result as a surprise and a shock. "This has been a protest vote about local issues rather than a reflection on the state of race relations in Blackburn. I don't believe the BNP has any real support at grassroots level," he said. "There is an element of the racist vote in Blackburn," said Sue Reid, the council's deputy leader. "The BNP literature was overtly racist. But we saw them off in the 1970s and I believe we will see them off again." The BNP used pub meetings and leaflet campaigns to target Blackburn, where about 20% of residents are thought to be from ethnic minorities, after its Burnley victories. It also made much of a planning application - turned down by the council - to establish a hostel for asylum seekers in mainly white Mill Hill ward, scene of the election. The party hailed its success as a "victory for common sense" and said core values of "decency, respect, civic pride, love of one's family and neighbours" had won the day. Like other successful BNP candidates, Mr Evans refused to be interviewed after his win but read from a prepared statement in which he said he would not be handicapped by political correctness. He looked forward to further success in 2004 when all seats on Labour-controlled Blackburn with Darwen council will be contested because of boundary changes. The BNP exploited a similar situation in Burnley this year and their latest victory will be a wake-up call to the mainstream parties. Bill Taylor, the council's Labour leader, described the result as deeply disappointing. "We are not going to let something like this stop us working to improve the lives of all of our people here," he said. The Conservative leader Colin Rigby said his party had fielded a candidate to show its "distaste and loathing" of all that the BNP stands for. He viewed the result with "dismay and horror". "We had the early warning in Burnley and should have taken more notice of the tactics used," he said. David Foster, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats who were defending the seat, said: "This is a sad day for Blackburn. The one crumb of comfort is that the majority of people in Mill Hill voted against the BNP." He added: "We have made an official complaint to both the police and the returning officer about the BNP leaflet which we believe contravened election law." Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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