The Far right BNP gained their 17th council seat in the Grays Riverside
ward, Thurrock, in yesterday's by-election. They received 38.2%of the total
vote, with a low turnout of only 22%.
However the BNP were defeated in another by-election that took place
in Newcastle yesterday. Labour won the seat with 61.4% of the vote; the BNP
finished second with only 17.3% of the vote.
Mohammed Azam, Co-ordinator of the Coalition Against Racism
- Unite to Stop the BNP campaign said:
"This result is a devastating blow for the people of Grays Riverside.
The BNP is a neo-nazi organisation: their leader Nick Griffin described the
holocaust as an 'evil hoax' and openly stated that the BNP stand for an all
white Britain. I am confident that the majority of the people in this ward
and the rest of Britain strongly oppose these views. The turnout in Grays
Riverside was extremely low at 22% - the BNP always benefit from low turnouts.
If the majority vote the BNP can be defeated."
Lee Jasper, National Assembly Against Racism Secretary said:
We should be extremely concerned about the BNP winning council seats. When
the BNP win council seats racist attacks increase. In Burnley between April
2002 and March 2003 237 racist attacks were recorded. This is an increase
of 149% from April 2000 and March 2001 where 95 crimes were recorded, and
this corresponds with increased BNP activity in the area.
The BNP pretends it is a legitimate political party - it is not. Onlyrecently
one of the former BNP councillors in Burnley resigned. A local newspaper revealed
that he was a football hooligan banned by Burnley Football Club. The BNP must
be exposed as an explicitly racist, neo-fascist organisation full of criminal
thugs.
For further information contact the Coalition Against Racism on 0161
624 1060 or the National Assembly Against Racism on 020 7247 9907