← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · W.R.I.T.O.S
Thread ID: 6884 | Posts: 1 | Started: 2003-05-23
2003-05-23 22:11 | User Profile
We Are Now The Official Opposition in Burnley WHEN Burnley BNP chairman, Len Starr, defeated Andrew Tatchell, Labour's Deputy Leader on Burnley Council in Hapton, we knew we were going to be in for a very good night.
But the scale of the BNP success even surprised our small campaign team, with the party stacking up impressive victories in wards previously regarded as safe havens for Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Tories.
Last May, the BNP didn't actually top the poll in any wards but came second in one and third in the other two. This time we won in SEVEN!
Len Starr and Maureen Stowe won in traditional Labour heartland, while Barry Birks secured a seat in the Tory ward of Whittlefield. Patricia Thompson without a doubt provided the shock of the night, taking Briercliffe from the Liberal Democrats in a ward we had never even fought before.
Carol Hughes was returned for another term in office, this time in Gannow Ward, while Luke Smith was elected in Lanehead ward where Sarah Sherburn had just missed out last year by 37 votes.
In Cliviger, where the BNP already has a sitting councillor, Brian Turner beat the Conservative candidate by nearly 250 votes with the turnout an incredible 66%. So much for the media's assertions that it's always a low turnout that benefits the BNP.