BNP Euro victory could be followed by more seats warning

Jun 9 2009 By Barry Gibson

A BNP councillor is predicting further gains after his party won a seat in the European Parliament for the first time.

The far right party won the last of the six Yorkshire seats at Sunday’s count – giving them a presence in Brussels for the first time after Andrew Brons claimed victory.

And Heckmondwike BNP man Clr Roger Roberts believes the party can make further gains when councils, including Kirklees, hold elections next year.

He said: "I’m hoping we can pick up quite a few more seats. More and more people are realising that we are not the extreme party we’ve been made out."

The BNP took 11.4% of the vote in Kirklees, above the Yorkshire average of 9.8%. Clr Roberts said: "I’m extremely pleased with the result as we’ve worked very hard."

Clr Roberts, the BNP’s only councillor on Kirklees, added that voters agreed with his party’s line on immigration. He said: "People are sick and tired of seeing the country being flooded with immigrants – we’re the most grossly overpopulated country in the civilised world."

However, other parties in Kirklees reacted with dismay yesterday to the news that the BNP had taken a seat in Yorkshire.

Clr Jim Dodds, who leads the Conservatives on Kirklees, said: "I think people have got the wrong idea by voting BNP, that’s not the way to get a decent government."

The Conservatives topped the poll both in Kirklees and in Yorkshire as a whole, retaining their two seats in Brussels.

Clr Dodds, who represents Denby Dale, said: "It’s really good news that we topped the poll. Gordon Brown is failing the people of Britain and should call an election sooner rather than later. The Government is in disarray.

"The message I got on the doorsteps was that we have to get rid of this Government and people saw the European elections as a way of sending a message."

Labour came second in both Kirklees and Yorkshire as a whole, but lost one of its two Euro seats to the BNP.

Clr Mehboob Khan, who leads Labour on Kirklees Council, said: "It’s very disappointing that the BNP has won a seat in Yorkshire and it should be a wake-up call to all the mainstream parties.

"Unless the Labour party engages with what used to be called working-class communities, then the BNP will act like a parasite on grievances that exist about health, housing and education."