General election 2010: Mirfield Conservative linked to BNP

A CONSERVATIVE candidate has links to the BNP.

It emerged yesterday that Mirfield man John Nottingham was connected to the far-right party.

Mr Nottingham – who is standing for the Conservatives in Dewsbury West in the Kirklees Council elections on May 6 – wrote to a BNP magazine.

His letter, published in Identity in July 2006, criticises the Government’s policy towards single parent families.

Mr Nottingham, who serves on Mirfield Town Council, is believed to have been a Conservative Party member for at least 10 years.

Yesterday Kirklees Conservative leader Clr Jim Dodds said: “We shouldn’t be associating ourselves with the BNP. John is quite a religious man and racism would be the furthest thing from his mind.”