n delighted MP Shahid Malik
DEWSBURY'S MP says the far right has been "stopped dead in their tracks" in the town.
After last week's Kirklees Council election, Shahid Malik described the Conservatives as "a spent force" outside the South of England.
The MP was reacting to the vote which saw Labour take Dewsbury East from the Lib Dems with the BNP finishing a close second.
In Dewsbury South Labour came within 150 votes of unseating the Conservatives while the Lib Dems easily retained Dewsbury West.
Mr Malik was delighted with the results.
"Labour has increased its support in Dewsbury and across Kirklees," he said. "The BNP, who had predicted a doubling of their councillors from three to six, have been stopped dead in their tracks."
And Mr Malik said he thought the far right party would receive less support in future elections.
He said: "It is clear that the tide is slowly shifting against the BNP and I believe that as more decent people understand their agenda they will cease to vote for them."
Mr Malik also criticised the Conservatives.
He said: "Despite their gains nationally, their support in Dewsbury is at a new low. This is not, and never will be, natural Conservative territory.
"It's becoming clearer that they are a spent force anywhere outside their heartlands in the South of England."
