Electoral performance of the British National Party in the UK Standard Note: SN/SG/5064 Last updated: 15 May 2009 Author: Edmund Tetteh Social and General Statistics This note provides data on the electoral performance of the British National Party (BNP) in local and parliamentary elections. This note has been updated to include results from the local elections held in England on 1 May 2008. It also comments upon results from various elections up to 2008. As at May 2009, the BNP had 55 councillors in local government in England. See also Library Research Papers 08/48 Local Elections 2008 08/12 Election Statistics: UK 1918-2007 08/47 London Elections 2008. Elections for Mayor of London and London Assembly Contents 1 Background 3 2 Electoral performance 3 2.1 General Elections 3 1992 General Election 3 1997 General Election 3 2001 General Election 4 2005 General Election 4 2.2 Local authority elections 4 2000 5 2001 5 2002 5 2003 5 2004 5 2005 6 Standard Notes are compiled for the benefit of Members of Parliament and their personal staff. Authors are available to discuss the contents of these papers with Members and their staff but cannot advise others. 2006 6 2007 6 2008 6 2009 8 2.3 Mayor of London and London Assembly 8 2.4 European Parliament elections 9 3 Ward-by-ward BNP electoral data for 2008 local election 11 4 Appendix: Calculation of Vote Shares in Multi-Member Wards 19 2 1 Background The BNP, UK’s largest extreme-right political party, was founded in 1982 through the merger of the New National Front and a faction of the British Movement. John Tyndall, co-founder of the National Front, was elected leader and Ray Hill, leader of British Movement faction, became his deputy, with much of the early funding provided by Tyndall's father-in-law, Charles Parker The BNP achieved early notoriety when, in September 1993, the party secured the election of Derek Beacon in a by-election for the Millwall ward of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Beacon lost his seat in the 1994 borough-wide elections. In 1997, the party fielded over 50 candidates in the general election and, qualified for a televised party election broadcast. In 1999, Nick Griffin, who joined the BNP in 1995, replaced Tyndall as BNP leader after a contested leadership election. Griffin began a programme of modernising the BNP's image, rephrasing the policy of the compulsory repatriation of non-whites and rewording it as a "firm encouragement" for voluntary repatriation. The BNP has recently been hit by an internal dispute with the rebels branding themselves as the “Real BNP” been expelled or resigned from the party. Griffin gained widespread publicity for the party in recent years following acquittals on charges of incitement to racial hatred and by speaking at a debate on free speech at the Oxford Union. 2 Electoral performance In 2002 the BNP won three council seats following racially-motivated riots in Burnley. In 2005, the BNP polled almost 193,000 votes, 0.7% of the UK total and over four times the number at the 2001 General Election. Since 2000 the BNP has advanced from 3,022 votes in the local elections to a peak of almost 300,000 votes in 2007. In the 2008 Mayor of London election, the BNP fielded a candidate and polled 69,710 first preference votes (2.9%) and 128,509 second preference votes (6.4%). 2.1 General Elections 1992 General Election In the general election of 1992, the BNP fielded 13 candidates with an average vote of 1.2%. The total number of votes polled by the party was 7,631. 1997 General Election In the 1997 general election, 57 constituencies in Great Britain had a BNP candidate. In three constituencies the number of votes exceeded the 5% threshold necessary for candidates to retain their deposit. The total number of votes polled was 35,832 representing 0.1% of the UK total. 3 2001 General Election In the 2001 general election, the BNP fielded 33 candidates. The BNP averaged 3.9% of the vote where they fielded candidates. As a share of total UK vote, the BNP gained the votes of 0.18. The BNP exceeded 5% in seven seats, thus saving their deposit – Oldham West and Royton (16.4%), Burnley (11.3%), Oldham East and Saddleworth (11.2%), Barking (6.4%), Poplar and Canning Town (5.1%), Dagenham (5.0%), and Pendle (5.0%). In Oldham West, the BNP was placed third behind Labour and the Conservatives, and 4% ahead of the Liberal Democrats by 1,577 votes. 2005 General Election In the 2005 general election, the BNP polled almost 193,000 votes, 0.7% of the UK total and over four times the number at the 2001 general election. In total the BNP saved 34 candidates deposits out of 119 candidates who contested the elections. Their average share of the vote in seats they contested was 4.3%, marginally higher than in 2001. In Barking, the BNP polled 4,916 votes representing 17.0% of the total, their best result across the UK. Richard Barnbrook came third, 27 votes behind the Conservative candidate. The party also saw their share of votes in Dewsbury and Burnley exceed 10%. BNP performance at General Elections 1992-2005 1992 1997 2001 2005 Votes (thousands) 7.0 35.8 47.1 192.7 % vote 0.0% 0.1% 0.2% 0.7% Seats won 0000 % seats won Candidates 13 57 33 119 Deposits lost (a) 13 54 28 85 (a) The deposit retention threshold was 12.5% of the vote prior to 1985 and 5% subsequently 2.2 Local authority elections The BNP has tended to concentrate its local campaigning activities in urban districts with relatively high minority ethnic populations. The BNP has often exploited the delicate balance of local community relations in order to consolidate its electoral support and activist base. In recent years there have been a campaign targeting immigration, multiculturalism, the freedom of religion and cultural expression of Muslims. 4 BNP vote at Local elections: 2000-2008 Position %vote in wards Year Candidates Councils Votes Seat won Total seats 1st place Runner up contested 2000 17 12 3,022 0 0 0 0 8% 2001 4 3 867 0 0 0 0 4% 2002 67 26 30,998 3 3 0 5 16% 2003 217 71 101,221 13 16 12 48 17% 2004 312 59 190,200 14 21 8 51 16% 2005 41 18 21,775 0 21 0 0 11% 2006 363 78 229,389 33 48 28 89 18% 2007 744 148 292,911 10 50 9 103 13% 2008 612 159 240,968 15 55 15 77 14% Sources: House of Commons Library and Rallings & Thrasher 2000 • Fielded 17 candidates in 12 councils and polled 3,022 votes. The average share of votes in wards contested was 8%. 2001 • Fielded four candidates in three councils and polled 867 votes, with an average share of 4% in the wards contested. 2002 • Fielded 67 candidates and polled 30,998 votes in 26 local councils. The BNP average share of votes was 16%. Three BNP candidates were elected for the first time in Burnley with an average share of 28.1%. In Oldham, the party polled its highest share of vote (35%) in St James ward, and (30%) in Chadderton South. 2003 • In the 2003 local elections, the BNP fielded a total of 217 candidates in 71 local authorities in England and Scotland. The party won a total of 13 council seats, polling over 100,000 votes and averaging 17% of the vote in those wards where they fielded candidates. • The BNP scored a by-election victory in the Heckmondwicke ward of Kirklees Council on 14 August 2003. The BNP candidate, David Exley, polled 1,607 votes (44%). On 4 September 2003, Nick Geri won the Grays Riverside ward of Thurrock council, polling 552 votes (38%). 2004 • A total of 312 candidates stood for the BNP in 59 local authorities in England and Wales, including 25 candidates in Sunderland, 24 in Birmingham and 23 in Leeds. • The BNP won 14 council seats, increasing the number of BNP councillors in England and Wales to 21. The BNP polled over 189,000 votes, with an average 16% of the vote in wards where they fielded candidates. 5 2005 • The BNP fielded 41 candidates in 18 councils and polled 21,775 votes, averaging 11% share in the contested wards. 2006 • In the 2006 local election, the BNP polled a total of 229,389 They also fielded 363 candidates in 78 local authorities across England. • The party average 18% of the votes in wards contested. The BNP fielded 40 candidates in Birmingham, 25 in Sunderland, 23 in Kirklees, and 22 in Leeds. 33 BNP councillors were elected; four lost their seats and they gained a seat with the defection of a Conservative councillor in Lincolnshire bringing their total to 49. • The BNP were best placed party in 28 wards and came second in 82 wards. 12 BNP councillors were elected in Barking and Dagenham. 2007 • The ongoing growth of the BNP as a party continued in 2007 at the local election. The number of votes cast for the party increased from 229,389 (2006) to 292,911 (2007). They won 10 seats, a net gain of one. In the BNP’s own assessment of the results, it acknowledged that “the number of seats won and lost suggests that the party is standing still”. • The party fielded 744 candidates in 148 councils across England and Scotland.