Power
So what are we doing with the British National Party? Well, we tried to simplify its message in some ways and to make it a saleable message. We’re not selling out its ideas, but we are determined to sell them, so it’s not white supremacy or racial civil war or anything like that, which is what we know in fact is going on, and we’re not supremacists, we’re white survivalists. Even that frightens people. Four apple-pie words: freedom, security, identity and democracy
– Nick Griffin, speaking alongside Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke in 2000, explaining his strategy of making his party palatable to the electorate
Local elections
The British National Party currently has 57 councillors out of a national total of more than 22,000 on principal local authorities. Find out where the councillors are and discover more about them here:
The sorry tale of the BNP councillors – Hope Not Hate
General elections
The BNP has never come close to winning a seat in a General Election.
| Year | Candidates | Votes | % of vote | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 53 | 14,621 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | 2 | 553 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | 13 | 7,631 | 0.1 | 0 |
| 1997 | 56 | 35,832 | 0.1 | 0 |
| 2001 | 33 | 47,129 | 0.2 | 0 |
| 2005 | 119 | 192,746 | 0.7 | 0 |
European elections
The BNP has two Euro MPs.
| Year | Votes | % of vote | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 102,647 | 1.13% | 0 |
| 2004 | 808,200 | 6.30% | 0 |
| 2009 | 943,598 | 6.20% | 2 |
More details on what they are doing in Brussels here: Reporting the BNP : European Parliament
The BNP’s electoral history
1983 Stands 52 candidates in the General Election, polling 14,364 votes (0.06%). Images of the Brixton race riots are shown as John Tyndall makes his election broadcast
1987 Stands two candidates in General Election, polling 553 votes
1992 Stands 13 candidates in General Election, polling 7,631 votes (0.1%)
1993 Wins first council seat. Chief Steward Derek Beackon elected in Millwall by-election by seven votes in low turn out. Racial incidents rise by 300%.
1994 Beackon loses council seat on much bigger turn out
1997 Stands 56 candidates in General Election, polling 35,832 votes (0.1%)
1999 Gains 102,647 votes (but no seats) in European election (1.13%)
2001 Stands 33 candidates in General Election, polling 47,129 votes (0.02%)
2002 Contests 68 council seats, gaining three councillors in Burnley
2003 Contests 221 council seats, gaining five seats in Burnley, two in Sandwell and one each in Calderdale, Dudley, Stoke-on-Trent and Broxbourne in Hertfordshire. In September party wins seat in Grays, Essex, but fails to add to seats in Stoke-on-Trent
2004 Gains 808,200 votes (but no seats) in European elections (6.3%).
Julian Leppert wins 57,331 votes (3%) in the London Mayoral elections, and party receives more than 90,000 votes in London Assembly elections. Party wins council seats in Epping, Sandwell, Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees, bringing total councillor number to 21.
2005 Stands 119 candidates in General Election, polling 192,746 votes (0.07%)
2006 More than doubles its councillors to 46. Biggest gain is in Barking and Dagenham, where it wins 11 of the 13 seats it contests. Also wins in Epping Forest, Stoke-on-Trent, Sandwell, Burnley, Kirklees, Bradford, Havering, Solihull, Redditch, Redbridge, Pendle and Leeds. Wins first parish councillor in Wales, when former independent Mike Howard swaps allegiance in Flintshire
2007 Party fields 754 council candidates but increases its net representation by just one councillor. The party makes gains in Windsor and Maidenhead, Hugglescote and Whitwick in Leicestershire, but loses three seats in Burnley. Has 50 councillors.
2008 Richard Barnbrook wins London Assembly seat for BNP, but party fails to make anticipated breakthrough in the rest of the country. Standing 612 candidates, it records 13.9% of the vote, and wins 55 seats, a net gain of ten
2009 Gains 943,598 votes in European elections and although vote share is down to 6.2%, because of low turn out, it wins two seats. Andrew Brons and Nick Griffin are elected to the European Parliament for Yorkshire and Huber and North West England respectively. Wins its first three county council seats, with victories in Lancashire, Leicestershire and Hertfordshire.