CST Elections Report 2010

CST's report into the performance of extremist and fringe parties in the recent elections is now available on the CST website. The report includes full result tables for the BNP, National Front, some smaller far right parties and Respect in the general and local elections.

The BNP stood a record number of candidates in the general election, thereby increasing their share of the national vote, but their average vote share in the seats they contested fell when compared to the 2005 general election. They also lost a higher proportion of their deposits than in 2005. In terms of organisation, manpower and votes, they are in retreat across the south of England; their best poll results came in Yorkshire & The Humber, the West Midlands and the North West. They managed to stand a large number of candidates in the North East, but the BNP vote was relatively poor in that region.

In the local elections, the BNP had a catastrophic night: they lost 26 of their 28 councillors who were up for re-election and did not win any other seats, cutting their total number of local councillors almost in half. Having lost all their councillors in Barking & Dagenham, their biggest council group is now in Stoke where the party has five councillors.

This does not mean that the BNP will go away; however, it was a good night for anti-fascism and there are many lessons for anti-BNP campaigning in the future.

The report also includes an analysis of Respect's poor election performance, and some of the campaigning efforts by organisations with an Islamist or anti-Zionist orientation.

Thanks to Hope Not Hate for providing elections data for the BNP and other far right parties.