La società multirazziale va alla grande in UK...

[Dragonball (POL)]

Friday, 18 October, 2002, 075 GMT 085 UK
Independent elected in Stoke



Stoke-on-Trent's first elected mayor is the man who forced the election in the first place, independent gay rights campaigner Mike Wolfe.
The 51-year-old, who stood on a pro-mayor platform with his Mayor 4 Stoke Party, came from second place to edge ahead of Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent South, George Stevenson, by just 300 votes.

The British National Party finished third, winning nearly 20% of the vote in an election which only saw a 24% turnout.

Mr Wolfe, former chief executive of the city's Citizen Advice Bureau, trailed Mr Stevenson by 400 votes after the first round of voting.

Fringe candidate

But he pulled ahead after the second round with 12,693 votes compared to Mr Stevenson's 12,329.

Mr Wolfe is the fourth fringe candidate in recent months to be directly elected as mayor.



My vision has been built on the streets of Stoke-on-Trent and will continue to grow

Mayor Mike Wolfe
Football club mascot H'Angus the Monkey - alias Stuart Drummond - was elected Mayor of Hartlepool, "Robocop" Ray Mallon won in Middleborough and in Mansfield on Thursday night, independent candidate Tony Eddinton was elected mayor.

Mr Wolfe said: "Most of all I would like to say thanks to all the voters who have made me the People's Mayor.

"I am going to say to all the people in the city: 'give us a hand'.

'Multi-culturalism'

"My vision has been built on the streets of Stoke-on-Trent and it will continue to grow."

Mr Stevenson meanwhile criticised the BNP result.

"Stoke-on-Trent is not a racist city and we must make sure our message gets out.

"This city welcomes all people and we must build on its strength of multi-culturalism."

Unemployed BNP candidate Steve Batkin, 42, polled 8,213 votes, nearly 4,000 votes ahead of the Conservative party candidate Roger Ibbs.



Friday, 22 November, 2002, 07:26 GMT
BNP scores shock election success


The BNP won three seats in Burnley this summer

The far-right BNP have taken a council seat in Blackburn, Lancashire in a by-election surprise to add to three seats it already holds in the North West.
Candidate Robin Evans won the Mill Hill seat in Blackburn with a majority of just 16 votes.

The seat on Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council became vacant after a Liberal Democrat councillor left the area.

There were angry scenes even before the count took place at the old town hall in Blackburn.


Race tensions saw rioting in summer 2001

Between 30 to 40 demonstrators shouted insults at the BNP candidate and his supporters as they entered the building.

After a tense recount, the BNP took the seat with 578 votes to Labour's 562, the Lib Dems 505 and the Conservatives 154, with turnout at 39%.

The election saw Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, MP for Blackburn, campaigning for Labour.

Blackburn has a large Asian community but has avoided the racial tensions seen in other parts of northern England.

Politicians, trade unionists and community leaders last month began a campaign to unseat the BNP's three councillors in Burnley.

Their election came after inter-racial rioting in Burnley and other towns in the North West in summer last year.

The BNP still only has a toe-hold in the north-west, but the latest result will worry the mainstream political parties.

The official report into the violence in June 2001 said organised white racists had exploited clashes to exacerbate tensions and fears.

It urged the government to tackle "shockingly" divided communities in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham, which have large British Asian communities.

Previous campaign

But the BNP has said its election success stems from the marginalisation of white residents by the main political parties.

The four councillors now in office are the BNP's only success on local councils since the short-lived election of Derek Beackon in Tower Hamlets, London, in 1993.

A campaign by politicians and activists helped to unseat the councillor.

Elsewhere on Thursday night, the Tories lost their overall majority at Dacorum Borough, Hertfordshire, when Labour gained a Woodhall seat.

Labour narrowly kept its overall majority at Bolton Borough, Greater Manchester, when it won at Daubhill.



Pare che anche in UK la società multirazziale vada "alla grande" visto che un partito d'estrema destra apertamente razzista come il BNP prenda quasi il 20% in una città come Stoke-on-Trent e vinca seggi comunali col sistema elettorale del turno unico (cioè si vince il seggio solo arrivando primi).
Non mi esprimo e non voglio esprimermi su quel partito,ma dico solo che + entrano immigrati e + ne vedremo "delle belle" tra un po' di tempo...

[Der Wehrwolf]

Già Dragon Inghilterra e America..i miti di qualche padamareicano...