BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | BNP wins seat in London Assembly


BNP wins seat in London Assembly


The British National Party has won its first seat on the London Assembly after passing the 5% voter threshold.

Candidate Richard Barnbrook, leader of the BNP group on Barking and Dagenham Council and a mayoral candidate, will take up one of the 25 assembly seats.

BNP spokesman Simon Darby welcomed the win: "We've witnessed the first major politician elected not for telling lies but for telling the truth."

But critics said it was a victory for "hatred, violence and stupidity".

London voters elected 14 of the London Assembly members directly, and the remaining 11 divided between the parties in proportion to London-wide votes.

Mr Barnbrook, who came fifth in the mayoral race with 69,000 votes, had promised to give the "real people of London" a voice.

He said he believed immigrants who have arrived in the past 15 years were taking more than they were giving.

The BNP have had a number of councillors elected in recent years, but until these elections had never had anyone elected to a higher profile position.

The BNP campaign had prompted other politicians to call for voters not to elect the party.

Campaign group Hope Not Hate said: "A BNP victory means hatred, violence and stupidity."