The BNP candidate filmed kicking and punching a young man on the eve of the election has been arrested on suspicion of assault.
The BNP candidate filmed kicking and punching a young man on the eve of the election has been arrested on suspicion of assault. Bob Bailey, candidate for Romford, was arrested and questioned over allegations he assaulted an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old. He was bailed to return on July 12. Bailey (pictured) only just held on to his deposit in the general election, and lost his council seat in Barking.
Like every other BNP councillor in the borough, Bailey was comprehensively beaten; in 2006 he won with 1,329 votes on turnout of 41%, last week he received 1,209 votes on a 59% turnout – effectively a loss of 700 votes or 37%.
Elsewhere, today’s Guardian asks whether the dismal performance of the Fascists at the polls spells the end for Nick Griffin’s regime:
“At two minutes past six last Friday morning, Nick Griffin walked to the front of the makeshift stage at the Goresbrook leisure centre in Barking, east London, and tried to make his voice heard above a braying crowd.
“The BNP leader had just suffered a humiliating defeat, beaten into third place by Labour MP Margaret Hodge in the constituency where he had promised to create a ‘political earthquake’…
“‘Within the next five years, the indigenous people of London will be a minority,’ barked Griffin, as jubilant Labour supporters taunted him with shouts of ‘Out, out, out!’ ‘It is going to be too late for Barking, but it is not too late for Britain.’ By then, though, no one was listening.
“In the next 12 hours, Griffin’s worst fears were realised – and even exceeded. The party was thrashed in its two key parliamentary constituencies of Barking and Stoke Central. Its record number of council and parliamentary candidates failed to make a single breakthrough; and of the 28 BNP councillors standing for re-election, all but two were beaten…
“But the Barking and Dagenham council election result was the most dramatic. The BNP had plans to take control of the authority – instead, it lost every one of its councillors there. Twelve elected in 2006. Twelve thrown out in 2010. A ruthless purge, more shocking because they didn’t see it coming. Neither, for that matter, did their opponents. It was the miracle of Barking…
“What is the future for the BNP now? Griffin doesn’t know. He can point to the fact that the BNP won more than half a million votes, but his mood is changeable. Yesterday he sent another email, brimming with anger. ‘The old east London is dead,’ he wrote.
“His party is at a crossroads. A Tory-led administration may worsen social divisions, providing the far right with new opportunities. But it might also clamp down on immigration, rendering the BNP irrelevant. Even if opportunities come his way, Griffin’s party has so many problems that he may not be able to take advantage.
“The BNP is not dead, but it took a mortal blow in Barking. It will be hard-pushed to find its feet again.”
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