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”.
But as he began a flustered and angry speech, Griffin already knew that worse was to come. Rumours had been circulating round the east London count for more than an hour that the party had not only failed to get its first MP, it was on the verge of an electoral disaster in the area Griffin had once described as the party’s “jewel in the crown”.
“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.
Via Chicken Yoghurt
The best bit of a dire, dire election.
.-= Daniel Hoffmann-Gll´s last blog ..Robert Mugabe Has a New Best Friend! =-.
Brings a nice warm feeling to my heart, it does.