NF triumphant over 'remarkable' result

SUPPORTERS of the National Front were triumphant yesterday after a council by-election that saw their party trail the Conservatives by just 4 per cent in fourth place.

Ian Anderson, the NF chairman, said the result in South Feltham, west London, showed the party had bounced back after being written off by opponents and the media in recent years. The NF's 10.2 per cent poll, he said, was its best performance in the capital for the last six years; it has been averaging 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent.

He said Feltham was the second of 'two remarkable results in the last eight days' for the NF. A week ago, it achieved 16.3 per cent of the vote in a council poll at Sandwell, West Midlands, pipping the Liberal Democrats with 12.7 per cent.

The results at Feltham and Sandwell and the victory two months ago at Tower Hamlets, east London, will be viewed with disquiet by the Government bracing itself for a resurgent extreme right. The traditional NF presence at tomorrow's Remembrance Day parade at the Cenotaph in London promises to be larger than usual. Police will try to keep its supporters apart from the Anti-Nazi League, which has also indicated its intention to attend.

Mr Anderson said the NF was buoyed by the results and would be revitalising its efforts in local and European elections next year.