Dismay as BNP wins fifth council seat

The British National Party won its fifth council seat last night when it overturned a Labour majority at a by-election in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

Adrian Marsden, 42, took Mixenden ward on Calderdale council for the far-right partywith 679 votes. He beat the Liberal Democrat candidate Stephen Pearson, who gained 651 votes, and the Labour candidate, Michael Higgins, who trailed in third place with 641 votes.

Mr Marsden, who has seven children, left Halifax town hall soon after the vote was announced at 11pm, following a recount. He was greeted by dozens of cheering BNP supporters.

The by-election was called following the dismissal of the former Labour group leader Andy Metcalfe, who failed to attend the requisite number of council meetings due to ill health.

Local councillors and politicians across the parties spoke of their dismay at the result. Alice Mahon, Labour MP for Halifax, said she hoped the result was only a temporary setback for the residents of Mixenden. "They [the BNP] like to prey on people's fears, they attempt to whip up division against other people," she said.

John Ford, the Conservative leader of Calderdale council, voiced his misgivings. He said: "I'm disappointed as a Conservative and I'm very disappointed for the residents of Calderdale." Headded that the BNP had depended heavily on the asylum issue in its campaign, even though the issue did not affect the ward's population.

The ward has an electorate of about 7,000, less than 300 of whom belong to an ethnic minority. It has been a Labour stronghold for the past two decades. The Halifax ward was the first seat to be fought by the BNP since its win at Blackburn in November last year. The party already has three councillors in Burnley.