Editorial 2
BNP warning as Labour disappoints poorest
THE LOCAL elections on May 2 saw an alarming display of support for the neo-fascist British National Party – though well short of the scale of success many had been expecting.
The vile undercurrent of racism tapped by the BNP’s carefully targeted campaigns, which averaged 12% in just 66 wards, is a serious problem, but the underlying issue – as it was when the National Front was able to grow for a period in the late 1970s – is the failure of Labour in office to deliver radical measures to meet the needs of the poorest sections of the working class.
The mounting crisis in housing, the proliferation of dead-end jobs, the failure to deliver promised improvements in education, and the growing gap between the rich and poor create the social tensions and sense of injustice which can offer fertile ground for fascists.
Labour’s 33% share of the vote on May 2 is only slightly above their worst-ever result in recent years , the 32% they got in 2000, and 7% lower than the last time the same seats were contested in 1998.
But in some areas Labour did show more than expected resilience, mounting a strong campaign to regain Oxford from a Lib Dem-Green coalition, and helping to push the level of participation back up by 5% to 35%..
Labour did worst overall in London, where it lost 180 seats, and now retains control of only 15 of the 32 councils.
While Blair heaves a sigh of relief, the problems are only beginning for the Labour councillors elected to face another round of cash limits and privatisation: the Socialist Alliance, running for the first time at this level, has plenty of scope for stronger campaigns in the future.