Election shock as BNP moves in

Private hire driver Christopher Kirby snatched the third seat in the Worth Valley Ward after one of the most tense counts ever seen in the town.

He beat one of the ward's sitting Tory councillors, Glen Miller, by just seven votes following three counts.

The result was declared at about 5.10pm last Friday, at Victoria Hall, several hours after the first of the results in the Bradford Council elections began to filter through.

Councillor Kirby, 35, of Black Hill, Keighley, who will represent Worth Valley alongside two Tories, sitting councillor Kris Hopkins and district council newcomer Peter Hill, said: "We did expect to get some seats, but didn't expect it to be so close.

"We were always confident -- people want change."

Questioned about claims his party was influenced by race, he replied: "I am not racist. I never was, never will be and I will prove it as a councillor."

A BNP colleague, 35-year-old sewing machinist Angela Clarke, comfortably won first place -- with a 242 margin -- in Keighley West.

The mother-of-three, from Bankfield Drive, Keighley, beat long-standing Labour councillor and Lord Mayor-elect Irene Ellison-Wood into second place.

Councillor Ellison-Wood said: "Democracy has come out the winner, regardless of our feelings towards other candidates."

The Conservatives held power in Craven Ward, taking all three seats, while the new Keighley Central Ward was dominated by Labour.

Debutant Khadim Hussain, chief executive of the town's Sangat Centre, took top spot, with Lynne Joyce and John Prestage -- formerly councillors in the old Keighley South Ward -- winning the other two seats.

The new Keighley East Ward was split between Labour and the Tories.

Malcolm Slater, who was a sitting councillor in the former Keighley North Ward, topped the poll ahead of Conservative Dorothy Clamp -- a first-time candidate -- and Mark Startin, a 44-year-old father-of-three who has made it onto the district council after ten other attempts.

The results of the election district-wide mean Bradford Council remains hung.

Of the 90 seats up for grabs, the Conservatives won 38 (a gain of four), Labour took 29 (a loss of eight), the Liberal Democrats won 15 (a gain of one), the Green Party four (a gain of one) and the BNP -- in addition to its two Keighley seats -- also won at Wibsey and Wyke.

The BNP's successes have sent shockwaves around the district.

Keighley Labour MP Ann Cryer said: "This is very bad news for Bradford and I would like to say that I am thoroughly ashamed of any of my constituents who voted for the BNP."

Tory councillor and council leader Margaret Eaton said: "There are 90 of us and we are not going to let four people dominate or make progress.

"If you look at their track record in other councils they don't play a very active part."

Labour group leader Ian Greenwood said: "They have proved on other authorities that they are incapable of representing the aspirations and the needs of communities.

"We will oppose their odious ideas at every opportunity. We will not be communicating with them whatsoever and want nothing to do with them.

"It is clearly a protest vote and we have to examine the situation and listen to the voice of communities and find out why this has happened."

Bishop of Bradford the Rt Rev David James said: "I am disappointed by the election of the BNP councillors.

"Bradford needs councillors who care about everyone in the district.

"BNP councillors elsewhere in the north have done little for their communities and I think the people who voted them in will soon feel disappointed as well."

A total of 169,124 people voted by post during this election -- 51.25 per cent of the electorate.

A delighted Cllr Eaton, who was later re-electerd as party leader, admitted to revelling in her party's performance: "One of the best aspects of the day for me was, I think, to see the other parties not achieving what they hoped for.

"What I will aim to do now,, is to make sure that everybody here recognises the need to work together for the good of the whole of Bradford."

She believed her party's performance vindicated the policies of the last few years.

She said: "We need to improve the economic position, the job situation, the education system and we have started on all these things.

"People have looked at our track record and there is a new confidence."

Cllr Greenwood said he believed national events like Iraq had played a part in Labour's poor performance.

"I am very disappointed that we have lost some good colleagues and that some good candidates didn't win."

Among those who were unsuccessful was stalwart Keighley councillor and former Lord Mayor Barry Thorne, who failed in his bid to win a seat at Shipley.

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Jeanette Sunderland reflected on her party's single gain.

She said: "We have made some progress but are fairly disappointed we have lost a seat in Eccleshill.

"However, we have elected more councillors in the city."

Cllr Martin Love, of the Greens, highlighted his party's clean sweep in Shipley, where they took all three seats.

He said: "It was very pleasing and was all down to the hard work over the past few years by my other Green councillors."

On Craven District Council, the Tories made a couple of gains and are the largest party with 13 seats, but they are without overall power due to an official alliance between the Independents and the Liberal Democrats, who boast 11 and six members respectively.