BNP leader Nick Griffin put on a defiant face today as campaigners claimed the far-right party had suffered its “greatest humiliation” at the ballot box.
The party has failed to win a single seat despite fielding more than 300 candidates.
The BNP could only increase its overall vote by 1.83 per cent to 514,819 after a year of increased national exposure thanks to Mr Griffin and colleague Andrew Brons being elected to serve as MEPs and the leader's appearance on BBC's Question Time.
Mr Griffin (51), was told to “pack your bags and go” by Margaret Hodge as the BNP leader slumped to third in his bid to become MP for Barking in east London.
Weyman Bennett, the joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism (UAF), said: “The BNP’s vote has been paltry. This just shows that the party’s increased exposure has exposed them for what they are.
“The BNP fielded more candidates than ever and yet the party has gone backwards.”
The BNP had been extremely active in Barking and Mr Griffin polled 4,916 votes.
Mr Griffin was heckled throughout his speech with chants of “Off, off, off” and “Rubbish”.
But, raising his voice over the jeers, he said: “I would say this to the people of Britain: it is going to be too late for Barking, but it is not too late for Britain. Get rid of our masters before they get rid of us.”
His appearance on Question Time in October last year led to the BBC Television Centre in west London being "locked down" due to a surge of protesters.
Mr Griffin declared the election would be a “watershed” moment for his party.
In an email to supporters he wrote: “This election, regardless of the results, is the watershed for this party. This is the last election the British National Party fights as a large small party - we are now a small large party. What’s more, our enemies know this.
“So how do we measure our success tomorrow morning? Yes, it would be fantastic to gain our first MP, but the fact that we have mounted our biggest ever parliamentary election campaign and fielded over 330 candidates a mere 11 months after the super-human effort we put into our successful Euro election campaign is just incredible.
“Our growth and resilience is truly inspiring. The BNP has arrived and will be knocking on the doors of power sooner than some ever imagined!”
PA
