Voters snub BNP in elections

May 4 2007 By Tony Deeley, Birmingham Mail

VOTERS were hailed today for stifling the progress of the BNP on a Black Country council.

The British National Party failed to add to its four Sandwell Council members, to the delight of senior officials and MPs.

Voters who last year elected three new BNP councillors turned against the party on a night of little change in the corridors of power across Sandwell, Dudley and Walsall.

Sandwell Council leader, Coun Bill Thomas, who last year vowed to redouble his efforts to drive the BNP from the authority, was among those who expressed his delight at the party's stalled vote. He hailed the results as "remarkable".

Despite seats changing hands across the Black Country, the controlling parties remain the same with Labour at the helm in Sandwell and the Tories retaining control in Walsall.