Michael Fallon MP provides some background to the BNP win in Sevenoaks

Michael Fallon, MP for Sevenoaks, has provided me with this background on yesterday's BNP gain from Labour in his Sevenoaks constituency:

"Swanley St Mary's was Labour's safest seat on Sevenoaks District Council. There are three Swanley wards; we won all three seats in Swanley Christchurch, leaving Labour with three councillors in Swanley Whiteoak and two (now one) in Swanley St Mary's.

We campaigned hard with a strong local candidate who was born in the ward; I had a team of eleven with me canvassing there on Saturday. We put the Tory vote up from 208 to 247. The Lib Dems didn't bother to stand. BNP attracted frustrated traditional Labour voters (they did the same in Welling (Bexley) a few weeks back). Their literature and message was relatively moderate but focussed on immigrants and asylum-seekers jumping the housing queue."

Tim Montgomerie