BNP makes London electoral breakthrough

By Avril Ormsby

LONDON (Reuters) - A collection of English flags flutter in the gardens as the train pulls in at Dagenham.

In the high street, Roys Pie & Mash cafe serves up more English pride with the east end's favorite dish.

But along the street is Dal's gents hairdressers and the butcher Jawood Food, reflecting the ethnic mix that is both a tribute to London's cosmopolitanism and a cause of the tension that forms the bedrock of the British National Party's (BNP) southeastern electoral heartland.

The far-right party, which called for an end to anti-white discrimination in its manifesto, looked to tap into the discontent among some voters about immigration and its perceived associated problems of crime, housing shortages and overcrowding in schools.

About 73 percent of people living in the borough of Barking and Dagenham are white British, down from 80 percent in 2001.

The area voted 12 BNP councilors to the local council in 2006, making it the second-largest party.

This week, support helped the party secure its first seat in the London Assembly and come fifth in the mayor of London race.

The result was less than the two Richard Barnbrook, BNP mayoral candidate and local party leader, had predicted. He had anticipated coming fourth, possibly third, in the mayoral contest.

A "vote for the BNP is no longer a protest vote," he told Reuters. "This is a solid vote area."

Most of the people interviewed by Reuters on polling day on Thursday were casting their ballot for his party.

Clive Gregory, a 52-year-old nurse, said he was doing so after becoming "fed-up" with Labour.

"They have screwed the working man," he said. "What with the credit crunch. I am seeing all the current influx from European and African nations. Local people can't get housed."

There was a general feeling of disillusionment with Labour among traditional left-wing voters.

Robin Goodhew, a 61-year-old unemployed maintenance worker, said: "I was put on a waiting list for a house for a year. I was told they had got to keep some empty for immigrants. That is what really kicked in and got to me."

Nicola Miller, 35, a mother of three, gave up on Labour a long time ago.