The Great Debate UK
Coalition must tackle issues fuelling far right
Professor Ted Cantle is executive chair, Institute of Community Cohesion at Coventry University. The opinions expressed are his own.-
The apparent failure of the British National Party to secure a parliamentary seat at the May 2010 general election has obscured the growth in support for far right groups.
In 2001 the BNP picked up 47,000 votes, in 2005 it had grown to 192,000. This year it was 563,000.
Based on a new analysis by iCoCo of the voting patterns for far right groups, this appears to be part of an underlying trend of gathering support which threatens the stability of the UK’s communities, and would lead to the need for greater spending by local government and their partners on dealing with tensions.
