In the North West, the BNP vote fell from 134,959 at the 2004 European election to 132,094 this year.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, its vote fell from 126,538 in 2004 to 120,139.

Obviously, any vote is one vote too many, but the election of Griffin and Brons is more about the collapse of the Labour vote than any massive surge towards fascism.

To quote from the socialist press, "The BNP has exploited concerns over unemployment, targeting fear and anger at migrants by standing on a platform of defending "British jobs". They have also benefited from the climate of racism against Muslims and migrant workers that New Labour has helped to whip up, as well as from the disillusionment with mainstream politics caused by the MPs' expenses scandal."

What is growing far faster than support for the BNP right now is support for the anti fascist alliances such as Unite Against Fascism...