Twenty years ago this month, the BNP won its first ever seat, in an East
London by-election. In an exclusive extract from his book Bloody Nasty
People: the Rise of Britain’s Far Right, Daniel Trilling speaks to the
people who were there at the time
(Daniel Trilling is editor of New Humanist magazine.
Bloody Nasty People: the Rise of Britain’s Far Right
is published by Verso Books)
The Island is a funny place. People fall out with people, some groups fall
out with one another. But if someone’s back is against the wall, they’ll all
stand together. Because otherwise, they’ll pick you off one by
one. – Rita Bensley, Association of Island
Communities
The night of 16 September 1993 provided an unpleasant moment of farce to
punctuate a slow, grinding tragedy. As protestors from the Anti-Nazi League
gathered outside the Isle of Dogs neighbourhood centre, officials from Tower
Hamlets Council were sifting through ballots cast in a local by-election. At
10.30 p.m., a murmur of surprise ran through the room as the Labour candidate,
James Hunt, asked for a recount. He should have walked this election. Now,
visibly shaken, Hunt wasn’t so sure of himself. Just before eleven, an
eighty-strong mob of skinheads emerged from nearby pubs and headed for the crowd
outside the centre, chorusing ‘Rule Britannia’. One threw a milk bottle, which
smashed among his opponents. As police broke up the ensuing scuffles, inside the
building the election result was quietly confirmed. Derek Beackon, an unemployed
van driver and candidate for the British National Party, had won the Millwall
by-election by just seven votes.
