THE British National Party is expecting to put forward a candidate in Whitehill in May's local elections. The far-right party intends to put forward two candidates in the forthcoming East Hamp- shire District Council elections, according to party organiser Roger Robertson. It will be the first time BNP candidates have stood for the district council. It is expected that one candidate will stand in Whitehill and the other in Petersfield. The two most likely wards to be contested are Whitehill's Walldown ward - currently occupied by town, district and county councillor Adam Carew - and Petersfield's Rother ward. These wards have been selected by the BNP on the basis of their voting history, local issues and the strength of opposition candidates. The candidates, who have not been named, are described as a retired businessman from Whitehill and a former Conser-vative Party activist from Peter-sfield. According to Mr Robertson, organiser for the South East, the BNP has tripled its membership in East Hampshire over the past year, and its popularity is rising daily in Bordon, Petersfield and Liphook. He said: "We have had such a swell in popularity, especially in Bordon where we have done a lot of leafleting. At the moment our organisation is struggling to cope with all the new-membership applications." Mr Robertson claimed that in an area like Bordon, people who can not get housing see immigrants being moved into homes, and the BNP was the only party addressing the issue. The party has hit the headlines for its outspoken views on immigration and national identity. But Mr Robertson defended the BNP's political stance and blamed the media for giving the party a reputation of far-right-wing extremism. He added: "The vast majority of us are Christian people. "We are the Tory party of 50 years ago in so far as we stand up for the patriotic concerns of the individual." The BNP was formed by John Tyndall, co- founder of the National Front, in 1982. Mr Carew was unavailable for comment at the time of The Herald going to press.
