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Electoral performance

Main articles: British National Party election results and Elections in the United Kingdom

The BNP has contested seats in England, Wales and Scotland. In January 2011 the party registered in Northern Ireland.

General election performance

The British National Party has contested general elections since 1983.

Year	Number of Candidates	Number of MPs	Percentage of vote	Total votes	Change (percentage points)	Average votes per candidate
1983	54	0	0.0	14,621	N/A	271
1987	2	0	0.0	563	0.0	282
1992	13	0	0.1	7,631	+0.1	587
1997	54	0	0.1	35,832	0.0	664
2001	33	0	0.2	47,129	+0.1	1,428
2005	117	0	0.7	192,746	+0.5	1,647
2010	339	0	1.9	563,743	+1.2	1,663

1983-1992

The BNP achieved no real success in their first three general elections from 1983-1992. No deposits of contested constituencies were saved and its share of votes only ranged from 0.1% to 3.6% in each constituency.

In the United Kingdom general election, 1992 the BNP percent of votes overall was only 0.02% of the electorate.

1997

In the United Kingdom general election, 1997 the BNP for the first time saved 3 deposits (out of 56 contested seats). Their highest amount of votes received was 3350 (7.5%) in the East End seat of Bethnal Green and Bow.

2001

The BNP in the United Kingdom general election, 2001 saved 5 deposits (out of 33 contested seats) and secured their best ever general election result in Oldham West and Royton where party leader Nick Griffin secured 16.4% of the vote. Their average votes per candidate also increased from 664 to 1,428, and they secured 47,129 votes in total.

2005

The United Kingdom general election 2005 was considered a major breakthrough by the BNP, as they picked up 192,746 votes in the 119 constituencies they contested and retained a deposit in 40 of the seats.

2010

Main article: United Kingdom general election, 2010

The BNP put forward 338 candidates for the 2010 General Election gaining 563,743 votes (1.9%), finishing in fifth place and failing to win any seats. However, a record of 73 deposits were saved.

Party chairman Nick Griffin came third in the Barking constituency, behind Margaret Hodge of Labour and Simon Marcus of the Conservatives, who were first and second respectively. At 14.6%, this was the BNP's best result in any of the seats it contested.

Local elections

The BNP's first electoral success came in 1993, when Derek Beackon was returned as a councillor in Millwall, London. He lost his seat in elections the following year. The next BNP success in local elections was not until the 2002 local elections, when three BNP candidates gained seats on Burnley council.

• In 2000 the BNP fielded 17 candidates in 12 councils and polled 3,022 votes. The average share of votes in wards contested was 8%.
• In 2001 the BNP fielded 4 candidates in three councils and polled 867 votes, with an average share of 4% in the wards contested.
• In 2002 the BNP fielded 67 candidates and polled 30,998 votes in 26 local councils. The BNP average share of votes was 16%. Three BNP candidates were elected for the first time in Burnley with an average share of 28.1%.
• In 2003 the BNP fielded a total of 217 candidates in 71 local authorities in England and Scotland. The party won a total of 13 council seats, polling over 101,221 votes and averaging 17% of the vote in those wards where it fielded candidates.

The BNP's success in the 2003 local elections sparked national media publicity. Layer the same year, the BNP won two local by-elections. In the Heckmondwicke ward of Kirklees Council in August, avid Exley, polled 1,607 votes (44%). In September, Nick Geri won the Grays Riverside ward of Thurrock council, polling 552 votes (38%). Later in Burnley, the number of councillors increased, making the BNP briefly the second-largest party and official opposition on that council, a position it lost after the resignation of a BNP councillor who had been disciplined by the party. The BNP stood in the subsequent by-election.

• In 2004 the BNP had 312 candidates stand for election in 59 local authorities in England and Wales, including 25 candidates in Sunderland, 24 in Birmingham and 23 in Leeds. The BNP won 14 council seats, and polled 190,200 votes.
• In 2005 the BNP fielded 41 candidates in 18 councils and polled 21,775 votes, averaging 11% share in the contested wards.

The party's biggest election success to date was a gain of 52% of the vote in the Goresbrook ward of Barking in the 2004 local elections. The victorious councillor, Daniel Kelley, retired just 10 months later, claiming he had been an outcast within the council. A new election was held in June 2005, in which the seat was regained by the Labour candidate.

• In 2006, the BNP polled a total of 229,389 votes, having fielded 363 candidates in 78 local authorities across England. The party averaged 18% of the votes in wards contested. The BNP fielded 40 candidates in Birmingham, 25 in Sunderland, 23 in Kirklees, and 22 in Leeds. 33 BNP councillors were elected; four lost their seats and the party gained a seat with the defection of a Conservative councillor in Lincolnshire bringing its total to 49.

The biggest gain in the local elections on 4 May 2006, was in Barking and Dagenham where the BNP won 11 of the 13 seats it contested, gaining 17% of the vote. The BNP also won three seats in Epping Forest, three in Stoke-on-Trent, three in Sandwell, two in Burnley, two in Kirklees, and single seats in Bradford, Havering, Solihull, Redditch, Redbridge, Pendle and Leeds. In 2006, the BNP also gained its first parish councillor in Wales when Mike Howard of Rhewl Mostyn, Flintshire, previously an Independent, joined the BNP.

• In the 2007 local elections, the BNP polled 292,911 votes. It won 10 seats with a net gain of one. The party fielded a record of 744 candidates in 148 councils across England and Scotland. This was more than double the number of candidates fielded in 2006; they scored on average 13% of the votes in the wards which they contested.

In summary of BNP councillors from 2000-2007: from 2000 to 2001 the BNP had none, in 2002 it had three, by 2003 it had 16 local councilors, this increased to 21 by 2005, in 2006 the biggest gain saw BNP's councillors rise to 48, and by 2007 to 50.

In 2007, the number of BNP councillors fell slowly due to resignations and expulsions, several of them associated with a failed leadership challenge in the summer. By the end of the year, the number was 42. In 2008, however, the BNP increased its councillors to 55.

• In 2008, the BNP polled an average of 14% across 593 wards contested having fielded 612 candidates. The total number of votes polled by the BNP stood at 240,968. The party gained 15 seats and had 55 councillors in total.

The BNP did not field as many candidates for the 2009 local elections because of its focus on the European Parliament election the same year, but had a net gain of 3 seats in local councils. A seat in a local by-election in Sevenoaks district, Kent, was also won by the BNP.

About four BNP councillors resigned at the end of 2009, leaving the party with 54 councilors by 2010. In the May 2010 local elections, 26 BNP councillors lost their seats, leaving the party with 28 seats overall. In Barking and Dagenham, the party lost all 12 seats won in 2006.

• In the 2011 local elections, the BNP fielded 268 candidates and defended 13 council seats. It lost 11 of these seats, including all 5 of their councillors in Stoke-on-Trent. Two councillors were re-elected, one in Queensbury, West Yorkshire and the other in Charnwood Leicestershire, but no new seats were gained.

London Assembly and mayoral elections

2008

BNP lead candidate Richard Barnbrook won a seat in the London Assembly in May 2008, after the party gained 5.3% of the London-wide vote, however in August 2010 he resigned his position from the party and became an independent.

European Elections

The BNP has taken part in European Parliament elections since 1999, when they received 1.13% of the total vote (102,647 votes).

2004 European Election

In the 2004 elections to the European Parliament, the BNP won 4.9% of the vote, making it the sixth biggest party overall, but did not win any seats.

2009 European Elections

Main article: European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)

In light of the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal, there was media speculation that the BNP could do well in the polls, as voters sought an alternative party to register their protest.

In May 2009, The Sunday Mirror revealed that the BNP had used stock photos to represent people supposedly in agreement with its policies. Plaid Cymru MP Adam Price alleged misrepresentation and called on the Royal Mail to halt distribution. The BNP claimed this was standard practise by political parties.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York said it would be tragic if people abstained or voted BNP at the local and European elections.

The BNP won two seats in the European Parliament. Andrew Brons was elected in the Yorkshire and the Humber regional constituency with 9.8% of the vote. Party chairman Nick Griffin was elected in the North West region, with 8% of the vote. Nationally, the BNP received 6.26%. Griffin stated that it was "a great victory ... we go on from here." Meanwhile, the Labour and Conservative parties both referred to it as a "sad moment". In local elections held the same day, the BNP also won its first three county council seats in Lancashire, Leicestershire and Hertfordshire.

Welsh Assembly

In the National Assembly for Wales election, 2003 the BNP only stood one candidate, Pauline Gregory, in the South Wales East region, who obtained 3,210 votes (1.89%), losing the deposit.

In the 2007 Welsh Assembly elections the BNP fielded 20 candidates, four in each of the five regional lists, with Nick Griffin standing in the South Wales West region. It did not win any seats, but was the only minor party to have saved deposits in the electoral regions with one in the North Wales region and the other in the South Wales West region. In total the BNP polled 42,197 votes (4. 3%).

In the 2011 Welsh Assembly elections the BNP fielded 20 candidates, four in each of the five regional lists and for the first time 7 candidates were fielded in FPTP constituencies. On the regional lists, the BNP polled 22,610 votes (2.4%), down 1.9% from 2007. In 2 out of the 7 FPTP constituencies contested the BNP saved desposits (Swansea East and Islwyn).

Scottish Parliament

In the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, the BNP only stood one candidate, Peter Appleby, in the Glasgow electoral region who obtained 2,344 votes (1.1%), losing the deposit.

In the 2007 Scottish Parliament election the party fielded 32 candidates, entitling it to public funding and an election broadcast, prompting criticism. The BNP received 24,616 votes (1.2%), no seats were won, nor were any deposits saved.

In the 2011 Scottish Parliament election the BNP fielded 32 candidates in the regional lists. 15,580 votes were polled (0.78%).

Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly

The BNP fielded 3 candidates for the first time in three constituencies each in the 2011 Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly elections (Belfast East, East Antrim and South Antrim). 1,252 votes were polled (0.2%) and no seats were won, nor deposits were saved.