THE leader of Burnley Council has admitted that there are "deep rooted problems" in Burnley that need weeding out.
Speaking after last week's elections in which the BNP gained six new seats and retained one seat, Coun Stuart Caddy admits his time as leader has been testing. But he said he couldn't have done things differently.
He added: "In the last two years a large electorate vote has gone to the BNP and we need to challenge the voters on why this is happening.
"Last year people were saying it was a protest vote but they can't say it any more. Labour lost four seats but we have got to remember we have overall control and will be going out and listening to communities.
"I believe my agenda is right and I am determined to keep Burnley high on the agenda."
Despite the BNP being present in Burnley for the past two years, Coun Caddy said he still didn't know why people were voting for them.
He added: "I would be guessing but last year people were saying they weren't racist and we need to look now and ask is it racism? Or is it a new trend to vote for the BNP?
"It will be interesting to see what the BNP have to say about the community strategy and what they will come forward with. They did nothing in the past 12 months."
Tory leader Coun Peter Doyle said Labour's promise to listen and put the people of Burnley first comes a little too late.
Coun Doyle blames the Labour leadership for the BNP's gain in this year's elections and said their failure to recognise problems in the town made people vote for the far right party.
He said: "There is only three of us in our party so what we need is an alliance between ourselves and Labour to fight them. The BNP votes have a certain racist element and a big protest element.
"They are winning so many seats because they have so many people taking part in each ward.
"The Labour party have got to look at what they are doing and Stuart Caddy has got to ask himself questions as to how he is leading this borough especially in regards to levels of taxation."
Coun Doyle admitted his party isn't big enough to fight off the BNP and called on the people of Burnley to join them in a bid to increase their membership and power.
He added: "At this moment in time I don't know how to fight somebody who doesn't really do anything. We are going to be writing more letters and doing more in the community but we need more members to give us a better chance of fighting the BNP."
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