Sheridan: five Scots socialists

Small parties and independent candidates were among the biggest victors in Thursday's elections throughout Great Britain.

Although the "big three" still hold their grasp on power in England, the Scottish parliament and the Welsh assembly, they faced stiff competition from less well-funded opponents fighting for local issues.

England saw more than 2,000 independent candidates standing: with gains in Mansfield, Bedford and Middlesborough.

The ratepayers group in Nottinghamshire Council took 25 seats and overall power in a Labour heartland.

Independents also gained Torridge from no overall control.

Taking seats and headlines was the far-right BNP, which added to its tally of seats in English local government after becoming the second biggest party in Burnley.

The party has eight seats on the council and ejected Labour's deputy leader in the process.

It also secured seats in Stoke on Trent and Calderdale as well as the Hertfordshire town of Broxbourne.

"We went into this election as a party only in the north of England; now we're a party for the whole country," said leader Nick Griffin.

A major factor in the success of independents is the use of proportional representation in the Scottish and Welsh polls.

In Scotland minority parties and independent candidates called on voters to use their second vote tactically.

The biggest gains came in the Scottish parliament. The Green Party takes six seats, with five going to Tommy Sheridan's Scottish Socialists and four to other independents.

The biggest shock came when retired GP Jean Turner, campaigning to stop a hospital closure, beat Labour's incumbent MSP Brian Fitzpatrick for Strathkelvin and Bearsden.

John Swinburne of the Scottish Senior Citizens' Unity Party also becomes an MSP after winning sufficient votes to secure election to the regional list for Central Scotland.

In Wales, Labour suffered a PR embarrassment with former deputy presiding officer Dr John Marek winning Wrexham to become the only independent AM in the assembly.

He had failed to be selected as the official Labour candidate and mounted his own campaign - securing 37 per cent of the vote.