Smaller parties seek protest votes

The smaller parties are today seeking to make the most of any protest votes being cast in the local elections.

The Green Party, UK Independence Party, Respect and BNP are all hoping to capitalise on disenchantment with the three main parties as 3,201 council seats go up for grabs across England.

The Greens are fighting the most seats of the four - 1,251 - and are expecting to build on their growing support in the 2004 European polls and last year's general election.

The party is hoping to take its tally of 70 councillors in England past 100, saying the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats do not offer a coherent alternative to Labour on the environment despite their professed commitment to tackling climate change.

Principal speaker Caroline Lucas has attacked the Tories and Lib Dems over their environmental credentials, publishing an analysis showing that Tory councillors, MPs and MEPs have consistently voted against green measures.

"Voting 'blue' will just elect more of the same old Tories to town halls - and set back the cause of cutting carbon emissions and protecting local environments," she said.

"Voters who want to use Thursday's local elections to support the fight against climate change and protect the British countryside from new roads, airports and out-of-town supermarkets should instead vote for the Green Party."

The BNP, which has 363 candidates standing today, has attracted the most press attention in the campaign following predictions that it is set to make inroads in the east London borough of Barking.

A survey suggested that one in four voters have considered supporting the far-right party, prompting Barking MP Margaret Hodge to warn that Labour is ignoring former white working class supporters and Tory leader David Cameron to urge backing for anyone else.

The anti-war Respect party is focussing its efforts on Tower Hamlets council in inner London, where George Galloway is a local MP.

It also hopes to pick up votes, if not seats, across the capital among Muslim supporters.

UKIP, meanwhile, predicts it will win 15 to 20 seats from its 320 candidates.

A spokesman said the eurosceptic party hopes for gains in Barking, Dagenham and Hartlepool on the back of the foreign prisoner release scandal.