City Hall now BNP-free?

Our man at the GLA, James Cleverly, reports that the only BNP member of that Assembly has "resigned the BNP whip" as the terminology puts it, even though there isn't a BNP whip for the GLA(!)

Anyway, Richard Barnbrook is no longer a BNP Assembly Member, although I understand that he is still a member of that party, and is presumably now counted as an Independent. This is an intriguing development, and the reason behind it is apparently not yet known, though ConservativeHome's Harry Phibbs has an idea or two, as does the Daily (Maye). It follows the resignation of Lee John Barnes, also from the BNP, just three days earlier.

A commenter to James's item suggests that this might be a preliminary move in readiness for a BNP/UKIP/English Democrats merger or something similar, possibly involving just parts of the BNP rather than the entire party. That seems a bit far-fetched, but stranger things have happened in politics.

It would be difficult to make work, though perhaps the Coalition Government has given them the idea that an authoritarian and largely Left-leaning party like the BNP could forge an alliance with the libertarian and Right-leaning UKIP, with the EDs spread somewhere across the middle, between centre-left and centre-right.

The commenter's thought is that such a move would have the intention of making the BNP components of such an alliance/merger/whatever "more acceptable". My counter-thought is that it would more likely drive existing UKIP and ED members away, as not wishing to be associated with the (by then former) BNP in any way, even if their name were to be dropped as part of this plan.

Therefore I can't see this happening, even if it should turn out that it has been looked at by any or all of the parties concerned. Even so, we shall have to wait to find out why Richard Barnbrook has made this move before getting even a clue as to any longer-term intentions.