Lawrence Rustem, has been active in the BNP since 1991 and was the Chairman of the "Ethnic Liaison Committee" of the British National Party, a group set up in 2001 to co-ordinate work between the party and non-British people with similar aims. Rustem is half English and half Turkish Cypriot.
He studied politics at Greenwich University, where his presence caused controversy. NATFHE, the university lecturers' union, called for his expulsion from the University, on the grounds that his presence could encourage racist campaigning there.[1]
He unsuccessfully stood for election as a local councillor in the Colyers Lane ward of Bexley.[2] He then stood for Parliament in the Dagenham constituency in the 2005 UK General Election where he received 9.3% of the votes. In the 2006 local elections he was elected as a councillor for the Valence ward of Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council. In the 2010 General election, he contested the Greenwich and Woolwich constituency for the BNP[3] and lost his seat on Barking and Dagenham Council in the 2010 local elections. The website of BNP Reform [4] lists Rustem as having been suspended from the BNP due to internal differences with the leadership. He left the BNP in 2011.
UK Parliament
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 general election | Dagenham | BNP | 2,870 | 9.3 |
| 2010 general election | Greenwich and Woolwich | BNP | 1,151 | 2.8 |
London Assembly elections (Entire London city)
| Date of election | Party | Votes | % | Results | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | BNP | 90,365 | 4.71 | Not elected | Multi-members party list[5] |
| 2008 | BNP | 130,714 | 5.3 | Not elected | Multi-members party list |
European Parliament elections
| Year | Region | Party | Votes | % | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | London | BNP | 76,152 | 4.0 | Not-elected | Multi-member constituency; party list |