Then-Prime Minister of Sweden Ingvar Carlsson said the results were "tragic", and the then-leader of the Centre Party, Olof Johansson, called the ban "improper". The result of the referendum led to concerns from the Swedish government that other municipalities would follow in Sjöbo's footsteps. The day after the vote, Madeleine Ramel commented: "This is a sad result. Everyone is a loser. It is unfortunate for Sjöbo." Heléne Lööw, a Swedish historian, stated that one of the likely reasons for the relatively large xenophobia in Skåne County at the time was the high unemployment numbers. The county had accepted a large number of refugees compared to the rest of Sweden, and many saw this as the reason for the lack of jobs. Lööw also stated that the xenophobia could have been strengthened by local traditions. Nazi groups were "relatively strong" in Skåne in the 1930s. The ban was heavily discussed in the Swedish media. Following the criticism, and after claims that Olsson was associated with the New Swedish Movement, the Centre Party decided in 1988 to exclude Olsson and his companions Börje Ohlsson and Per-Ivar Magnusson from the party. They responded by forming the nationalist Sjöbo Party (Swedish: Sjöbopartiet) in March 1991. In the municipal elections the same year, the party received 31 percent of the votes. This led to Olsson once again becoming Municipal Commissioner, a position he held until 1998, when the party's support was reduced to 15% in the municipal elections. Following Sjöbo party's loss of support, the referendum was overturned by Sjöbo's municipal assembly, and Sjöbo accepted its first refugees since more than a decade in 2001. Although Olsson died in 2005, the party is still active, and in the 2010 municipal election the party received 11.4% of the votes, making it the third largest party in Sjöbo. In 2014 the nationwide anti-immigration party Sweden Democrats became the largest party in parliament elections in Sjöbo Municipality with a 29.96% share of the vote. Sjöbo was the only one of 290 municipalities where that happened and the first time the Sweden Democrats had topped a municipality in its history.