Peter Hain makes an extraordinarily serious and unfair accusation against the BBC when he says that its executives have become “apologists” for the British National Party by allowing the BNP’s leader, Nick Griffin, to appear on Question Time this evening.
I have absolutely no doubt that the very last thing the BBC wants to do is to give airtime to Griffin and his loopy politics. However, he happens to be a Member of the European Parliament and over 900,000 people voted for the BNP at the last Euro election, so to deny him a platform would have been a clear act of political censorship.
Griffin, in the meantime, is openly laughing at the BBC, Hain and the rest of the political establishment in this morning’s Times:
“I thank the political class and their allies for being so stupid. The huge furore that the political class has created around it clearly gives us a whole new level of public recognition.”
Griffin is the leader of an unpleasant party of chancers which, despite its title, is deeply un-British. It is intolerant, xenophobic and atavistic and cynically abuses our dearest symbols – the Union flag, the Spitfire and even the image of the Conservative, sometime Liberal, Winston Churchill – for its own odious ends.
Griffin himself is a gadfly who knows how to use the media. He knew that to liken our generals to Nazi war criminals, as he did earlier this week, would gain him masses of free publicity. Hain’s strident reaction to his appearance on Question Time has handed him more of the same.
My own feeling is that the more that British people see of Griffin and his friends, the more they will be revolted.
The best way to destroy the BNP is to shine the spotlight on it.
” The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye. The more light you shine on it, the more it will contract.”
Sometimes this contracting mind can lead to violence which needs to be reported and resisted and again more light needs to shine on it. Whilst all ‘right-minded’ people abhor the fascism, ignorance and bigotry espoused by Griffin and his ilk we need to recognise it, illuminate it and destroy it with wisdom (and the law where we can) not seek to keep it in the dark where it will mushroom.
Peter Hain shows us the worst of Labour. If they don’t agree with other opinions, silence them. how sick can they get? Everyone has the right to free speech in our country, even the likes of the B.N.P. The British people are not stupid, they will not be taken in by Griffin and his ilk. However, beware. This party has won significant support, not because people agree with their policies, but because they are so tired of the current political set up which they feel they cannot alter except by voting for extremists like this.
Most of what has been said on this blog about the B.N.P. is so true. However, there are some elements of their manifesto which are attracting more people. The current political establishment should be aware of the reasons for this.
Monty is correct.
Why no alternative policies from the major parties on immigarion?
It is a real concern and has nothing to do with being a racist.
Re David’s use of the word fascism above, George Orwell said the word fascist was meaningless. Prof. Timothy Garton Ash said in an article in The Guardian recently that the word has been “hollowed out to mean little more than something the left hates at the moment”.
Is David using the word in the Orwell sense, i.e. “totally meaningless”, or in the Garton Ash sense: almost meaningless?
Or perhaps he’s using the word as per Chambers Dictonary. This defines fascism as being composed of different characteristics including militarism. Now Labour plus Tories took the British military to Iraq which resulted in the death of a million Muslims and Kurds. Whereas the BNP always opposed the invasion. Well it’s clear who the fascists are, or is it?