Nick Griffin (BNP) - On Question Time

On the 22nd October 2009, saw the BBC host an edition of Question Time with David Dimbleby where the BNP leader Nick Griffin was invited to attend. This was a topic of huge debate the unsavioury policies of the British Nationalist Party (BNP) causing a week of discussion and media attention and even riots outside the BBC studios during the recording. But... the BBC invited Nick Griffin on or two reasons in my opinion, Nick Griffin had reached the criteria set by the BBC to be invited with over 1 Million votes as an EU member of parliament and it makes for good TV and marketing for the show itself.

Arguments against him being on the show are that his views are unsavoury, the party is Fascist and that their opinions and view are completely inappropriate to the multi cultural society in which we live. By his own admission Nick Griffin believes he is the most hated man in the UK even though he believes he has been much maligned and mis-quoted in the press.

So people are told constantly about the historical quotes of the BNP, the sympathy extended to Hitler and the failure to acknowledge the Holocaust... There is no getting away from it this man was a member of the National Front and has said these things... Nick would argue that he has changed, that he has taken the party from the radical days to a more acceptable face. For many the policies are still racist, divisive and create tension amongst ethnic minorities and religious groups.

So for the BNP we have a problem of integrity, trust and honesty, are we now looking at a more palatable veneer, a soft version of the truth with the real menacing agenda lurking behind? The critics of the BNP will say that a leopard doesn't change it spots, however let's not forget that the leaders of the IRA who were responsible for the deaths of a great many people are now an acceptable face of politics.

But if it is Integrity, Trust and Honesty that we demand from our politicians, where should we look for that? The populace has constantly been lied to over the years, the war in Iraq, Spending cuts and more recently still, many MP's caught with their hands in the trough over expenses. I'm afraid we've long since seen these credentials in any political party.

But the very presence on the show of Nick Griffin and the BNP raises some incredibly important questions. As a nation we are one of the foremost cosmopolitan countries on the planet, we are a tolerant bunch too! And we always favour the underdog, looking to protect those less fortunate than ourselves... and there is nothing wrong with these ideals at all.

I have spoken to some people who I meet regularly and just brought up this debate on question time and almost without exception I have heard that people think it is unfair that we protect and support almost every minority group over and above very often the people who are considered the regular / normal population of this country. This goes right back to housing being provided to immigrants and Asylum seekers who receive preference over people who have been on waiting lists for a very long time.

No one is against protecting the rights of minority groups to ensure they do not suffer at the hands of the majority, that is right and proper, but what Nick Griffin is saying is that we are now actually discriminating against the British people themselves! Now whether you agree or not, it doesn't matter what is important here is that a great many people support this view and that the only person talking about this... is Nick Griffin.. and we think he won't get more votes when there is no shining star in any other political party at present??

When Geoff Hoon commented on the rare subject of the evening not aimed at the BNP, the Daily Mail reporting of the sad death of Stephen Gately and their homophobic response contained within the article. Geoff Hoon said this just incites trouble against minorities it is exactly the type of thing we are trying to suppress, and this kind of reporting just doesn't help. We must protect minorities and allow them to be heard... and these are the same people who attempt to stifle the BNP, who, let's remember are a minority group, and who have a following, and have earnt the right to be heard. They will never get into power this is for sure, but the questions they raise are not myths or things to be brushed under the carpet, they are real concerns. If the major parties continue to dodge and evade these issues they will hand further votes straight over to the BNP. We all know why they evade these issues they are incredibly sensitive, however, face them they must, and soon. It will be a difficult path to navigate and require a very strong, brave person at the helm and they'll need to weigh up the voters they will lose by suffering at the hands of 'Political Correctness' against those they gain through finally tackling these incredibly important issues.

It is important to start with the 'end in mind' what is it that we want as the population map for our country? Would the voters perhaps support the following policies ?

1. Controlled Immigration to our country from those outside the EU
2. A system to count people in and count people out, so we actually know who is here
3. Proper Work Permit authorisation for those skills that we need here
4. Much better controls over Asylum seekers, if a person is seeking asylum and they are already in France aren't they already safe from harm, why do they need to come to the UK?
5. A much fairer distribution of Asylum seekers across Europe, everyone seems to want to come to the UK.
6. All people domiciled in the UK can stay
7. illegal immigrants are immediately deported
8. Any migrant who commits a crime is deported, including those from the EU
9. If we plan the growth of the population, then the appropriate infrastructure and social services can be in place to support it.

Would you support these policies? Then why is it we are struggling? why is it that these policies are only being put forward by the BNP? ... where to most of us it might seem like common sense. America has far stricter border controls than we do... is this the only thing that we have not followed the Americans on?

It is sure that whichever party tackles the above policies head on and delivers them will take the swing votes back from the BNP and prevent further voters heading that way. If one of the major parties devises a clear agenda on the immigration issue and seeks to appease the growing general concerns over 'fairness to all' not just ethnics and minority groups but the existing British citizens, then they will win the votes as a softer more acceptable face for achieving the desired results.

Sometimes the Liberal party are responsible for tabling ideas and policies which eventually find popularity and acceptance and become part of Labour or Conservative policy, the same is true with the BNP in this situation. Nick Griffin has created a Maelstrom, this is not something that can now be pushed into the background. He has raised the profile and put forward a challenge to the major parties... talk about these subjects and sort yourselves out or face the proposition of the BNP winning even more seats in the future.

Ironically although the programme showed us one, very unpopular man being beseiged from all sides, what we saw was an army of people levelling criticism and blame, but not one glimpse of an alternative solution on how they would tackle the issues raised.

The BBC, other political parties and the audience will hope that Nick Griffin's appearance on the show, and the slating that he received will undermine him and his party. Unfortunately for them it is likely to have the opposite effect. Real, normal, regular people can identify with these immigration issues and remember the British people have a tendency to support the underdog. Couple this with the publicity and media coverage of the past 10 days, Nick Griffin has finally for good or bad brought the BNP right onto the political scene.