Why the BNP should be on Question Time
The decision taken by the BBC to include the British National Party leader Nick Griffin on its flagship programme, Question Time, on 22nd of October, has understandably been met with criticism from all quarters. The latest to voice their opposition comes from Peter Hain, the Welsh Secretary, who has claimed the BNP’s inclusion on the debating show ‘illegal’ as the BNP are ‘an unlawful body’ owing to their restriction on membership to ‘indigenous Caucasian people’. In light of this breach of the Race Relations Act, the BNP has recently agreed to amend its party constitution, perhaps in an effort to advance its progress into British politics, aside from the legal requirements.
Despite what the BNP stand for, and despite what you may think of them and their beliefs, it is important to allow the party to take part on Question Time. Notwithstanding the fact that after the BNP’s moderate success in the European elections, the BBC, according to the broadcasters chief political advisor, are ‘legally bound’ to include them. Not to mention, it is BBC policy to maintain a conduct of political impartiality in such matters. Aside from all this, however, the BNP should be allowed to appear and air their policies on Question Time for two very good reasons.
Firstly, the BNP is still a legal party, in the sense that it has not (yet) been outlawed. Therefore, they are granted, like all of us, with the right to freedom of speech and the right to publish and promote their beliefs and policies. There are many laws today that not only bolster free speech but also prohibit it (inciting racial hatred, for example), and where the BNP have come into conflict with this they have been reprimanded by the law, and dealt with appropriately. But more importantly; to deny, in any small way, the BNP their right to freedom of speech is, in the long-term, counter-productive and actually advantageous to the BNP itself.
This is a party that taps into the zeitgeist of a nation that abhors the ‘Nanny State’, the seemingly endless intrusions of the Government into ordinary citizens lives, that believes that the criminal justice system is in favour of the criminal, not the victim, and the distinct number of those who feel that Britain is slowly becoming a country hostile to the notion of civil liberties. Whether the tide of political correctness and/or totalitarian policies of this government are either as great or as entrenched as the media and the common man are to believe, to deny the BNP their right to freedom of speech and freedom of address only serves to push the voters with the political inclinations mentioned above, towards the party, and allows the BNP to proclaim the horrors and injustices of our current state of political affairs. Yes, we should protest against the BNP, yes we should undermine their policies (see below) and yes, we should not vote for them, but these actions and allowing the BNP a platform are two sides of the same coin.
Secondly, the fear that allowing the BNP on Question Time will somehow validate their beliefs and policies is unfounded. The BNP is little more than a disorganised inflammatory reactionary party, wracked by violence and corruption, borne out of the political and social conditions mentioned in the paragraph above. If the concerns of those who voted for the BNP are not addressed, then the party will continue to grow on a wave of ignorance and dissatisfaction. And where better to address these grievances, expose the weaknesses of the BNP’s policies and provide a suitable alternative than on the BBC’s flagship programme Question Time?
The BNP has had very little experience of being in power, with their support coming not from a national level but mostly from pockets of local support around the country. The decision to include the BNP on Question Time and to go against the ‘No Platform’ policy of anti-fascist groups, may seem counter-productive, and in some ways, even dangerous. However, to see it as exposing their inexperience and institutional and political weaknesses, one can see their appearance on the 22nd of October as a necessary and even productive decision taken on behalf of the BBC.
Many people watch Question Time, and I suspect many more than usual will be watching on the 22nd of October. I doubt many of the people who voted for the BNP will be watching however, and I believe that Griffin will aim to appear more moderate in order to garner new support as opposed to crystallising already existing loyalty. Remember this when he attempts to come across as a populist ‘man of the people’.
If you cherish our democracy and our tradition of liberty, fairness and equality, watch Question Time either on the night in question, or on BBC iPlayer at a later date. If you disagree with Nick Griffin, or any other politician on the programme for that matter, then approach the usual (legal) avenues to voice your opposition, for despite what Nick Griffin and his party and supporters believe and stand for, we here in Great Britain still live in a democracy.
