The BNP leader Nick Griffin gave a ridiculous performance on Question Time, it seems too soon to really take stock of what happened, but it looked like car crash from where I was watching.
Later on This Week, Diane Abbott mentioned that it may not look so embarrassing outside of multicultural London, but I’m not so sure. Someone pretending it is illegal to explain their views on the Holocaust doesn’t go down well anywhere.
Neither do I think he looked bullied, everyone was just in shock at the nonsense pouring out of his mouth.
The only weak part of the evening was when the evening turned to immigration. Labour, Lib Dems and Conservative MPs all tried to talk tough sat opposite Nasty Nick.
Has the Government position on immigration helped the BNP? It depends if 5 acts in 12 years is not enough for you. It depends if removing all legal entries to the UK for asylum seekers is too soft for you. It depends if you think immigrants paying 37% more in tax than they claim in benefits, as they did last year, counts as scrounging.
Perhaps the Government has helped the BNP, but not in the way they think it has, judging by the answers given tonight.
Luckily Nick Griffin is a moron, no racist can look otherwise. Give the man enough rope and he’ll hang himself, give him enough airtime and he’ll tie himself in knots.
Platform the Bastard, he hasn’t got a chance.
Filed under: Blogging, Migration, Politics, Citizenship, Democracy, frankly mediocre speculation, History, immigration, Justice, Nick Griffin, The Media
It was over for Griffin the moment he started laughing at the KKK leader’s hood. He came across as a complete joke. The weakest part of the debate was on immigration for exactly the reasons you stated. But, when I predicted Griffin would deftly outmanoeuvre all of his opponents to spout the same old tired lies unchallenged, I was wrong and I’m very glad that I was wrong.
His PR’s so good you foget he’s a racist moron, it’s easy I know I did.
The whole programme went strangely well, in my view even Jack the lad ended up looking good, and that’s some achievement.
No Platform is a good policy at times, stigma is a powerful social tool. But at times it is good to get the BNP out to give them a damn good thrashing before ignoring them again.
I heard somewhere that fascism was so roundly defeated in the 1980s because they couldn’t work out the best tactic when half their opponents were no-platforming them and some people were just demolishing their arguments. Its a pincer movement, and frankly Griffin never had much of a chance.
On a side note, who wants to bet that despite the mail running with this “bash the fash” front page, there’s something inflammatory about immigrants in it too?
This best bits were when he tried to smile nicely and when he made a joke about KKK hoods.
The KKK joke It perfectly illustrated the circles he moves in. Normally to his circle that would be funny.
It has all the comedic elements needed to make people laugh, but it was about a subject so vile I don’t really need to explain why most didn’t.
[...] a platform with a Fascist but I’m not convinced that no one should. For example, I considered Griffin’s appearance on Question Time a success. I thought he looked like a fool and everyone I spoke to thought he looked like a fool. I [...]