So, the political event of the week has to be Question Time. The first big question was should Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party have been allowed on. For me, Jeremy Hardy summed it up most succinctly on The News Quiz on Radio 4 this week.
The very notion that Nick Griffin can try and present himself as the voice of reason in British politics took a kicking when he announced after the programme that he was giving up on London because,
"That audience was taken from a city that is no longer British."
Apparently, London has been 'ethnically cleansed' of British people. Curiously, the 2001 census recorded 58% of the population of London as defining themselves as 'White British'.
I can think of no single piece of news this week that has given me more joy than hearing that Griffin has given up on London.
Let's be clear on this: 'Free speech' in a democracy should not automatically be offered to all. Those who would remove the democratic and human rights of a section of the population are not in the same category as other political parties, however hypocritical the mainstream parties may be.
There was a good reason why so many people rallied to confront Oswold Mosley and his blackshirts in 1936. Griffin is on tape, video tape, admitting that he is trying to soft-sell his fascism and white supremecist ideas to the wider population.
So, while I thought he came across as some kind of demented muppet, with his fake, hysterical laughter and ridiculous attempts to befriend Bonnie Greer (he described a member of the KKK as being from a 'peaceful branch' of said organisation), perhaps he shouldn't have been there in the first place. Incidentally, Ms. Greer is the only one of the panel who dealt well with the situation, except for David Dimbleby. She was incisive and well informed.
And for those who didn't see it, there is an edited version that probably does the best at nailing the underlying truth...
The very notion that Nick Griffin can try and present himself as the voice of reason in British politics took a kicking when he announced after the programme that he was giving up on London because,
"That audience was taken from a city that is no longer British."
Apparently, London has been 'ethnically cleansed' of British people. Curiously, the 2001 census recorded 58% of the population of London as defining themselves as 'White British'.
I can think of no single piece of news this week that has given me more joy than hearing that Griffin has given up on London.
Let's be clear on this: 'Free speech' in a democracy should not automatically be offered to all. Those who would remove the democratic and human rights of a section of the population are not in the same category as other political parties, however hypocritical the mainstream parties may be.
There was a good reason why so many people rallied to confront Oswold Mosley and his blackshirts in 1936. Griffin is on tape, video tape, admitting that he is trying to soft-sell his fascism and white supremecist ideas to the wider population.
So, while I thought he came across as some kind of demented muppet, with his fake, hysterical laughter and ridiculous attempts to befriend Bonnie Greer (he described a member of the KKK as being from a 'peaceful branch' of said organisation), perhaps he shouldn't have been there in the first place. Incidentally, Ms. Greer is the only one of the panel who dealt well with the situation, except for David Dimbleby. She was incisive and well informed.
And for those who didn't see it, there is an edited version that probably does the best at nailing the underlying truth...
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