The BNP's Nick Griffin on Question Time, what are your thoughts?

[overmydeadbody]

link here

this is interesting

Thank you squeezycheesypumpkin.

I would just like to reiterate that I wasn't likening the SNP to the bnp, just that taken to extremes it could happen.

I wonder if Scotland would welcome the Twits? I would love to live in Scotland, independant from England or not.

MIFLAW- I am seriously thinking of not watching purely in the hope that the ratings do not give bnp more ammo (the more people watching-the more supporters in their heads at least)
But then I also think we need to know.

LOL MIFLAW

pathetic argument miflaw.....even if 20 people voted for the BNP...so what..?

i might be one of those 20 people who want to listen to him...

The BNP has two MEPs and Nick Griffin is one of them, which is more than the Flat Earth Society managed so his inclusion his, in my opinion, justified.

He’s certainly a more relevant guest than having pointless celebrities on there, I mean Will Young, why!?!?

I’ll agree that he is a s**t though.

Unfortunately, the BNP isn't a tiny party.
They gained two MEPs in the European elections in June and got more than 10% of the vote in a frightening number of constituencies.

How did the BNP do where you live?

The BNP has two MEPs and Nick Griffin is one of them, which is more than the Flat Earth Society managed so his inclusion his, in my opinion, justified.

He’s certainly a more relevant guest than having pointless celebrities on there, I mean Will Young, why!?!?

I’ll agree that he is a s**t though.

exactly BP...i've seen complete nobody's on there

"pathetic argument miflaw.....even if 20 people voted for the BNP...so what..?

i might be one of those 20 people who want to listen to him..."

You probably are one of those 20 people, daftpunk. And you are more than welcome to listen to him or to any other fascist who takes your fancy.

But it does not follow that you should have the chance to do so on national TV. Why don't you get off your arse and go to one of the many public meetings (or "rallies" as I prefer to call them) they organise in in community halls and scout huts up and down the country?

This has nothing to do with freedom of sppech and everything to do with pandering to a non-entity.

I thought you of all people would object to minorities being given special tratment ...

"This has nothing to do with freedom of sppech and everything to do with pandering to a non-entity."

An MEP can't be considered a non-entity, no matter how ignorant and vile.

When Will Young get's on how can an MEP be rejected?

With great respect to other posters and to MEPs themselves, I do not think that many people will stomach the idea that an MEP (often a second-string politician elected out of kindness from a party list on a PR basis) carries the same "weight" as an MP.

Yes, he has a fair amount of people who will turn out and vote for him in elections where a lot of ordinary people cannot be bothered to vote.

That does not make him important enough to appear on a serious political broadcast.

And, had anyone started a thread about whether Will Young should have appeared, I would have been against that too for the same reasons.

I've been looking at the bbc website for question time and the more I look the more I don't want him on.
How ever I fear I might be reacting in a bury my head in the sand way, which is surely worse?
My biggest fear for Thursday remains that he will come over very clever and weasel his way out of things and make people like him. I don't know what the rest of the panel are like, I haven't watcyhed it before and I don't know how they choose the questions. I hope he shown to be the arse that he is, but fear he won't be.

MIFLAW - if frreom of speech is to mean anything, it has to be freedom of speech for everyone, no matter how vile you might think their arguments are. Otherwise there is no freedom at all, is there?

What right do you have to tell anyone that they may not watch a certain speaker and make their own judgement about them and what they have to say?

I'd be one of those who value MPs above MEPs, however I wouldn't consider MEPs to be worthless or politically insignificant.

So on those grounds I think he's entitled to be on Question Time.

Personally I also want to see him grilled and questioned in public when serious questioning is something that the BNP usually wants to avoid because in some part of their twisted minds their aware that their policies don't hold any intellectual water.

The issue of whether or not we should engage with the BNP is a huge and serious political issue, so again yet more reasons to have him on.

..what..? why shouldn't i be able to listen to him on national TV....

he is the leader of a legal political party, he has every right to be on TV.....

you need to look up democracy...think you've forgotten what it means...

DP until they sign the constitution he is not leader of a legal party, as decided in court recently

When signed, then yes- but not as of last night when I last checked anyway

I think they should be given a voice and they should appear on QT.

If they are given a voice and there are people voting for them because they are annoyed with Labour, then it should allow those people to see exactly what they are voting for. I do however believe that a very significant number of BNP voters know what they are voting for and that it is not just a case of tired ex Labour voters with no alternative.

We need them to be out in the open so that they can be discredited on a public forum. Give them enough rope......

bodycolder - that article is interesting but it does not reflect the nationalism that the SNP are fighting for. The article goes on about racism, building walls, keeping people out etc. SNP is not about that.

The BNP should never have been allowed to have operated as a legal party - they provoked racial hatred. Now that they have changed their constitution to allow non whites to join (although they won't of course) they are a legitimate party and the BBC are obliged to give them air time.

Why should anybody with such hideous views be given a platform to spout their hate? Will Young gets a place because they try to balance politicians with non politicians if that makes sense to get a more rounded view point. I hope he is given a hard time but I fear he won't be and giving him a platform where he could 'recruit' even a few people to his party is a few too many

don't split hairs peachy

Scarlet

I don't think you have read what I say.

My objections to Griffin are indeed political. My objections to Griffin appearing on Question Time is that he is a nobody.

If Griffin had the political clout and popular support of, say, the Liberals, the SNP, or even Plaid Cymru or Sinn Fein, then of course he should have access to the media.

But he doesn't. His party have two MEPs and no - count 'em, no - MPs and, as such, no direct mandate in the political affairs of this country.

On this basis he should be excluded.

The fact that his politics are vile, discriminatory and plain ill-thought-out is, frankly, secondary.

LIke it or not, NG is the leader of a political party which won 6.2% of the vote in the most recent elections. That's a lot of people who voted for the BNP. Surely their leader should be subject to scrutiny and questioning in the main media outlets?

Vote share in 2009 elections: Con 27pc, Ukip 17pc, Lab 16pc, Lib Dem 14pc, Gr 9pc, BNP 6pc

I agree with peachy. I think that really they ought not have been asked until they are legal. Not that I want them on at all...

miflaw...you don't know what you're talking about... you have no valid point...

so you are pointless to me.