Sunday 1 November 2009

Defending Democracy

Apparently we live in a democracy. I wonder if Nick Griffin would agree.

Condemnation of the BBC’s decision to invite him onto Question Time was certainly considerable if not universal. Perhaps surprisingly this critical minority was led by senior politicians and respected journalists. Indeed the Home Secretary Alan Johnson claimed that the decision gave the BNP ‘a legitimacy they did not deserve’.

I wonder what criteria Johnson used when making this decision. What could make a political party illegitimate? Perhaps it was the relative size of the BNP; after all they are yet to win a commons seat. However if this is the case then surely we should expect such levels of outrage when other smaller parties, such as the Green Party, are invited onto the Question Time panel!
Clearly this is nonsense. As long as Griffin and his party remain within the law then their views, however disgusting they may be, are just as legitimate as Johnson’s or anyone else’s for that matter. Thus the only selection criteria for Question Time should be the level of electoral support the party has managed to amass. As the BNP now have two seats in the European Parliament their inclusion on the panel seems justifiable.

Therefore the only grounds that Johnson has for his claims are ideological. Whilst he may see it as his duty to fight racism and bigotry he does not have the power to ban it. Discrimination on ideological grounds is as undesirable as it is dangerous. In no democracy should anyone have the power to implement censorship on such a scale that it cloaks an entire doctrine from the public eye. If this means that we have to endure occasional media appearances from Griffin, and those of a similar ilk, then surely this is a price worth paying. For the alternative would be unfair, undemocratic and illegitimate.

So the strategy of the political moderates opposed to the BNP should be to use the democratic system to ensure that the party drowns in a tide of disapproval and righteous anger created by the increased media exposure. Any attempt to over-ride or by-pass public involvement in the process will only backfire with the BNP playing the role of the victim, cast out by the political elite. If this combined with the lack of reliable information on their policies, an inevitable result of poor media coverage, would only lead to increased support. Therefore we should follow the democratic route and have faith that this combined with the common sense of the British people is sufficient to crush the BNP where it really counts; at the ballot box.