British National Party leader Nick Griffin has used his Question Time appearance to criticise Islam and defend a past head of the Ku Klux Klan.
He also told a largely hostile audience that Winston Churchill would be a BNP supporter if he were alive, and said he would find two men kissing "creepy".

Anti-fascist protestors scuffled with police outside BBC TV Centre in west London before the show was filmed.

Minister Peter Hain said the BBC had legitimised the BNP's "racist poison".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8321683.stm

It seems to me that his exposure and grilling by everyone (including a hostile chairperson) on here will only enhance his reputation. I don't think these audiences are a typical cross section of British society. Despite contradicting and humiliating himself several times, he will attract enough support from the section of society he needs.

His party has been criticised for using WW2 images such as Spitfires and Churchill in their publicity. However when criticised for this by a senior government politician (you may know Jack Straw as the foreign secretary during the Iraq war) Griffin pointed out that during WW2, Straws Father was sent to prison for refusing to fight, whilst his was in the Battle of Britain. I guess this sort of cheap diversion appeals to his supporters, as does his policies such as, forced expatriation, holocaust denial, and support for the Klan.

An own goal by the BBC, but did they have any choice? he has enough democratic support to justify an appearance.

Incidentally I don't think the views of Winston Churchill at times were very much different to Griffin's. However Churchill had the political acumen to 'adapt' to a mainstream party in where he would stand a better chance of getting elected!

Churchill may well have found that creepy, but i think he would of at least of been concerned by this guy...

Whilst I haven't yet had a chance to see Nick Griffins performance, I have to say that I'm disappointed by the feedback. Once upon a time Question Time would deliver a challenging debate that forced all participants to justify their opinions - it sounds as if this was taken as a chance to ridicule and mock the BNP - not a great decision in my humble opinion. Whilst I disagree with the BNP and its position - they are part of a democracy and are thus entitled to their views. They have also been legitimised in the European Parliament (the most corrupt and pointless expenditure of money, since my grandfather decided to build a chain of lighthouses in the desert!).
I think that the true debate lies, as to how much coverage do you give extremists who espouse hate against other sectors of society. But that is the contradiction of democracy, one I'd rather have than a benevolent dictatorship.

The programme is here, if you want to see it. A sort of National lynching in my opinion! Of course Griffin is exposed as a blatant liar with reference to Youtube videos so I have little sympathy, except I think other people will view it differently.

First question has the BNP hijacked Churchill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iKfrY9l2kY

American Friends of the BNP video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04QolIvfQEw

Nick Griffin Holocaust Denier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Dygboz4Ew

(Griffin says in the question time programme that he changed his view after reading British information intercepts from the war!)

Before you accuse the BNP of anything, I suggest you look at yourself in the mirror first.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

Before you accuse the BNP of anything, I suggest you look at yourself in the mirror first.

I don't quite get this one Redneck. I reckon that you are suggesting that Perseus is a hypocrite somehow. But the BNP has said many thing in many ways, which often proved not quite as they were. Secondly, this way we can't accuse anybody anymore caus most of us wouldn't pass the mirror test. I certainly won't on many topics...

No I'm not denying the BNP is a group with a very bad agenda but from Perseus' posts it's pretty clear to me he's a Communist which in fact is just as bad as being a fascist. It's like a pedophile pointing a finger at a rapist.

I have requested the 13th to remove post 5 on the basis that I am not a racist, although he now seems to have made matters worse.

With regards politics, I agree with many of the tenants of democratic socialism, some of socialism, but not of totalitarianism. I am in favour of greater democratic rights in the workplace and a reduction of corporate lobbying power in politics.

The 13ths reaction was probably inspired by my view on another thread that the market cannot be relied on to solve the environmental crisis, and tougher measures will be required.

If loosing an argument try calling someone a Communist, or better still insert the word pedophile into the paragraph, it panicks people and will come up on searches! As is common, reason always loses to dirty public relations tricks.

I have never accused you of racism.
But from your political standpoint it's pretty clear to me that you are a Communist (even if you say you're not). In this thread you are accusing the BNP of being fascist (which is probably true), but the fact that you (a Communist) is accusing them of being fascist (and therefore evil) smells of total hypocracy.
Actually the pedophile vs rapist reference is known as an analogy where two guilty parties point fingers at one another. Communism (or those who claimed to be Communists) have shed more blood in the relatively short amount of time they've been on earth compared to any other ideology and even lasts a bloody long time as well. At least Fascism has a habit of getting put out early. Whether you became a Communist as a reaction to human suffering or as a reaction to the "environmental crisis" is irrelevent.
No panic is intended. But your reference to panic reveals your own agenda, to make people turn to drastic and unnecessary measures in response to a panic caused by this "environmental crisis."

PS: the most important single thing that is in excess that is screwing up the environment is the excess of people. I'm sure your friends will have a solution to that one as well.

PPS: just incase you missed it, the pedophile vs rapist analogy also refers to the fact that when a pedophile actually commits "it," it is classified as statutory rape. Meaning that in the end they're the same thing. See the parallel?

No I don't see any parallel at all, the fact that you accuse socialists of being communists either displays a deliberate misrepresentation to defend any move to the left, or a complete ignorance of politics.

Branding moderate Democrat Socialism as a recipe for economic disaster doesn't fit the facts, especially where right wing governments haven't conspired to destroy them. Perhaps that is what you are really frightened of, the poor half in the US will see what they have been missing!

Finnish and Norwegian Left leaning parties are currently in power. The Swedish left has dominated for most of the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_...rty_of_Finland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Labour_Party
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish...mocratic_Party

All these are affiliated to Socialist international
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_International

They are characterised by high levels of tax and spending on social welfare and liberal attitudes to human rights. Again these countries rank highest in overall prosperity indices.

http://www.prosperity.com/rankings.aspx

Last year Finland ranked third. Now Finland is on top, followed by Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. At the bottom of the index are Zimbabwe, Sudan, and Yemen. The United States is in ninth place, ahead of Britain, Germany, and France. Four out of five of the top 20 countries are in Europe or North America.

And where has almost 20 years of capitalism in Russia got it? 69 out of 104 beaten by Guatemala and El Salvador. Big Success Eh?