Disclaimer: The BNP are a pernicious bunch of racist bigots and Nick Griffin may well be intellectually sub-normal, so when I say they might be good for British politics, I’m absolutely not, in anyway whatsoever, condoning their views. (Do I need to be any clearer?)
I’m going to be out this evening so I won’t be able watch question time live. That said – here’s a prediction, Nick Griffin, odious little bigot that he is, will come off better than everyone expects. (In 1984 a similar TV appearance sparked JM le Penn’s rise to being, at one point, a serious candidate for president.)
The problem is – Question time, with its heated atmosphere and high pressure time constraints is exactly the kind of arena where people like Griffin thrive. The macho debate, the 10 word answer, this is Griffin’s bread and butter, it doesn’t matter that he doesn’t know the next 10 words because he’ll get shouted down by Jack Straw in Demon Headmaster mode or an indignant Sayeeda Warsi before they ever become necessary.
My feeling is that we are only beginning to see the rise of the BNP and that tonight will be a big step up for them. I also think this is a good thing for British Politics.
I’ve said before on this blog that the hubris of campaigns like Hope not Hate and Nothing British (apart from the million Britons who voted for them?) doesn’t help. The more the mainstream parties try to exclude them, the more they get to play the victim, they thrive on hysteria.
The simple fact is that the dumber our politics is, the more people like the BNP will get elected. If they start to become an electoral force then the two main parties will be forced to respond and by far the best way to tackle the BNP is by improving the quality of political debate in this country. To steal a phrase from TV, make them say “the next 10 words and the next, and the next.”
Competition is good, and we could all do with a kick up the proverbial.
This entry was written by , posted on October 22, 2009 at 1:42 pm, filed under Political and tagged BNP, Nick Griffin, Question Time. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
In the run up to the elections, a well heeled stampede of worthy liberals charged out of parliament and left the door wide open for the BNP.
Perhaps a better way to put it is to say this, if you ostracise someone from a system, then trash the system, don’t be surprised if some people start to think that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. We built up a sense of hysteria around the BNP then drove everyone hysterical and when our worst fears were realised we wrung our collective hands and tutted about the state of the nation.
Don’t get me wrong, I fundamentally disagree with the kind of drivel espoused by the BNP, but is photoshoping Hitler’s head onto Nick Griffin really the best way to go about explaining that? It might be a good way for the hardcore youtubians to have a laugh but how many potential BNP voters do you think it will influence?
The only way to deal with the BNP is to go back to basics. This country protects our right to free thought, free speech and free association and that right doesn’t end just because the things you are saying or thinking, and the people you associate with are distasteful.
I suppose what I’m saying is this – the BNP thrive in hubris and hysteria, under calm scrutiny their flimsy pretence at rationalising their irrational hatred of non-white Britons withers. So we need to demand more of the mainstream parties, political hysteria is product of politicians treating the electorate as if they are too stupid understand the real issues. If we make our politicians talk to us like grownups, then the BNP will have to do the same.
They won’t be able to do it.
This entry was written by , posted on June 9, 2009 at 10:08 am, filed under Political and tagged BNP, politics. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Just seen this post over on Stuart Bruce’s blog in which he touches on the continuing row over McBride-gate (or is it email-gate? Surely it’s a gate by now.)
I agree with Stuart when he says the row has on on too long, in fact I thought it had gone on too long by Tuesday and was fast descending into the kind of Westminster gossip that nobody outside of parliament and the lobby correspondents gives a flying foxtrot about. I think this, not because it wasn’t serious, it was, but because I am looking at it from a party political point of view.
If Cameron really wants to stick it to Brown he should publicly forgive him and focus on getting back to the serious business of government. It’s his trump card – he gets to end the scandal, play the statesman and counter the most damaging attack against him, namely that he lacks gravitas. Despite the obvious temptation to twist the knife, he risks losing that trump card if it goes on much longer and the media start to lose interest.
That’s all… I’m going home now.
This entry was written by , posted on April 15, 2009 at 5:58 pm, filed under Political, PR and tagged Cameron, Mcbridegate. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been appearing on an ITV regional show called Last Orders. It’s a political chat show which juxtaposes studio interviews with Politicians with comment from normal people (I’m one of the normal people.)
Anyway, last night the programme aired with David Davis, Ed Milliband and Nick Clegg being interviewed in the studio and after a segment in which I had described Nick Clegg as perfectly OK but nothing particularly special, David Davis seemed to echo my comment and say something that sounded allot like “as my son said.” Nick Clegg then said “is that your son?”
Can I just take this opportunity to answer his question? Whilst I have a great deal of time for David Davis, I think he’s one of the party’s stronger figures and a real asset, but, and I want to be very clear about this, he’s not my dad.
This entry was written by , posted on November 9, 2007 at 11:03 am, filed under Political. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
If anyone needed an example of quite how drastically PR has changed since web 2.0 got its teeth into it, this weekend has provided plenty.
Screw print deadlines, gone are the days when you could prevaricate your way out of a news cycle. Danny Finklestein and Con Home were broadcasting the news of the election that wasn’t over their RSS feeds hours before any TV had wised up to the story, and whilst one campaign may have come to an end, another managed to continue, just. Lewis Hamilton may have been let off but his story just goes to show that you can no longer manage TV cameras.
In a nutshell the problem is this, when the mechanisms of content delivery were few and linear, they could be managed. Now they are many and networked and they can’t. Those who succeed will be those who recognise that message management never really made it out of the 20th century. I don’t know what the next step for PR is, there is allot of talk about engagement and it all sounds good but, to be honest, I don’t know what real corporate engagement looks like. For the moment I’m happy if clients can stick to a very simple formula.
1. Consider PR before a decision is made, PR applied after a decision is spin.
2. Be open and honest. You can’t hide anything if the guy next door to you with a mobile phone is every bit as able to publish a story as a BBC news crew.
3. Try to understand the power of content. The ubiquity of search based as opposed to channel based provision means that the internet rewards excellence in a way that traditional media never has and never will.
This entry was written by , posted on October 8, 2007 at 3:37 pm, filed under Political, PR, Technology. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Just watched David Cameron’s speech to conference and already a quick scan of a few blogs reveals that some people are beginning to focus on the “traditional tory – Europe and immigration” aspects of it. Can I just point out that in a speech that was well over an hour long, (closer to an hour and a half?) and had around 70 applause breaks in it, immigration made up 1 minute.
Earlier this month, I thought David Cameron might be losing the plot. I was wrong, he wasn’t. Along with every other tory I’ve spoken to since, I’m fired up and off leafletting tonight.
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This entry was written by , posted on October 3, 2007 at 2:37 pm, filed under Conservative Conference 07, David Cameron, Political. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Boris will be standing for London Mayor. I’ll update this after his campaign launch at 2pm today.
*Update*
The official press release is now live on his website
I am happy to confirm that I have today put my name forward to be the Conservative Candidate for London Mayor.
I have been overwhelmed by the support I have received from so many people across London. I intend to remain an MP and will continue to represent the people of Henley, as I have done since 2001. I have, however, resigned from the frontbench as Shadow Minister for Higher Education with immediate effect.
London is an outstandingly varied and beautiful place and it deserves a proper debate. I want to bring fresh ideas to the Capital and offer a new direction for Londoners. I believe that the Mayor of London should keep things simple and direct his or her intellectual energy at the core problems that affect people’s everyday lives. I look forward to announcing my detailed proposals later in the summer, should I be fortunate enough to be shortlisted by the Conservative Party.
Even the greatest cities have further greatness in them. I will stand for a greater London and for putting the smile back on London’s face.”
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This entry was written by , posted on July 16, 2007 at 11:51 am, filed under Political. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Turns out the BBC are also running the story here. I have also started a facebook group in the hope that a spontaneous outpouring of support might persuade Boris to run. Join here (Login Required).
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This entry was written by , posted on July 4, 2007 at 2:32 pm, filed under Political. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
I picked a post up from Iain Dale’s blog and all of a sudden got quite excited.
According to Iain, Cameron is trying to persuade Boris Johnson to run for Mayor of London. Please please let it be true.
As an aside, both borisformayor.com and .co.uk have recently been registered through 123reg.com, it’s one of the things I’d do if I was preparing for a campaign…
This entry was written by , posted on at 2:09 pm, filed under Political. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Eclectic post this. Firstly, two new blogs that I’ve started to read. The friendly ghost is in the PR / Marketing / SEO / general thoughtful insight mould and (though I’m coming a bit late to this particular party) has some genuinely interesting content, in particular a post of SEO keywords.
Secondly, good friend Alan Lamb, now councilor for wetherby ward on Leeds City Council, has also launched his own blog. It’s in its infancy at the moment but he’s an articulate intelligent guy and I look forward to hearing what he has to say.
Thirdly (and finally) a friend of my mum’s is on facebook. Not because she is particularly bothered about the social networks but because “it’s a way of communicating with my children that I know they’ll actually read.” Two of her children are away, one having just finished university, the other being in her second year and it struck me how far facebook has come in such a short time.
I will be having a look at how facebook has developed its current momentum in the near future and hope to post on it soon.
This entry was written by , posted on June 11, 2007 at 9:05 am, filed under General, Political, PR. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.