The one feature of the BNP's policy agenda which is genuinely distinctive, its 'whites only' membership policy, is one which is completely irrelevant - both because it only applies to the Party, and thus has no consequences beyond the membership of the BNP, and because non-whites would not want to join theBNP anyway. This feature of the BNP is convenient, however, because it permits the other parties to present the BNP as a manifestion of extremeism, rather than what they actually are - a party which promotes substantially similar policies to those promoted by the government (and the other main parties) but does so in an anacronistic ('whites-only') form.
So what are the Labour Government planning to do in response to the election of two BNP candidaates to the European Parliament? Change their own racist policies? Champion 'open borders'? Of course not. They've gone for the completely irrelevant option.
Harriet Harman is proposing to use the Equalities Bill to force the BNP to admit non-white members! This is so typical of the New Labour style of government. Anything which smacks of politics, anything which demands rigorous debate, any sniff of a clash of ideas, and the government shouts 'You can't do that!' and legislates.
This is yet another example of New Labour promotion of intolerant tolerance. They are trying to force the BNP to be more tolerant. But tolerance then means 'we don't really believe in anything'. And anyone who appears to believe in something needs to be very carefully policed. This criminalisation of dissent affects everyone from Labour Party members who heckle at Party conference to the BNP.
It is the meaningless approach to political life, not the activities of lunatic fringe parties, or even the petty financial nest-feathering (which has dominated the news for weeks), which isthe most dangerous and corrosive feature of politics in contemporary Britain.
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