Nick Griffin on Question Time.

Dead-End Identity Politics. 

“Question Time was dominated by questions of identity. Whether the BNP were really ‘British’. Or Nazis (non-British). Or who was the Legitimate Heir of Churchill.  What was it to be ‘British’ (’aboriginal’ whites or not). Whether British was an inherent mix of ethnicities. In short, a Bottomless Pit of Identity Political Ideology.

Griffin began badly and only came into his stride when most of the other panelists began to outbid each other on being tough on immigration. He was still a fairly poor, pedestrian, speaker. In this he was a big contrast with Le Pen (whose telly appearance in France is said to have marked his serious entrance into politics). Le Pen (I saw this broadcast in the early 1980s) is a true demagogue: he mixes very classical French with moments of extremely brutal vulgarity (and still does). Griffin was only capable of a few coherent bursts of populism when others came out on the theme of controlling immigration. He came across as utterly confused  in his explanations about the BNP’s turn to the model of the European electoralist far-right. That he had ‘changed’ about sums it up, with little more explanation.

It was obvious that 1) Everyone used up their ammunition about Griffin’s Nazi background far too early, and then echoed it far too often. 2) Same for the references to the zig-zags of the BNP. 3) The BNP acts as a force to draw politics further to the right on the issue of hostility to foreigners. It achieved this aim last night.

The UAF Demo was also confused. If it was to protest against the BNP’s politics, then this became submerged in the issue of Banning the BNP from the BBC, or indeed any platform. Instead of attacking the issue of the BNP’s racialism, or its wider politics, this turned into a debate (or rather, a call for a non-debate) about letting them speak.

Bonnie Greer, who has British nationality, was terrible, smug and unable to relate to the debate. I say this with some sadness since I really admire the woman and thought she would deal a mortal blow to Griffin. Frankly telling everyone that we all originally come from Africa and stuff about the Neanderthals was irrelevant.

 Since the discussion centred around identity, Britishness, whether it had democratic values in itself, or was being weakened by immigration, or whether multiculturalism was a way of making a new British identity, there was little opening to left politics. Which are based on issues of class politics, equality, ending oppression and exploitation. 

All in all a sad example of a failure to grapple with the BNP.” 

The BNP are a force helping to drag politics ever rightwards.  But not exactly the only one. If they hardly present an imminent threat to democracy, they do give voice to a lot of menace towards a wide swathe of society. Above all to ‘foreigners’ -‘ethnic’ or otherwise.

The rest? It’s mostly all been said. Lots of it bluster. Patriots outraged at him. Liberals yelling. General mayhem.

In this confused context, without a serious idea of what this implies,  UAF and its supporters do themselves no favours by calling for a Ban on the BNP.

No amount of shouting can get round the fact that the BNP are a legal political party. Question Time is a forum for legal political parties. Protest, showing our opposition, is right. But it has limits.  I recall vividly how television gave Le Pen his breakthrough in French politics during the early 1980s (not unrelated to Mitterrand’s desire to split the Right). But no-one then proposed banning his appearances. Apart from say, myself. What did people say to that? The view was never discussed. For one simple reason. If you can be voted for, then you have to heard.

The French Front National is now in decline. Increasingly marginalised  Why? Partly due to Le Pen’s advancing years.  It’s had plenty of internal feuds as well. And nutters.

But it’s mostly due to its failure to get to grips with the  political landscape. What has really undermined the FN is its incapacity to propose a coherent alternative in local politics. What did they say: La France aux Français!  How do they run a Town Hall  with a  slogan? If they are out for the ‘ethnic’ French only (‘national preference’)? What do they do with the rest of the electorate and inhabitants? How do they further the needs of some (French), and exclude others (non-French, or non-European)? The ‘nons’ aren’t going to disappear. The idea, looked at closely, that they could be made to, looks pretty ridiculous close up.

These are problems the Front National has never resolved. Which has led to drift, drift and drift. ultimately to going back to the sidelines. This week there are reports of a new far-right alliance, the Bloc Identitaire (here), seriously challenging it. That the Bloc Identitaire seems to be rethinking and rebranding some  of its themes shows that ‘indentity poltiics’ (mirrored in a way by ‘multicultralism’ and its liberal, left supporters), has more of an impact.

Does this apply in the UK? Phil has some pertinent questions to the BNP. How it operates (here). That is, what a  rabble they are in local government. How they – hard as this is to believe – are even worse than the average bunch of maverick councillors.

This is the right angle to fight them with. From the ground upwards. Not from the Screen downwards.