Opposing the BNP

As a result of the recent elections, the British National Party has gained its first seat on the London Assembly. Johann Hari writing in the Independent offers a few words of advice on dealing with the rise in support for the far right.

Firstly, on ways of dealing with the 5% of Londoners who voted for the BNP:-

How do we persuade these voters to make better choices? The first step is the easiest: expose the party for what they really are. The BNP has tried to rebrand itself, hoping we will forget its founder declared “Mein Kampf is my Bible”, and its current leader attacks even David Irvine for admitting some Jews died in the “Holohoax.” This leads to the second step: stop trying to silence them. The trial of Nick Griffin for hate-speech wasn’t just immoral – he has a right to free speech, no matter how foul – but also dumb politics. The way to discredit the BNP is for people to hear what they say. No more no platforms: take them on. Read out their pro-Hitler quotes. Watch them implode.

Hari also suggests taking seriously the impact immigration has had on the living standards of the low-waged:-

It’s true that immigrants boost the economy overall, and boost public services and pensions because they pay back £6bn more than they take from the Exchequer. But it’s also true that British people don’t benefit equally from it. It’s simply a fact that if you significantly increase the supply of cheap labour, the hourly rate for it comes down: that’s why wages for builders and waitresses and cleaners have barely budged for ten years now. For people on the lowest wages, immigration does depress their wages, and it is wrong to deny this, or wave it away as unimportant.

Unfortunately, dismissal and denial have been the common responses to the problems caused by high levels of immigration. Regrettably, I don't think much is likely to change and I therefore expect support for the BNP to continue to grow.

As Hari notes, ethnic divisions are becoming increasingly entrenched in British society. Sadly, the identity politics and racialist thinking that promote such divisions receive considerable support from government and significant sections of the media. I have long thought that people will only begin to realize what a collosal mistake this has been when a significant number of people start organizing around "white identity".

We may be beginning to see the start of that process in the growing support for the BNP and, like Johann Hari, I find that deeply troubling.