HearFromYourMP

Comments

• Posted by Sagardeep Singh Arora, 13:34, Thu 22 October 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  How come BNP be allowed to spread their non-sense views? BNP is dividing our society and everyone know about this except BBC.

• Posted by Catherine Love, 13:40, Thu 22 October 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Whilst I deplore the BNP and their politics, I think allowing Nick Griffin onto Question Time will expose his party for the sham that they are and hopefully Jack Straw and the other panelists will be able to do this and show how lacking in policies (other than their odious repatriation and single mother diatribes) they are.

  I should imagine that the BNP are praying they get banned at the last minute, so that they can play the martyr card, and get away without being seriously questioned on their 'policies' and their appalling record on local councils etc.

  My personal view is that you cannot pick and choose whom you grant free speech to - let the BNP hang themselves with their own revolting message (here's hoping the other panelists are astute enough to ask the right questions) and allow people to see that they are far from what they claim to be.

• Posted by Gurcharn Marwa, 14:00, Thu 22 October 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  my view is that Mike Griffin should be allowed to appear on question time and he should be questioned openly about the 'burning of the golly' on their fun day and some racist commnents made by other memebers of the party. Basically he should be grilled with questions by the public and politician present on question time, which will give the public the true image and intentions of Mike Griffin and his BNP party.

• Posted by Pádraig Floyd, 17:18, Thu 22 October 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  When it comes to the support Nick Griffin has in the UK, then the BNP is indeed very much like other marginal groups like UKIP and especially the Greens. The Greens may have received 2.5% or so more of the vote, but returned the same number of MEPs, making them no more popular or less marginal in the UK. And lest we forget, in the last European elections, UKIP finished ahead of Labour by 0.8% I think it was, so does that make the government a minority group? No, of course not. The BNP is not going to go away just because it gets ignored. Its policies must be shown to be ineffectual or hare brained, because that is the democratic way. You may not like what Griffin says, but freedom of speech only goes so far. There are laws in place to prevent him from spreading hate and if he lies, he can be challenged. He's not the match of most of those appearing on the panel, so let him show himself up. And before you bang on about the BNP being a illegal organisation, that has now been exposed and must be addressed. Its not as if the government wasn't aware of that policy and could have done something about it before, but as it is approaches its anticipated nadir, it needs something to lash out at hence the wheeling out of Mr Hain, as if he's the only person to have found apartheid repugnant or taken action against it. It's all rather disingenuous. THat is compounded by your message coming out on your site today. It has a whiff of the whips about it. For, if you had felt so strongly about this before, one might reasonably expect you to have articulated that anger, but you did not. And you call the BBC pusillanimous? I agree that it often gives its execs an easy ride as the producers fear reprisals in the corridors of power (you'd be familiar with that)but it was the government that has provided the BNP with the oxygen of publicity, perhaps to deflect attention from its own creaking vessel for a few hours.

• Posted by Madiha, 17:29, Thu 22 October 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  The BNP should be allowed to come onto BBC only because this would then hopefully expose to the public of what they truly are. Alot of people just tend to ignore the BNP and disregard their opinions, but i peronally believe that if they do come out in the open then there would be a mass movement against them. As now people are not doing anything about getting rid of them they might do so now after publicly hearing about what Nick griffin has to say.

• Posted by Anthony Hope, 17:55, Thu 22 October 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  I think there are two dangers in allowing the BNP and other racist groups to appear on Question Time. The first is it gives then what they crave - the appearance of being a mainstream political party with 'sensible' views. The second is the happy - and untested - assumption that they will be exposed for what they are by the audience and other panelists. This is unlikely to happen as Griffin will have prepared for this event for weeks and will be all moderation and good sense.

  There is a deeper issue here and that is at what point does the right to free speech end. I don't think anyone would agree with giving space to people who abuse others to defend or present their views. Yet this is just what the BNP are doing politically and racially - and ,in some cases, physically.

  I agree with Mike - giving the BNP a platform on publicly funded media is unacceptable and for the BBC to defend this by claiming the BNP represent 6% of the population and it's up to Parliament to censor unpalatable views is morally wrong and an abdication of their responsibilities.

  They should be ashamed of themselves and the disservice they have done to everyone in this country who just gets on with living and working with neighbours, colleagues, people on the bus and people wherever they meet them without caring tuppence about their background or birth.

• Posted by Joseph Ladislaus, 21:35, Thu 22 October 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  If it is wrong for the BNP to stand for what it stands for, which some people abhor, the British government sits on a legislation that continues to kill unborn babies, reaching out into the very sanctuary of their mothers womb and tear them into pieces, mostly on social grounds. You may well ask what has that to do with the price of fish? Here, we are talking of people in comtemporary high class civilisation. Many people say there is no such thing as conscience, guilt or repentence for things that is said or done, that upsets people. It is a case where our action or inaction have got ourselves into this quagmire.

  So the motto would be for people living in glass houses to refrain from throwing stones or take the plank out of your eyes before taking a splinter in your neighbours eye. Joseph Ladislaus

• Posted by HARRY DANKWA-SMITH, 22:41, Thu 22 October 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  DEMOCRACY IS VERY PARAMOUNT IN ANYWHERE IT IS PRACTISED AND ENCOURAGED,HOWEVER,IN REALITY WE MUST ESCHEW OR IGNORE POLITICIANS WHO ARE AGENTS OF DESTRUCTION OF DEMOCRACY SINCE A PARTY LIKE BNP WILL RATHER PLUNGE THE COUNTRY INTO ANARCHY AND NOTHING MORE.IT`S A PITY THAT SOME PEOPLE SUPPORT THIS PARTY IGNORANTLY WITHOUT TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE REPURCUSSIONS OF THEIR MISGIVINGS.

• Posted by grace maryon, 18:08, Fri 23 October 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  I completely agree with your views posted on your website. I felt saddened, angered and frustrated by the BBC decision. It was a terrible mistake to think that the BNP are a legitimate democratic political party- THEY ARE NOT.

• Posted by Mahmud Shibli, 19:52, Fri 23 October 2009: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Of course I agree with the BBC that the BNP is just a political party, just as much as the National Socialist were in Germany, led by a certain Mr A Hitler

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