Rumour has it that the BNP will be declared bankrupt on my birthday (familiarly known as August 24th). Indymedia has estimated that the party’s debts currently total £500,000 and that they only have £65,000 in assets. Nick Griffin therefore has only days to stop his party’s noxious musings from ending up near the gutter.
Now, I can understand why everyone is rejoicing (that was my immediate reaction). However, there is actually little to celebrate in this news. Bear with me…
The BNP groups those with extreme and destabilising views together. Without an official party it would be a lot harder to prove these zealots wrong on mass. This is because, under one banner, all of its members can be criticised. Obviously, it’s a lot easier to defeat an extremist when you know where to find him. And, it’s easier to beat one common enemy than thousands of individuals.
Secondly, the BNP should be debunked at the ballot rather than the bank. If the party disbands due to money then they have not been given the public denouncement that they deserve (just look at Margaret Hodge’s victory in May). Similarly, if they aren’t dismissed by the public then it gives the BNP’s members the grounds to believe that their policies are correct – it’s just their bank balance which is toxic.
Lastly, as a party, the BNP holds a national platform. As such, rational opinions can defeat their dogma in open and public debates. As long as sane counter arguments continue to be aired nationally then the BNP’s support cannot grow because individuals will be educated against their persuasive rhetoric.
If we all think that the BNP will be stopped over a bit of money then we’re sadly going to be proven wrong. They will only come back under another name. The only way to beat them is to let them be a party. After all, I’d rather have the BNP in the public eye than underground.
Let’s hope that what defeats the BNP is reason rather than cash.
Very well put.
A very good blog post and I agree with you that the BNP by its very nature constrains the growth of the far right movement in Britain. Here are my own fears, and I apologise for the length of what is to follow! I believe the demise of the BNP will create a party political vacuum which, rather than remain unfilled, will probably be filled by a party political manifestation of the English Defence League. I predict that this will lead to two major shifts in the far right politics of Britain, both of which will boost support hugely for the far right, far beyond the limited support enjoyed by the BNP. First, the far right will re-focus itself to a much greater degree upon Islam specifically, with less emphasis on race per se and with more co-operation with far-right anti-Islam groups in mainland Europe. This new emphasis will appeal to many more people because although it is impossible for the vast majority of people to blame somebody for their skin colour in any rational way, blaming them for their religious beliefs, which are seen by many as being assumed by free choice, will seem much more reasonable to many more people, including non-whites. After all, the predominantly non-white Hindus and Sikhs have a history of acrimonious relations with Muslims which probably surpasses in intensity that of the nominally Christian white Europeans. Second, there will be less of a fascist edge to the far right. Undoubtedly there will still be those individuals in the far right with a fondness for ‘heil Hitler’ salutes but I do not think fascism as a political ideology will hold much sway in any EDL-inspired political party that may emerge in the coming years. Instead, expect to see much more emphasis being placed by the far right on ‘British’ liberty, freedom, etc. with Islam increasingly depicted as the totalitarian/authoritarian antithesis to such British values. This is the cover for intolerance which the EDL is already using in its current manifestation as a popular movement and the appeal of it is evident when one observes the general opposition currently to the ‘illiberal’ policies of the Labour government, which coincidentally is often seen by the far right as having been more ‘on the side of’ Muslims than the ‘indigenous’ people of Britain. For these reasons I agree that the continued existence of the marginalised and discredited BNP is the worst thing that can happen to the far right, and therefore the best thing that can happen to the country as a whole in terms of social cohesion.
A clever set of intuition-defying arguments!
Hmm, interesting perspective this. What does it say about the dilution of the BNP movement that they can’t even raise enough to stay in existence in their current form? Just recently Griffin referred to the BNP as a ‘major force’ in British politics. I think their recent success was a flash in the pan and more a result of economic uncertainty and thee resulting suspicion of globalisation and therefore ‘foreigners’ than any resurgence of British racism/fascism. I agree with you Jess, they are better off as a party than a more underground movement, but it’s clear that they’re having major difficulties continuing as a party (in their current form), not just financially but we’ll soon see, politically also…
Nice work! Keep it up.
well you could argue that their financial mismanagement indicates they’re not fit to govern. If you can’t keep your own house in check, how can you rule the country?
A political party has to earn the right to be judged at the ballot box by fundraising and accounting well.
Moreover, extremists are always more impotent when they are disparate rather than organised: see the brown shirts. I think that there’s no fight to win if there’s no cogent enemy.
Great article Jess – yes they need to be shut down for political and not financial reasons.
For some reason it did make me think of the pub in town that has all the rowdy drinkers in.
The Police leave it open because they know where they all are – shut it down and the rowdies end up scattered around town and it’s harder to keep track of them.
Alex Lawless commented “well you could argue that their financial mismanagement indicates they’re not fit to govern. If you can’t keep your own house in check, how can you rule the country?”
In view of John Prescott’s article about how Labour are almost bankrupt, could this not also apply to the present Labour party also?
Again, let’s hope this doesn’t happen.
I was going to argue exactly the same thing about Labour. I’m sure people wouldn’t want to see them collapse.