Before seeing Question Time last night I had thought that allowing BNP leader Nick Griffin onto the political discussion programme was a thoroughly bad idea. I didn't agree that the BBC absolutely had to invite him on in order to fulfil their charter, instead I thought that the move was more about securing publicity and ratings. I also shared the concerns of those such as Ken Livingstone who worried that giving racists a platform would lead to a spike in violence against Muslims and black people.
However, having seen the programme last night I have changed my mind, and think that it was probably a good move. This is because Nick Griffin was just so utterly pathetic. I would be extremely surprised if any undecided voters were to turn to the BNP as a result of his wretched performance, and would hope that those who supported him in the European elections are now regretting their choice.
Nick Griffin is one of the most hated people in the whole of the UK. He has put himself into this position, which cannot be pleasant, because of his fascist and racist beliefs. If he believes these things to be true so strongly that he is willing to be the target of so much venom in order to support them, then one would have expected him to defend them passionately. Instead, he attempted to deny he had ever said pretty much everything he's been recorded as saying.
Griffin complained that he was one of the most misquoted people in the British media. However, when asked by the chair David Dimbleby to give an example of one of the things that he'd been reported to have said that he hadn't actually said, he couldn't come up with anything. When questioned about his views on the Holocaust he claimed that they had changed, but that he couldn't explain the reasons why. His bizarre excuse for this was European legislation preventing such things being discussed. The rest of the panel nonetheless tried to draw something out of him, with Jack Straw pointing out that he was the Justice Secretary and so could guarantee that Griffin wouldn't be prosecuted. Still the BNP leader was evasive, giving the impression that he was simply clueless.
Why wasn't he just honest? Who was he trying to appeal to? By denying everything he stands for he alienates his core membership, and to everyone else he just looks like a bumbling fool. Sat next to Griffin was Bonnie Greer, playwright and Deputy Chairman of the British Museum, who seemed to be on the show as the voice of reason. She spoke in a very matter of fact fashion, and treated Griffin like a misguided little schoolboy, which is exactly how he behaved.
Griffin floundered for the rest of the programme. He appeared completely out of his depth, not really understanding what was going on around him. He smiled and laughed when people made jokes at his expense, applauded and nodded in agreement with those who suggested that people only voted for the BNP out of disillusionment rather than due to any engagement with their policies. If he truly thinks that, why isn't he hanging his head in shame? Surely a political party has failed if no one really agrees with its principles.
BNP supporters are today saying that the programme was completely unfair, that the audience and other panellists were overly hostile and didn't allow Nick Griffin to get his points across. Yes, the prevailing mood was against him, but I don't think someone who incites hatred based on ethnicity can complain about this. And yes, he didn't get his point across, but this was not due to others preventing him from doing so; rather it was because he did not have any coherent points to make. It is very sad that such a spineless, incapable man is present on the political stage in this country.
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