Following Nick Griffins’ controversial appearance last week on Question Time, the BBC has received a barrage of complaints from audiences, for allowing the leader of the British National Party to use the mainstream TV debate show as a platform to express his fascist right-winged views. With fears that such a high profile appearance on the show could increase the parties’ profile within the public sphere and gain them and their views further notoriety.
On arrival Griffin was met with a hostile reception, not just from the hundreds of anti-fascists protesters that gathered outside the BBC studios, but from the audience themselves, who repeatedly jeered at the smirking Griffin as he attempted to defend himself and his parties’ policies. Griffin’s flustered responses did not go un-noticed but the show’s host David Dimbleby, who repeatedly hauled Griffin up for dodging questions and denying controversial, offensive quotes he has made in the past. When pressed, for instance, over Griffins connection with the extremist racists KKK, his ability to backtrack and deny such claims were remarkable, even describing the KKK’s leader David Duke as ‘almost totally non-violent”. In this light I highly I can hardy see how Griffin has done himself or his party any favours in a bid to push them into political mainstream, but rather exposed himself and the BNP as the racist, fascist party they are.
Criticisms of the BBC grew, after is has emerged Griffin’s appearance has apparently sparked new interest from the public. A poll for the Daily Telegraph suggested 22% of the electorate would consider voting BNP and a further 3,000 people registering for information about the party. However this so called new wave of interest is hardly damaging, when Griffin seems to have not only alienated the general public but also members of the BNP itself, with further reports that the party is looking to replace Griffin for future elections.
To suggest that Griffin’s appearance and feeble efforts to sway public opinion has in any way made an impact on the face of politics in the long run, would be to completely underestimate public judgement and their ability to see Griffin and the organization he represents as being deeply flawed. Question Time’s Thursday programme saw its audience numbers triple in what they normally receive, attracting an estimated 8 million viewers. Which demonstrates in itself that public interest in seeing this party scrutinised for the first time is rife. Giving in a sense, the audience a platform or opportunity to express their views to Griffin, in what we can hope has been a serious wake up call for the right-winged organization and the ignorant bigot that leads them, to re-asses their policies in the wake of a multi-identity, multi-cultural Britain.
