It was all a complete farce, mere propaganda and whenever he opened his mouth, it was so easy to see through his slimy, racist and utterly disgusting rhetoric. Some of the most "gems" that came from his mouth included; his argument that he could not discuss his past Holocaust denial and his change of mind regarding the slaughter of 6 million innocent people due to European law restricting his ability to do so; claiming that David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan was almost completely "non-violent" and that Muslims coming to this country must acknowledge that Britain must remain "a fundamentally British and Christian country based on Western democratic values and not on the eternal values of the Koran." (What do Muslims do when they get to the border? Sign a disclaimer?)
Regarding the other panelists, I was most impressed with the performance of Bonnie Greer, American playwright who has lived in this country for around twenty years. As one friend summarised her performance; "she was FIERCE!" Yes, she was. Her use of dry sarcasm and humour was immensely effective in cutting Griffin down. I was also pleased with the performance of Jack Straw and his most impressive line of the night was his highlighting that millions of African and Asian soldiers fought for our country during both World Wars (though my cynical side did respond to this with; "yes, but under imperial subjugation") to the response of enormous applause in the audience.
I have two criticisms though of the show - first, it wasn't "Question Time" as we know and love it - it was more the "Let's Bash Nick Griffin Into the Ground Show", which although I don't disagree with, I was concerned with the fact that he was never really allowed to speak his mind. Within ten-fifteen seconds of him speaking, one of the other panelists had cut in. My point being that the longer Griffin spoke about a certain issue, the more ridiculous and awful his position would have increasingly appeared. Second, only one other issue, besides the BNP was discussed on the show, that being Jan Moir's homophobic article regarding the death of Stephen Gately. Griffin did again shoot himself in the heart with his statement that two men kissing was "creepy". But again, I think if the show had included three or four more topical issues of the week, these roundabout but important issues would again have highlighted Griffin and the BNP as the complete circus act that they are.
But, on the whole, the show was a success in highlighting how disgusting Griffin and the BNP are. I'm very pleased that the BBC didn't cave in to the pressure to censor Griffin's appearance. Yes, there is the concern that the BNP will see a growth in support, monopolising their self-perception of being the "victim of the Establishment" but as I've explained in my previous article, I believe that this would only be a short-term trend. By allowing Griffin to appear we safeguarded democratic principles but at the same time highlighted to the nation just how abhorrent he is. I stand by my belief that it would have been wrong to stop his appearance and leave him and the BNP "at the fringes" because - whether we like it or not - they are no longer at the fringes. Out of the four levels of governance in this country (EU level, national level, devolved level, local level), the BNP is now represented in three of them and they might conquer the fourth level at the General Election if we take the attitude of ignoring them. The only way to successfully combat the BNP is continuously drag them into the spotlight and through reasoned debate and argument ensure that they cannot scrape even a tiny piece of credibility and legitimacy to their name. To do anything but reasoned and fair debate would play into their hands of being "victims".
So, referencing a question asked during the show; "is tonight an early Christmas present for the BNP?", I must conclude the matter by firmly saying that no, it definitely was not an early Christmas present and that Jack Straw was right in his summary - it has been an awful week for the BNP.
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In other news, I was deeply disappointed to read yesterday that the UK economy is STILL in recession. For the third quarter, most economists had been predicting a tiny return to growth, which would have technically ended the British recession. Instead, the economy contracted by another 0.4%, largely as a result of the continuing slump in the services sector. Yes, this is a small contraction compared to the economic chaos at the beginning of this year, but it's a contraction nonetheless and the UK is now officially in its longest recession since records began.
This is even more upsetting and frustrating considering that France, Germany and Japan have all exited recession in the second quarter, three economies that were lambasted as being sluggish and stagnant during the good times, whilst UK growth roared ahead. Oh, how the tables have turned. The UK is now expected to be the last of the world's most industrialised nations to exit recession - even Italy is predicted to return to growth before the UK! Of course, we can attribute the continuing decline in UK GDP due to the fact that unlike any of our European partners, our economy is heavily reliant on banking and services. The City of London was, along with Wall Street, the epicentre for the world economic crisis that had already begun but rapidly accelerated following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September '08.
It is the psychological impact that concerns me most about the UK still being in recession. In my view, the psychological consequences on a nation in recession is just as important as the actual economic and financial facts and figures. An example of this is the response of the currency markets when the news was reported - the pound quickly sank like a stone against the dollar and the euro, as twitchy investors dumped sterling.
Had the UK returned to growth, it is obvious to state that this would not have happened. The news would also have had a positive impact on the regular man in the street, the consumer, the employer, the employee. A return to growth would have resulted in a nationwide sigh of relief. People would have been convinced that light was finally returning to their lives, that the worst was definitely over and that recovery was now a concrete fact, rather than an obscure plausibility. Behaviour would have been changed for the better, even if in only small measures. For instance, maybe the secretary on the High Street would have let herself buy that slightly more expensive dress or pair of shoes and this would have contributed to the recovery in the retail market. A recession, in my opinion, is just as much about an individual's mind as it is about the state of the national economic performance.
Of course, even if we had exited recession in the third quarter, enormous challenges still remain for the UK economy, the two most pressing being the urgent reduction in the budget deficit and unemployment. But an exit would have been the first bit of economic good news we would have heard in months and the value of this must not be underestimated.
However, with yesterday's news, looks like it's going to be another Credit Crunch Christmas - at least for us poor Brits, that is.
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