Yes they’re right wing, but UKIP is not fascist

by Kevin Meagher

David Cameron famously described UKIP members as a collection of “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists”. But are they fascist too? This is the question being posed by campaign group Hope Not Hate.

It is asking its supporters whether their successful efforts at taking on the far right in the shape of the BNP and English Defence League since 2004 should now extend to UKIP ahead of next year’s European elections.

“Should we begin to oppose them or should we stick to extremist groups like the BNP?’ they ask on their website:

‘The case for opposing UKIP:

‘UKIP is increasingly taking an anti-immigrant tone and as anti-racists we cannot ignore that. They are whipping up fears over new immigration and as we approach next year’s European Elections this will even get worse.

“The growing support for UKIP is scaring the mainstream parties and it will push them to adopt more hard line policies on immigration and multiculturalism. We need to prevent this and offer a positive alternative to the politics of hate and division.

‘The case against opposing UKIP:

‘We might not like some of UKIP’s policies but they are not a fascist or far right party. They are embedded to the democratic system and have more in common with the right wing of the Conservative Party than the fascists of the BNP. And, despite their current anti-immigrant rhetoric, they are still basically a single issue party.”

For an avowed anti-racist organisation like Hope Not Hate to begin campaigning against a mainstream political party is a dangerous extension of its terms of reference. It crosses an important Rubicon in our democracy. It encroaches, clumsily, on the delicate ground around free speech and effectively invalidates criticism of immigration as a policy. It dilutes their focus which has nobly been all about ostracising the far right.

To lump UKIP into the category marked ‘far right’ is silly gesture politics and will simply make ‘extremism’ a meaningless catch-all. Are the two thirds of voters who express a worry about large scale immigration to be dismissed as extremists too? Is Ed Miliband after raising the issue last week?

The strength of Hope Not Hate is that it is not exclusively the prerogative of people on the left. All those of good will who think racial inferiority and violence towards minorities are repellent ideas and who feel basic respect for other human beings is characteristic of British fair play can join in.

Also, it simply will not wash to bracket Nigel Farage with Nick Griffin. UKIP’s greatest strength is the simplicity of its message. ‘We want freedom from Europe and all its works’. People are at liberty to disagree with it or to critique its naïve simplicity, but it is hardly in the same league as the BNP’s poison. It’s a safe bet that Nigel Farage will not be troubled for his record in denying the Holocaust.

So ‘fruitcakes’ they may be, but the rise of the Fourth Reich UKIP most definitely is not. Hope Not Hate should stick to its valuable work fighting the real thing.

Kevin Meagher is associate editor of Labour Uncut


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40 Responses to “Yes they’re right wing, but UKIP is not fascist”

  1. Guido Fawkes says:

    It would also undermine the anti-racist cause to try to pull in people who are not racist.

  2. Nick says:

    COrrect, they are more Tory than the Tories.

    Just as the BNP are just racist socialists. Labour with racism sums them up.

  3. blingmun says:

    The BNP being is not ‘far right’, it is ‘far left’. The further right you go, the more you favour individual freedom which is the antithesis of State control favoured by global communists like Stalin or national socialists like Hitler.

    I don’t think the terms ‘left’ and ‘right’ are very helpful. Suffice to say that whatever we call extreme authoritarianism it leads inevitably to the abuse of power and consequent human suffering.

  4. therealguyfaux says:

    Sadly, Kevin Meagher is the one afflicted with naive simplicity here. It never was about whether UKIP IS racist/fascist/whatever, only whether by their iconoclasm of the whole European enterprise UKIP can be made to LOOK like the second coming of an Oswald Mosley movement, as in a syllogism like “UKIP are anti-Europe ultra-nationalists, people like Mosley were ultra-nationalists, therefore UKIP are like Mosley.” That a group, whose remit would seem to be exposing hate where it DOES clearly exist and to let the sunshine glare of publicity send the hate back into its burrow, would entertain the thought “Maybe UKIP’s stated policies and goals are a fig leaf, and we shouldn’t take the chance of their insincerity,” smacks just a bit of hypervigilance. It also smacks of entryism on the part of those whose cries of fascism/racism/whatever are mostly always mendacious and calculated only as a smear tactic, akin to the tactics of a similar organisation which is one of HNH’s partners, the US-based Southern Poverty Law Center, which does precious little law in Dixie to eliminate poverty and simply uses an ooey-gooey warm-&-fuzzy progressive-sounding name to disguise its smearmongering. If Hope Not Hate truly aspires to be taken seriously as anything more than a Leftie pressure group they need to choose their battles wisely and not be seen merely as a reactionary-Left anybody-who-doesn’t-agree-with-Europe-is-an-ipso-facto-hater propaganda machine.

  5. swatantra says:

    As we say on the street, UKIP are just the BNP in suits … pinstripe suits.
    So Hope not Hate is right in showing up the hidden message behind UKIP.

  6. SadButMadLad says:

    Racism is not the same as anti-immigration.

    HNH attempts at trying to include UKIP with other extremist groups changes the definition of extremist group to mean “any group we don’t agree with”. This dilutes the real meaning of extremist. Similarly, the term racism now includes minor grievances against other nationalities of the same race as yourself because more groups wanted to jump on the band wagon of “being oppressed” so that they can get a slice of the compensation and publicity wagon. This dilutes real racism which is an illogical hate against a group of people of a difference race for no reason, not just a dislike of people whose culture is different.

  7. Dave says:

    @swatantra
    Utter drivel.

  8. Elliot Kane says:

    If Hope Not Hate are genuinely conflating racism with wanting an end to uncontrolled and unlimited immigration, then they have lost the plot so seriously that they really need to do some serious soul searching.

    Racism is a really serious issue that must be dealt with for the sake of all humanity. If Hope Not Hate can’t even work out the differences between multi-ethnic and multi-cultural and between anti-uncontrolled-immigration and racism, they have become part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

    They have done a lot of good in the past and I hope they will continue to do so in the future. But judging from the missive quoted above they have some very real problems that they need to sort our for their own good and for ours.

  9. Ex-labour says:

    I have seen and heard nothing from UKIP which would suggest that they are racist. Yet again it seems we have some bleeding heart do-gooders trying to smear an organisation whose politics they dislike. Being anti immigration is not racist. In these current economic times it seems perfectly sensible to ask questions of EU and UK immigration policy and its impact on our society.

    @Swatantra ….Ed Milliband ….reds under the bed…..you know it’s true.

  10. Normandee says:

    I just don’t see how anti immigration becomes immediately racist, they are labelled by where they come from to identify where there point of origin is. We don’t want anymore people of any race or colour from anywhere that has nothing to offer this country. Genuine asylum seekers need not worry, but if your intention is just to arrive and set up home on the benefit system forget it, no matter who or what you are.

  11. LeftIsForward says:

    The right wing of the Tories is notoriously racist.

    Saying “UKIP are as bad as the right wing of the Tories” is a reason TO ATTACK THEM, not a reason to let them continue to get away with it!

    In a truly free Britain, the existence of such a noxious political party, with messages that are offensive and policies that are oppressive, would not be tolerated.

    The intelligent left should fight its existence through the courts using the human rights treaties – remember that ultimately it is legal costs that have destroyed the BNP as a fighting force. And we must fight against its toxic, community-relation poisoning “political” campaigning through direct action and street politics.

  12. Sungei Patani says:

    LeftIsForward :

    “In a truly free Britain, the existence of such a noxious political party, with messages that are offensive and policies that are oppressive, would not be tolerated.”

    I suspect that even supporters of the Labour Party would see the inherent absurdity of this statement.

  13. Robert says:

    Yes, UKIP are a right-wing party that I would never vote for but they are not fascists, so HNH should not campaign against them.

    Comments about the BNP being far left are just silly. The BNP is clearly right-wing and authoritarian. I accept that many Tories are right-wing, liberal and not racists. My personal political position is left-wing and liberal, while Commies and Trots are left-wing, authoritarian but usually not racists.

  14. DevonChap says:

    @LeftIsForward

    Love the double think. A truly free Britain wouldn’t tolerate certain views. Please look up the meaning of freedom of thought.

  15. SadButMadLad says:

    LeftIsForward, do you live in a democracy? Or do you live in a totalitarian state. Sounds like you want the later.

    In a truly free society, people have the right to hold views which you think are noxious. You would be surprised, but my personal views are that people like you should be the first up against the wall come the revolution.

    See what I did there? Made some extreme remarks which show how noxious I think your views are.

    But I still believe that you have the right to hold views that I find noxious and will support you in holding that right and allowing you to talk about your views. I do not believe that censoring anyone like you is a valid course of action. And if anyone tried to stop you, I would side with you in trying to stop them. Just as much as I am siding with UKIP in stopping them from being censored.

  16. bloke in spain says:

    What is it with you people conflating racism with fascism? Did your package holidays never take you any further than Bognor? You try visiting Eastern Europe if you want to find racism. Most prevalent amongst the ones mourning the end of communism. Russians have got to be some of the most racist people on the planet. The north western flavours can’t even stand other Russians. And they’ve always been like that.
    And at least get your political economics straight. UKIP favours lower taxes, less influence on government by big business, less interference by government on commerce. That’s a long way in the opposite direction to fascism, than we are now. Labour’s much closer. Try reading Mein Kampf (without the cover on if you don’t want anyone to know you’re getting an education.). Half of it’s current Labour policy.

  17. h777 says:

    @LeftisForward – Can you please tell us which policies of UKIP are supposedly ‘oppressive’ and should not be tolerated?

    One of my neighbours is a UKIP supporter. I don’t think he’s particularly racist – his family were immigrants from India. He’s not against immigrants of any race individually, he’s against mass immigration because he feels that immigration above a certain level makes it impossible for immigrants to integrate successfully – which is good neither for the immigrants or for anyone else. UKIP has no problem with the race of immigrants, just the volume.

    By the way, you do know that Nigel Farage has a German wife?

    UKIP policies could hardly be more different from those of the BNP. UKIP is a free market, free trade party. The BNP is racist and its economic policies are pretty left wing (I doubt you are aware of this, but they are – they favour re-nationalisation and state intervention).

    Frankly, I find your comments offensive.

  18. savepenrhos says:

    First of all, UKIP may be anti-immigrant, but anti-immigrant does not mean you are racist. UKIP has members and activists of all colours, all faiths and all sexualities. In one of the recent by-Elections one of it’s candidates was a black immigrant.

    Likewise, being anti-EU is not a right wing issue either. Genuine left-wingers (not the middle class faux socialists that have stolen the Labour Party) such as the RMT, are outspokenly anti-EU and believe we should leave tomorrow.

    UKIP incidentally have a far more robust anti-BNP policy than any mainstream party and the terms and conditions for membership clearly state:-

    Membership is not available to anyone who is or has previously been a member of the British National Party, National Front, British Freedom Party, British People’s Party, English Defence League, Britain First or the UK First Party. Any applications made from people who are or have been members of these organisations will be refused, and any subscriptions collected will be refunded.
    By applying for membership you certify that you are not and have never been a member of either of these parties.

  19. Dave says:

    Trying to open up a dialogue with people who have a bigoted view of people who are worried their country is going down the pan is pointless, I tried open debate on twitter with one of their supporters and I got “I am too busy to discuss this with you now go away, after that she blocked me, she was really busy after that as her tweets to her freinds just kept going.

    These people are set in their minds about what is right and what is wrong, their belief that UKiP is “just BNP in pinstriped suits” is completely unfounded, I am far from the extreme right wing tory boy they think UKiP supporters are, they need to open their minds to the fact that financially and socially this country cannot cope with uncontrolled immigration, we have 3 million unemployed, an NHS system which is struggling, a welfare system which is imploding, not enough housing and not enough money to build new homes, the EU has told us we must take whoever wants in, we can’t cope, it isn’t racism, it is realism, understanding economics.

    UKiP want us out of a system which is taking away our democratic rights to self govern, we are paying too much money into a system which has not benefitted us as a nation or given us value for money.
    Go ahead and think that controlled immigration is racist, but when we have 5 million out of work and the benefits are cut for all out of work are you going to feed and house them personally?
    Finally UKiP will not deport honest hard working foreign nationals of any race, anyone who says they will are off their heads.

  20. Intelligence made something hard easy says:

    If you want to look like a left wing activist group other than a sensible organisation who enforce anti-racist sense then go ahead. Just understand that the public realise the difference now and calling anyone racist for the sake of UN charters of deculturisation is starting to look a bit pitiful. Attacking UKIP is a fail.

  21. Alex says:

    @LeftIsForward,

    Congratulations on showing just how tribally bigoted you are – racism is an issue that transcends left vs right. There are plenty of racists who identify as one or the other.

    The fact you try to infer it’s something that’s exclusive to the right suggests you’re either incredibly dishonest, or just plain stupid. It also belittles every other argument you might make.

    Debate those you disagree with – attempting to smear them as so unsavoury just because you don’t like their outlook can only be described as the tactics of Fascism.

  22. Simon says:

    The reason groups like HNH can claim that UKIP is racist and is as claimed ‘BNP in suits’ is because of Labour supporters all over the land have for years shouted down concerns about immigration with the word racist. HNH supporters and activists genuinely believe it to be true. They are brainwashed. Another New(Old) Labour triumph.

  23. John Reid says:

    Blount, the far left of everyone would dedicate the,selves to the state for societies gain of Stalinism ,was different to the far right of the Nazis everyone would dedicate the,selves to the state for the states financial gain, it was big business of Volkswagon, Volvo that got the motorways built, and the seizing control of industries financially and the state controlling them was different to nationalisation, after all Churchill nationalised the breweries and Heath nationalised rolls Royce, lastly yes the BNP , are a racist version of old labour, same as the National front of the 70’s were a far right organisation ,voted for at council elections by Tory M.P Alan Clark with their admiration for Enoch Powell, the fact p north the BNP’s vote came for disillusioned labour voters ,neglects the fact that in outer Essex and Kent the BNP vote comes from white van man on 35,000 a year ,who use tovote Tory during their 18 yrs of power,

    H777 is right,

    Personally there are a couple of people in HnH who criticise fascist Muslim clerics, and distance themselves from UAFs views but, with uaf having links to swap, violence and HnH’s view that the Brixton riots of the 80’s were good the Tsg was bad and anyone who was an appeaser in the 30’s was as bad as the nazi’s I’ve no time for them, they encourage people to vote BNP,

  24. LeftIsForward says:

    Solidarity, equality and community trump the “right” to trumpet bigotry, racism and homophobia.

    It’s not just that dog-whistling over immigration, statistically absurd scare-mongering, offensive stereotyping, anti-equal marriage neanderthalism are ridiculous and politically unacceptable rhetoric . It’s that they are dangerous messages when given credence by a political party capturing 10% in the opinion polls and disproportionate media coverage. It makes good people feel uncomfortable, insecure and even unsafe. To the extent that it provides “validation” for vehemently anti-immigrant viewpoints in the press and among the wider population, and actually does raise the risk of community tensions and violent attacks.

    An atmosphere in which “blaming the immigrants” is an acceptable part of political discourse, is dehumanising, violates the human and political rights of ethnic and cultural minorities, and fuels discrimination in employment, the media and the justice system. There simply is no “right” – either in law, or in ethics – to take part in such scapegoating. In fact there is a responsibility, especially among politicians getting national broadcast coverage, not only to steer away from such viewpoints but to actively condemn them. If UKIP are not willing to take their responsibilities seriously then they should expect community action against them, from the people whose wellbeing and human rights they are violating. And under a system of government that really did put community solidarity, human rights and equality first and foremost, their aggressive, anti-society (self-proclaimed “libertarian”) and retrogressive brand of politics would be stopped before it did any more damage to social cohesion.

  25. Robin Thorpe says:

    Blimey, Kevin’s opened a hornets nest here.
    For what its worth I shall share my opinions on this; UKIP are not fascist. Fascism is not defined by any particular political ideology; it is however defined by the use of violence, the suppression of opposition using censure and terror and a strict hierarchical control by an authoritarian dictator. Don’t think Nigel Farage fits the bill here.
    UKIP are defined by their opposition to Europe but also advocate a low-tax, pro-market approach. IMHO a free market also means a free labour market, which should therefore be in favour of decreased border control.
    UKIP as a party are not racist but their members certainly espouse racist views. One example of this is the UKIP candidate for the Eastleigh by-election who claimed on BBCQT that Romanian immigration would increase levels of crime. Stereotyping people by their place of birth is prejudiced.
    To return to the basis of Kevin’s article HNH should be focusing on fighting prejudice; attacking a party because of their political views does endanger their position. HNH should not be a political campaign.

  26. Philip Fawkes says:

    Hmm. I am but a humble Headmaster, so much of the above goes way above my head. I just do not understand, however, why wanting to withdraw from Europe and to have some control over one’s own destiny (for which many died in two World Wars) should be considered a ‘right-wing’ policy. In today’s news, we hear of shortage of places for school children, of crisis in the NHS and of chronic shortage of housing, and yet we seem incapable of adding two and two together and making four! It has nothing to do with racism, facism or any other politcal fad; we are an over-populated country that has surrended too much to the concept of a federal states of Europe. If you want that political structure then say so, but please spare me the rhetoric.

  27. Vern says:

    After 25 years i am finally changing my vote to UKIP. Whilst the 3 other parties decide what labels to put on UKIP, UKIP are steadily going about their day job developing policies which will represent average Joe’s needs and this should help restore some good in our country.
    A little more ownership in our own country and less governance from outside influences (Brussels) will allow us to control our fiortunes with a greater degree of certainty in the years ahead.
    The other parties think that UKIP wanting to control immigration is somehow anti-immigration or racist – its good business sense in reality, increase when we need it, drop it off when times are lean.

    Hope? we need action!

  28. Henrik says:

    Congratulations, comrades, you’ve found your voice! LeftIsForward is *precisely* the one I want representing you and your great Party at the next General Election. With him/her on-side, the result I’m looking for is inevitable.

    Forward with the vanguard Party!

  29. Henrik says:

    On a more serious note, LeftIsForward is succumbing to the typical smug leftie idea that some ideas are so pernicious, so dangerous, so infectious, that we poor saps have to be protected from them, lest we immediately don the brown shirts and do whatever it is LeftIsForward dislikes. The only answer is for us to be protected from our own weakness by denying these wicked ideas – which, coincidentally, are precisely those to which LeftIsForward objects – any possibility of being heard.

    Jesus Christ, comrades, bad enough that you guys are colluding in the politicians’ revenge on the media for blowing their comfy expenses scam wide open by regulation and muzzling of the Press, let’s not include denial of free speech and the democratic right to hold and broadcast silly, stupid, wrongheaded – or, indeed, any – opinion.

    Incidentally, the UKIP are not Nazis, they’re not fascists, they’re a perfectly legitimate political party. I’m sorry you don’t like it (hell, I’m not going to vote for them, either), but they’re not evil or wicked.

    The thing with you guys on the Left is that you think everyone who doesn’t agree with you is evil, on account of your ideas and thinking are so self-evidently *right* and how could anyone who’s not an absolute monster not *see* that; we on the more rightish end of the scale tend to think those who don’t agree with us are, you know, wrong, or at worst, a bit dim.

  30. Rallan says:

    I joined UKIP in December. The established parties are the problem, not the solution. We don’t care what names you call us. Go ahead, give it your best shot. You’ve cried racist so many times that it’s just falling on deaf ears now. The more you do it, the worse you look.

    @LeftIsForward, you are Orwells nightmare in the flesh. If you can’t see what’s wrong with what you’ve said then I pity you.

  31. John Reid says:

    Leftis forward,offensive stereotyping, is that a reference to you

  32. Bryan Tomlinson says:

    The 2 biggest reasons that I recently joined UKIP are;
    1) The expectation by the old failed Westminster political parties that I will continually pay for their globalist agenda. Westminster is privileged, pro tax dodging big businesses, EU obsessive, foreign aid bribery giveaway, pro open borders and happy to see mass unemployment as a price worth paying.
    2) My family, friends and neighbours are expected to suffer continual lowering of their wages and standard of living to accommodate the world’s poor. Trades people losing work because the rich want to get richer. No chance of affordable housing. 2.5 million people unemployed and nearly a million young disenfranchised young people.
    If anyone thinks inexperienced posh boys like Cameron, Osborne, Clegg, Alexander, Milliband and Balls will save them, they are deranged.
    Good luck to you all.

  33. mark says:

    My father was born in the Bicol region of the Philippines. I am married to a Filipina. And my children, when they arrive, will be more filipino than British.
    I am also the chairman of a local UKIP branch.

    I joined UKIP mainly because of the anti-democratic main three parties that always think they know best. I would like to see a UK that is free and fair. A UK that supports small business, fisherman and farmers – instead of lining the pockets of euro bankers.

    We need to spend more money on our pensioners, disabled and helping young people into work – instead of propping up a failed ideological project.

    We also need to put a sense of seriousness into the phrase ‘British jobs for British workers’ rather than using it as a soundbite and then opening the door to thousands of immigrants who bring nothing but burden to our country.

    If you agree with me – you will vote UKIP

  34. mark taha says:

    Leftisforward is a totalitarian.The US First Amendment should apply throughout the world. Communists,Fascists,homophobes,Islamists,Marxists,Nazis,racists,Trotskyists-they all have the same right to proclaim their opinions as good liberal democrats.

  35. Albert says:

    NO TO GLOBALISM.

  36. John Reid says:

    The likes of Tebbit say the nazis were left wing be use they had the word socialist in their title and they nationalised thing s, I was pointing out that big business of Volvo and Volkswagen funded them and that they only nationalised them by seizing hold of the, and used their power to increase their armies, they weren’t nationalising them they way Labour did, and that Churchill nationalised the breweries, Heath nationalised Rolls Royce, so it wasn’t a left wing thing, and that just because the BNP are like a racist version of old Labour, doesn’t mean that the Nazis were left wing

  37. Rich says:

    I have voted Labour since Thatcher came to power but on the EU they have got it wrong. The Labour party was anti joining Europe when Heath forced it through. Now there is a campaign to try and smear anyone who wants us to take our country back. Cameron wants to use the EU to Globalize and remove all workers rights. Please stop thinking anti EU is right wing or anti Labour. It isn’t but Miliband has it wrong. Do not forget it was Gordon Brown who kept UK out of the Euro when the Tories were desperate to get us in. There is no reason to Link EU membership with left or right wing. It is just smearing and scaremongering which I expect of the Mail and the right but not of the free thinking left.

  38. David J Parry says:

    I am favour of Hope Not Hate expanding the list of groups against which it campaigns to include UKIP. Whether they are, strictly speaking, a fascist party (and I’m of the opinion that they’re not) is beside the point, as is their opposition to immigration. The point, as far as I’m concerned, is that UKIP are a seriously dodgy bunch, rife with individuals in high-profile and high-ranking positions within the party who hold frankly racist, sexist, homophobic and anti-Muslim views. For that reason alone, they deserve to be confronted.

    h777,

    ‘The BNP is racist and its economic policies are pretty left wing (I doubt you are aware of this, but they are – they favour re-nationalisation and state intervention).’

    There is nothing inherently left-wing about nationalisation or state intervention in the economy. For example, Neville Chamberlain nationalised the airports in 1939 and Ted Heath took Rolls-Royce into state ownership in the 1970s. As for state intervention in the economy, the Tories were not much less keen on this in the post-war era than Labour were. Further, I would argue that Thatcher was not really opposed to state intervention per se, only if it meant constraining the activities of large private capital; she was all in favour of economic intervention if it meant strangulating trade unions or supporting industries that so happened to be hostile to organised labour (e.g. agriculture, finance). The same is true, by extension, of all her successors as prime minister thus far, from both parties.

    LeftIsForward,

    ‘In a truly free Britain, the existence of such a noxious political party, with messages that are offensive and policies that are oppressive, would not be tolerated.’

    I’m sorry, I consider myself to be firmly on the left and furthermore, I oppose these hate groups just as strongly as you evidently do, but I must distance myself from this. The whole idea of banning a political party because its messages could be construed as offensive and the policies it favours as oppressive is, to put it mildly, highly problematic and opens up such a can of worms. For example, I consider the messages from big business-supporting Thatcherites that the poor are to blame for their own plight, that inequality is a good thing because it gives them an incentive to pull themselves up by their bootstraps (and they accuse us on the left of the politics of envy!), and that we should all be bloody grateful to the rich to be offensive, and certainly view the sorts of policies they favour (e.g. banning any effective outlet for private-sector worker to bargain and negotiate collectively while allowing the businesses for which they work maximum freedom to exploit them) to be oppressive. Does that mean that I would be justified in calling for them to be imprisoned?

    Democracy means political pluralism (i.e. as many parties representing as a diverse range of political ideologies as possible being allowed to operate and put up candidates for elections). Free speech and expression mean maximum liberty to propagate views and opinions, short of where it endangers or seeks to endanger other people’s well-being (e.g. direct incitement to or threats of violence). Freedom of speech and expression and democracy should include views and political parties with ideologies that you or I might reasonably consider hateful or offensive, as long as they don’t endanger or seek to endanger other people’s well-being.

    By all means campaign against the BNP and UKIP. By all means confront them, challenge them and make it abundantly clear to them just how beyond the pale they are. However, calling for them to be banned is just plain authoritarian. Neither banning any political parties with views that you or I might find offensive nor prohibiting the expression of any such views has any place in a free society.

  39. m.peters says:

    We see a country that is changing beyond all recognition.There isn’t anyone that can contest that immigration can be a good thing. But uncontrolled immigration that allows millions of unskilled migrants to enter this country and take employment doesn’t help normal working people in this country, It puts massive pressure on public services already struggling to cope under the massive cuts taking place .It does however help business to keep labour cost down.The government say that the people of this country are angry about benefit tourism , and they will take steps to curb it…….a total red herring … the people of this country are sick and tired of uncontrolled immigration. Free movement of labour is a nightmare for unskilled people in this country trying to find work because it creates a massive over supply, forces down wages and conditions , and creates an environment for UKIP to flourish, preying on the fears of normal working people. People should realise that UKIP is not the answer, Tory MPs and supporters are defecting to UKIP because the current government are not extreme enough. which is why the Tories have announced even further cuts in welfare , without taking a penny more off the rich and privileged. A Nigel Farage government would make the Thatcher policies of the 80s look like a progressive liberal agenda. BEWARE its the things UKIP don’t talk about that should be more concerning thatn the things they do say, its about time Labour began challenging Farage and his ultra right wing cronies , come on Ed , debate Farage and bring out the REAL UKIP agenda

  40. Annette says:

    On their own, UKIP may not lead to the rise of the Forth Reich, but since LibLabCon are doing their best to help, dismantling our civil rights at an alarming rate, indulging in a culture of victim blaming, using to media to lie to the electorate on a daily basis AND to exclude the few parties who offer alternatives, it will be quite sufficient. Many people thought that Hitler was all hot air und not to be taken seriously, and then one day it was too late. Well done, Mr Meagher, for helping Farage’s cause by providing the same kind of convenient cover.

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