Stuart Weir (Cambridge, Democratic Audit): Once upon a time I used to read the North London newspaper Ham and High regularly as part of my job at The Times. The then editor Gerry Isaaman was something of a legend. I found him rather condescending on the few occasions when we met, but he ran a very lively, liberal and cosmopolitan weekly that drew inspiration from North London's Jewish intelligentsia. Much to my surprise I found an advertisement for the British National Party in the current issue when I came to London at the weekend to cheer my wife on in the London Marathon.
Bad enough, but the insufferable editorial comment from the current editor, Geoff Martin, made it far worse. Mr Martin, you must understand, would rather "chew off his right hand" than vote for the BNP, but the BNP is a properly constituted political party that seeks people's votes, and this is not China, but Britain, where we believe in free speech. We certainly do - well most of the time. But it is the state and the law that is obliged to protect and enhance free speech. Part of that freedom is the freedom that all of us, including the Ham and High, have not to endorse a party that exploits racism and preaches hate and not to pass on its message.
It is important to distinguish between the party's hardened core and the people who may vote and even work voluntarily for it (see The BNP: the Roots of its Appeal - opens pdf). The BNP fools a lot of people. Its political strategy is to portray itself as a respectable party that sticks up for working people while at the same time pouring forth a stream of islamophobe propaganda and seeking to reassure Jews and other ethnic minorities that they are not its targets. Like it or not, Mr Martin's stance assists the BNP in its efforts to acquire that veneer of respectability and may even contribute to the kind of division the party is seeking to create. I hope that it is proper to revise Pastor Martin Niemöller's words - First they came for the Muslims...
