Michael Portillo on 'This Week'

Michael Portillo appeared on the BBC programme 'This Week' last night and blamed the "daft electoral system" for the BNP gaining two seats at the EU Parliament; he then stated that this situation would never occur with the more sensible "first-past-the-post" system.

This is true, the BNP would never have won any seats in an election with the current Westminster system, but what he fails to understand is that it is this very same dismissive attitude concerning people's voting preferences that caused the situation in the first place. It seems that Mr Portillo does not wish to have a truly representative Parliament, rather a Parliament in which the working class concerns are ignored and marginalised.

The BNP should be revealed for what they really are, not a democratically elected party, but a fascist and racist grouping that only wish to return Britain to the dark ages in the name of ethnic purity. People like Mr Portillo, a politician of many years, should want to understand why nearly a million people voted for the BNP.

Maybe it is because these working class voters were never his core electorate, or it is easier to ignore them, but Mr Portillo is walking a fine line by ignoring the issues that surround this unprecedented event. Or maybe Mr Portillo would prefer a oligarchy, in which the power resides with the elite and the working classes do not have the vote, since he dislikes any form of representative Parliament.

Education and enfranchisement of these voters is needed, rather than the arrogance to ignore them.

The Most Surprising Result.

David Cameron appeared in the Welsh National Assembly yesterday, with all the pomp and circumstance of Rocky Balboa standing aloft the steps of Philadelphia City Hall. Whether it was the Labour vote staying home or the electorate genuinely voting Conservative, the shock waves of this result will resonate for sometime.

This, more than the BNP winning two MEP seats in the North of England, was the most surprising result of Sunday's EU election. Wales has been a stronghold for the Labour Party for nearly a hundred years, even during the dark days of 1979 and 1983, there was always a light on in Wales for the Labour Party. If Gordon Brown and the Labour Party can lose to the Conservatives in Wales then no constituency and MP is safe.

According to Dante there are seven deadly sins; Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Pride, Lust and Labour losing Wales to the Conservative Party. It is probably a natural progression, the Labour Party had committed the six other deadly sins during the MPs' expenses scandal, so losing Wales was the complete set.

Churchill vs BNP

The BNP have again used the crudest of publicity stunts to gain more political attention. After last weeks revelation that the Jesus supports the BNP, which has to be a new low even for them, they are attempting to claim another historic figure with similar success.

Now they are attempting to 'stand on the shoulders of giants' by using Winston Churchill to promote their deluded cause. If history teaches us anything is that Churchill fought a bloody war so that the people of Britain could live in a country that was not ruled by a fascist party. Ironic really...

When Politics and Religion should meet.

Even thought it seems abhorrent to continually discuss the British National Party at election time, the Church of England has firmly placed them on the news agenda. The BNP has an uncanny ability to become the focus of the political caste in the run up to an election; remember Barking MP (take it either way) Margaret Hodge stating that "80% of white families in her east London constituency were tempted by the British National Party", in the campaign for the 2006 local election.

It seems an incredibly unsophisticated campaigning method on behalf of the major parties, showing all the subtlety and all the nuanced understanding of the delicate workings of the media as the BNP displays themselves. This campaigning method, the "shock 'em out" tactic, appears to be a very lazy way to mobilize grass roots support on to the campaign trail. On the other hand, the media appear to love the merest suggestion that an elected official has mention the BNP, thus probably justifying to themselves this crude attempt at publicity.

However, I think it was necessary for the Church of England to voice their concerns over the BNP's questionable quasi-religious attempts to claim the Christian vote. If the CoE had not, it could have faced a more serious charge that it became a complicit bystander.

Furthermore, Nick Clegg is right; there should be a clear distinction between religion and politics. But after the BNP began using Christian iconography and distorting verses from the Bible it is correct that the highest religious figures in the UK are allowed to rebuff the BNP's arguments.

It is a shame though, that the majority of the focus on the BNP occurs around election time. It appears that after elections, most people view the BNP as an embarrassment to the British political system, but during elections they are tool to use by lazy politicians to motive grass roots support and gain favourable publicity.

Like terrorism, the BNP should not have the oxygen of publicity...