From the Right Side

I watched it, and I expect you did too. And, contrary to the opinion of the overwhelming majority of commentators, I don't think that Nick Griffin did too badly.

Firstly, I think the BBC made a terrible misjudgement over the format of the programme. What we saw was an hour long bullying session of five (the four panellists plus David Dimbleby) against one. There was no attempt to cover recent political events, only a relentless concentration on one man and his party. Have you ever seen that on Question Time before? The focus of attack was on entirely predictable grounds. None of this told us anything about the BNP or Nick Griffin that we didn't know before.

Nick Griffin had a few (well, quite a few) wobbly moments, he looked nervous, and he was at times hesitant and evasive: but no one landed a killer blow on him. There were also a couple of passages when he spoke quite effectively (on immigration and Islam), and made some points with which a great many people will agree.

Following a week of unprecedented media coverage - publicity that money could not buy - and a performance that wasn't an absolute disaster, I don't see how the BNP can emerge from all of this other than with their position enhanced.

It will not be the glare of the spotlight that will weaken the BNP, but the actions of the two main political parties. As soon as they seriously address the concerns of ordinary people over immigration, support for the BNP will plummet. But what are the chances of them doing that? I wouldn't hold my breath.