Today’s big ‘storm in a media teacup’ is whether the BBC should invite a spokesperson for the British National Party (BNP) to sit on the panel of the political discussion programme Question Time.
Of course they should. It is a no brainer!
The BNP are mainly known for appearing to be a party with extreme and racist views and their outlandish statements have been seized on by the media and our MPs as being unacceptable. But, they have managed to openly voice the concerns that are genuinely held by a large number of voters worried about what is perceived as being a huge increase in immigration in the UK.
There have been many varied and diverse arguments, both for and against an appearance on Question Time, but like it or not, the BNP are becoming a legitimate political party because an increasingly disenchanted public are using them as a protest vote against the humbug spoken by our mainstream political leaders.
Many of those in favour of the BNP appearing on the programme, have said it would expose them as having no other policies and no idea what they would do about things like the economy but hey….we have been watching the regular panelists for years who suffer with the same problem.
The real reason for them appearing, though, should be because we constantly preach to the world that we live in a democracy where everyone has a voice and we cherish the right to freedom of speech, however distasteful the words that are spoken.
We should remember that the leaders of Sinn Fein – who were accused of far worse things than the BNP could ever hope to achieve – were once gagged by Margaret Thatcher. Their voices were muted on newsclips and replaced by a commentary.
Today they are entitled to sit in the Houses of Parliament.
But whatever we all think, the real winners will be the BBC who will get an increased rating for a programme that most people would normally avoid watching.
I can’t wait!
