lupestripe (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lupestripe) wrote2009-06-08 12:30 pm
lupestripe) wrote2009-06-08 12:30 pm
A Sad, Sad Day
The BNP gain two seats (largely thanks to the media scaremongering actually giving them publicity and thus being counter-productive) whilst UKIP have made significant gains too.
In fact, it has been a great day for Eurosceptics and parties on the far right throughout Europe. This tells me something - either people are widely opposed to the EU or the EU needs a massive overhaul in the way it is governed and administered. From my own point of view, I sincerely hope it's the latter rather than the former (I think if managed correctly, the EU can be a fantastic thing) but sadly, I fear it's not.
To me, the results of this election are merely one more reason to leave the country as I am becoming increasingly disenfranchised with where this country is heading (although, I accept, the local elections couldn't have really gone better really from my own standpoint).
Still, that's the delight of democracy I suppose. I just wish that the media had delivered all of the facts as I certainly did not see balanced reporting or indeed any real discussion or debate on the options that each political party presented forth. People were just too obsessed with the far right. And look at what we got.
In fact, the only articles I read in the Press were about the dangers of the far right - and all that did was give them publicity. Indeed, the BNP's policies were the only ones I didn't have to search for when I was trying to make my mind up on who to vote. In some ways, I wonder whether the rise of the far right is what the media actually wants - indeed the timing of the expenses scandal was certainly interesting regarding these elections.
P.S. I have always believed that every election is important and should not just be used as a "protest vote". I have always believed that not voting for who you truly believe in is counterproductive and damaging to democracy.
In fact, it has been a great day for Eurosceptics and parties on the far right throughout Europe. This tells me something - either people are widely opposed to the EU or the EU needs a massive overhaul in the way it is governed and administered. From my own point of view, I sincerely hope it's the latter rather than the former (I think if managed correctly, the EU can be a fantastic thing) but sadly, I fear it's not.
To me, the results of this election are merely one more reason to leave the country as I am becoming increasingly disenfranchised with where this country is heading (although, I accept, the local elections couldn't have really gone better really from my own standpoint).
Still, that's the delight of democracy I suppose. I just wish that the media had delivered all of the facts as I certainly did not see balanced reporting or indeed any real discussion or debate on the options that each political party presented forth. People were just too obsessed with the far right. And look at what we got.
In fact, the only articles I read in the Press were about the dangers of the far right - and all that did was give them publicity. Indeed, the BNP's policies were the only ones I didn't have to search for when I was trying to make my mind up on who to vote. In some ways, I wonder whether the rise of the far right is what the media actually wants - indeed the timing of the expenses scandal was certainly interesting regarding these elections.
P.S. I have always believed that every election is important and should not just be used as a "protest vote". I have always believed that not voting for who you truly believe in is counterproductive and damaging to democracy.
no subject
yes, not all the BNP policies are racist - they have a pretty strong showing in anti-gay and anti-disabled people policies too. And their carefully constructed user-friendly manifestos are the tip of a rather unpleasant iceberg - http://www.searchlightmagazine.com/ has more about what they say when they think the mainstream media aren't taking notice.
I'm not convinced this is really a new thing - the National Front (of which many current BNP members were involved in) got a similar sort of percentage vote in some elections in the mid 70s, and (had there been euro elections on the same basis) would probably have got a few seats then, and the British Union of Fascists picked up a few council seats in the 30s.
I really can't make my mind up whether the publicity being given to the BNP is helpful - from some of the coverage, you would think they had won an election rather than got two MEPs and a few councillors who will do not much more than make a nuisance of themselves. Part of me thinks that publicity might encourage people to come together and make a stand against the fascists (as happened in the 30s and the 70s.) Part of me thinks that the excessive publicity they are getting may give them a spurious air of legitimacy, but on the other paw, I don't think that trying to suppress them will help either - it will add to their claimed martyr status.
I'm not quite sure - overall - what these elections prove. New Labour has had the kick up the tail that it deserves, but it's hardly the great victory for the tories that their friends in the press are trying to claim - more or less the same share of the vote as 5 years ago - on an even lower turnout?
Meh.
=( '.' )=
no subject
I think the threat of the BNP will decrease - people are often polarised in times of economic crises but I fear that the mainstream parties - who have seen the rise of fascism in the last ten years (and have been largely responsible for it) - have failed to "wake up" despite being given numerous "wake up calls". That worries me.
The fact is though that a large proportion of the BNP vote was a protest vote and the hope is that the mainstream parties do act. As you say, we could head back to the 30s and 70s and fight fascism. At the moment, fascism is far from being suppressed - it's getting a lot of mainstream publicity. As the adage says - there is no such thing as bad publicity.
The elections prove nothing largely because of the events surrounding them. Had the MPs expenses happened after this election, Labour's slump wouldn't have been as dramatic and the BNP vote would have dropped. I think circumstance has orchestrated this for the BNP and the media have been responsible for that, which is something I find interesting.