A Sad, Sad Day

[lupestripe]

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.

Comments

[londonwolf.livejournal.com]

I would like to see a racheting back of the EU to an economic trading bloc to be honest rather than the way it's heading which appears to be a political superstate.

The BNP vote is disappointing but not surprising. If you look at the actual vote figures they barely gained at all on last year - they only got the seats because so many people stayed away from the ballot boxes this year and seats are based on percentages.

[salith.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately I could not agree with any party on these issues so in the end there was no party I could have realistically cast my vote for and felt like I had done my 'duty'

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

Was ashamed to learn that Yorkshire elected one of the two fascists. But as I said in an earlier post of yours, this is not entirely unexpected. We have to learn to emotionally deal with this, and hope that this has shaken the main parties awake to the stage where they will start addressing working class fears and pain, rather than just dismissing it. With that in mind, this could be a blessing in disguise.

[balto-mike.livejournal.com]

I personally think we should be a hell of lot more alarmed if they were elected MPs than MEPs. However I understand that the signal of electing these two candiates might try to make the BNP seem more mainstream, but I still believe that the majority of people do not want them to become mainstream.

The EU personally, I think its 'superstate' powers should be cut down, I appericate that it has some (but not many) good laws for the whole continent and that its free trade has benefited our economies well. However there is little coverage here and often the anti-EU message gets by a lot stronger. Certainly perhaps a reform of the Parliamentary system might do it some favours. What's going on with Lisbon Treaty anyway atm?

Finally, there are other fringe/extreme parties with a tiny number of MEPs at Brussels, so its not just a problem faced by the UK.

[emejn.livejournal.com]

The BNP's gain is a triumph of democracy - there's nothing illegitimate about those votes, or the MEPs they elected. It's a profoundly good thing that more extreme views have the chance to be represented when not catered to by more mainstream parties. Not all BNP policies are racist, colourist, etc., and not all BNP votes are driven by racism, colourism, etc.

As for the EU - it's executive and legislature seems to be fundamentally corrupt (any company whose auditer had refused to sign off its accounts for more than a decade wouldn't still be around). The tally of votes for Conservatives and UKIP confirms that Britain wants a more streamlined, less invasive EU, a free-trade and free-access area with benefits, not a federation. I hope that the more leftist parties stop ignoring this.

[mr-cullen.livejournal.com]

Oh no it's the end times! the BNP got two fucking seats!

[puddy-tat-uk.livejournal.com]

hmm.

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.

=( '.' )=

[metamorphosys.livejournal.com]

To be honest voting has lost all appeal to me. Take care.