General Chat

Rod Gee and Uggers - I believe voting is mandatory in Australia, Belgium and Switzerland to name but three countries - if one wishes at the poll to spoil a vote sobeit but at least thought will have been taken in order to do. Any decision is better than none.

As to how one would check who had presented themselves at the polling booth were voting mandatory - quite simple - it happened on Thursday - one presents one's election card to the presiding officer and your name and addressed is checked on their list!

well put Uggers......! much more eloquent than me! lol!

Rita, hating a political party that thrives on ignorance and prejudice can't be compared to the hate the same party feed on. Up until they realised it wasn't helping their cause, they were advocating enforced repatriation. They are a party of the same ilk as the Nazis, who also thrived by feeding propaganda to a public brimming over with resentment about immigrants. And the wondeful new MEP for the NW was convicted of inciting racial hatres a few years ago. I don't hate the man but I do hate the party and everything he and it stand for.

I'm really not sure about making voting compulsory. I can't understand people not voting though. I would rather spoil my paper than not vote personally. We live in a democratic society and we all have a responsibility to take a part in it. Democracy comes with responsibility and if people are using their freedom to incite hate and hurt others, they're not deserving of it.

The BNP would have no power if nobody voted for them, so to stop the BNP you need to find out why people are voting for them, are there problems that people think only the BNP take seriously. We need to start talking about certain subjects without being accused of rascism. Lets get these issues out in the open and the main political parties need to deal with these issues and then people wont need to vote BNP. Then the BNP will be history, just like the nazis .

I don't hate them......I hate what they stand for, and they frighten me....It scares me that members of parliment - in this case the european parliment - who are the ones making the rules are blatently "anti" such a large proportion of the public......and their consituents.....I don't expect to agree with everyone else.....my husband and I are lifelong paid up members of different policitcal parties...

TW - I think and hope that you're right....that their success is due to voter antipathy, and that other parties will now take stock and learn some lessons from this!

I said a couple of weeks ago that protest votes and/or calling an early general election will leave the way clear for fringe parties like BNP to get in. Looks like I might have been right.

It's a shame but maybe the government might wake up to this warning and take heed that the real power is in the voters hands.

I'm Welsh and my son and daughter in law experienced racism all the time when my son worked in York - unbelievable but very true

The fact that the BNP have gained a seat is all down to fiddling self-serving MPs who have let this country down big time - they are totally to blame

God help us if BNP gain more seats

Havoc,

Unfortunately racism isnt limited to skin colour. As a child growing up in the 70's I wasoften asked if I was in the IRA as my mum was Irish. Now living in Ireland I have experienced racism for being English!!???

I have had people mock my south eastern accent but that has applied both in Ireland and in the north of England.

I grew up in a household with an Irish Mum and a Dad who grew up in Zimbabwee during his teenage years. He suffered racism because his best mate was black, not the done thing. Consequently I dont 'see' skin colour or accent. I wouldnt mock an accent, its offensive.

I dont object to jokes tho!! Because for the most part they are not meant to be offensive.

love T.x

anyone admitted voting for them yet

oh...that would be boring! lol!!!!

No offense taken taken I'm sure!
We must be grateul we can have these discussions and better still, disagree with each other. When everyone has exactly the same views we really are on a slippery slope indeed.

Eddie....I was not trying to imply that English Nationalism (genuine) is facist....the BNP claim to be a nationalist party....they are really racist. The English Democrats (from what little i have seen/read of them) do seem to be more on the same level as Plaid Cymru and SNP. The BNP do not see Wales and Scotland as being seperate entities within the UK, but that Britain is - to them - England.....English Nationalism is NOT the BNP....the BNP have tried to portay themselves as being nationlists, but they are not. I did not mean to link the two, I understand there are differences......HUGE ones......I'm welsh and Greek, my hubby is a yorkshireman, the BNP and their ilk frighten me, true nationalism is something to be proud of!

Oh....i don't think that makes much sense! sorry if I caused offense Eddie....think my dislike of the BNP and their manipulation of their manifesto got in the way of my typing!

Eddie...as far as I could see the English Democrats were the only party that seemed to have their whole manifesto on the internet. It made interesting reading and I particularly liked their stance on speed cameras lol. I did however wonder if thier policies did smack slightly of racism....or is it that we're just conditioned to that way of thinking these days. And if the English Democrats could be considered racist for their views then could the SNP and PC be considered racist for theirs? All surely have the interest of their own people at heart???

Sorry , as an Englishman I don't agree and find the suggestion that English Nationalism = BNP offensive. But hey, this is a sort of democracy and we can have different views : )
There is an English Democrats party for English nationalists which is most definately not fascist and had its first success in the council elections last week. Nowhere near as big as Plaid or the SNP yet but little acorns...

Britain is England to the BNP.....Nick Griffin has a house in Powys, and once (few years ago) showed a journalist the veiw - over mid wales - and appaently said "englands green and pleaseant land!" - say no more.,.......they do not stand for what the welsh need and want, nor the scots......they are an english party who fielded candidates across the UK.....

And some numpty would like the voting age lowered to 16.....!!

NO NO NO, Mamiddau not white English people, please get it right, the BNP support white British people. That is England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The English are not solely responsible for the BRITISH national party.

it really frightens me....That may sound a bit overly dramatic, but they are facists, and the impact and influence they may be able to have now doesn't bear thinking about. They pretend to be a legitimate party, who are not racist, just trying to support white english people, but the reality is that they are against anyone else, and one of their manifesto policies is "voluntary repatriacian" (?sp)

Not sure if anyone saw the BBC last night, as the election results were coming in, they had information about the guy who was elected for Yorks/Humber, used to be a member of the national front etc .....yeah, not racist!!!!

Edited (once I caught up with the other posts) Plaid are NOT a racist party. Plaid want the Welsh Voice to be heard, not to be seen as part of England, but Plaid are inclusive, and will work for their members and constiuents, of all backgrounds - including English - whereas the BNP will only work for those who fit into their white english cubby hole.....! THey are NOTHING alike.....

Morning Theresa :-))))

I'm not sure that it is due disillusionment with the financial situation as I fail to see how people would think that BNP could sort it out. More a disillusionment with the government as a whole, exaserbated (sp?) by the recent expenses scandal and and uneducated protest vote

Voting should be made compulsory? Really? And who will you make people vote for? The party you support and you think people should vote for?
And look at our sham democracy - at the last general election Labour got approx 35% of the vote i.e. 65%, a huge majority of voters, did not want a Labour government. Add in a generous 50% turnout and the present government were elected on as little as 17.5% of the available vote.
And the fool who is head of this government, unelected by anyone but a few thousand scots.
And this is democracy?
And it is ignorant and naive to equate being an English, Scots, Welsh or Irish nationalist with being either Fascist or a BNP supporter, the clue is in the name - BRITISH national party.
The English Democrats welcome members from all ethnic / racial groupings and so far as I am aware so do the other nationalist parties, exept the BRITISH national party.
Hmmm, is n't British what Mr Brown would like us to be...