Of Course We Should Engage With BNP Voters!
Sayeeda Warsi is accused of “pandering to racists” when she said:
What she says is perfectly reasonable. We shouldn’t just write off those who are voting for the BNP, and they do have some legitimate concerns. That is the reason that they vote for the BNP - because they have concerns which are not being addressed by any of the major parties.
That Sayeeda Warsi is willing to engage with them is a good thing, not a bad thing, and fits in perfectly with her position as Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion. She is quite obviously trying to bridge the gap between those who feel ignored by the main parties and thus vote for a racist party like the BNP instead. People don’ vote for the BNP because they’re racist, but because they have concerns that are not being addressed by any other party because of ‘political correctness’.
The Conservatives - and all major political parties - must address the prime reason why people vote for the BNP - and that is because they feel ignored. They have some legitimate concerns about crime, justice, and immigration which the main parties aren’t addressing and thus they feel ignored. If we listen to the voters - the vast majority of whom aren’t racists - then we can convince them that the BNP are not the party who can deal with the problems they are concerned with, but just a bunch of racists and bigots.
Ignoring them just because they have the stigma of the label “BNP voter” attached to them is not an option in a democracy. They are still part of the electorate. Just ignoring them is what caused the problem in the first place. If we listen to, and engage with, them then they will no longer feel any need to go and vote for the BNP - and they will thus wither and die as they should. But if we continue to ignore their concerns, the BNP will just gain more support. We must act now to stop it - and this is the only way.
UPDATE: Devil’s Kitchen agrees with me, and Norfolk Blogger doesn’t.
Image: Sayeeda Warsi
Source: The Independent
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Talking up the BNP before an election is a silly thing to do. She has a history of being rather unsympathetic to some communities, specifically gay people when she is after votes.
I understand what you are trying to say, but the language she uses is all wrong and the timing could not be worse.
We will have to agree to differ, but good to see you making the other side of the argument.
I don’t think it is talking up the BNP - in many ways it is more pulling the rug out from under their feet, by bringing back the ordinary voters who just felt that their concerns on immigration etc. were not being considered, and thus leaving with with just the extreme fringe of racists.
Oh how very patronising - being concerned about immigration.
I think you take the voters for granted and consider them to be very gullible beasts - and you might be right, but let’s make one thing clear.
Even if, by a stroke of pure genius, the Tory party did get elected at the next general election, we all know there is absolutely no chance they can take control of immigration as it is now in the hands of our benevolent dictators in the EUSSR.
Not only would the Tory party have to renege EU human rights laws it would also have to bring in a strict border control policy and an effective alien removal programme.
And the chances of that are?
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