In the wake of fascism…

So now the dust has settled on a night labelled as ‘a punishment to the left in Europe’ and we find ourselves with two ultra-nationalist fascist salesmen ‘representing’ us in the European Parliament.

The first reactions from anyone on the left are going to be one of disbelief and shock; I am guilty to early morning bouts of hysteria. However, as the day has passed and the events of the previous night have sunk in my understanding of the future of British politics has developed into a new kind of comprehension and hope.

Let me start with the cons of having Brons and Griffin as MEP’s. The first is that they are there to represent us. Unlike UKIP who deliberately vote ‘no’ to every motion regardless of its benefit to the UK (including to EU plans to track child molesters), the BNP representatives in the name of indigenous British people (am I apart of this?) will happily vote on motions to put towards the European Commission that help bolster their racist message. On the upside, they are only two MEP’s out of a parliament of 736, but the diarrhoea will still be coming out of their mouths “on behalf of the indigenous British people”.

The most serious damage coming from the BNP result is that which is inflicted upon New Labour.  Their wins came at the expense of New Labour and their votes which will give New Labour the belief that they can win these voters back. New Labour Minister Andy Burnham has already said that “There are concerns about immigration… the Government have to get a response to those concerns”. As if the UK government’s immigration policy is not strict enough, it seems it will get ignorantly stricter to appease former New Labour voters.

Furthermore any hope of effective electoral reform is bound to be dashed now. Despite its flaws Proportional Representation is often touted as the best alternative to replace First Past the Post as the most commonly used system in the UK. However, as it was PR that allowed the BNP to win their seats the main parties can use this excuse to dismiss PR electoral reform. Here’s to the status quo, New Labour, Tory and LibDems leading the majorities in Westminster far into the future, all in the name of stopping the rise of fascism.

But then it is not all doom and gloom. Having two MEP’s is very much likely to destroy the BNP. By being forced more into the political mainstream their actions can be more widely scrutinised without the claims of ‘fringe party’ and ‘left-wing hysteria’ being thrown at them. During the BBC coverage of the EU election results Jeremy Vine suggested that current BNP councillors in places like Burnley had lost some of their support because the public could see how awful they were in local government. Times this with non-stop scrutiny throughout most of the major press for the next five years and we could well see the implosion of the BNP vote come 2014.

Importantly, it is a safe bet to suggest that a huge majority of those who thought about voting for BNP actually did so. The passion of racists who actually believe in the BNP’s message or those who just want to perform a serious protest vote would have voted. Any remaining votes the BNP would have got if everyone had voted will be small in number and so they will have to rely on selling their brand of racism even more effectively than they already have, unless the left are even better prepared.

Perhaps another plus point is that this could actually help destroy a part of the British public’s apathy. There are people I have spoken to who have accused me of hyping up the BNP threat, suggesting that people will not really vote for them to the extent to giving them any kind of serious representation. Well now that opinion will change, helped by the media hyping up the story. It may force people to go out and vote in the next elections because they are now recognised as a threat.

This could transcend to other ‘fringe’ parties who are considered too small to make a change, too small to vote for. Well now we see that the smaller parties do attract enough votes to win seats in elections. Granted this is a consequence of Proportional Representation, but it could offer that glimmer of hope, a glimmer that will benefit parties like the Greens. For too long the Greens have been pushed to the dark corners of the newspapers. Despite already having two MEP’s, their support ever increasing and the prospect of national electoral breakthrough in places like Brighton, the response of some mainstream media to the party is one of blankness. It is if they are too nice to really attract voters or of the ignorant belief that voters are bored of the ‘go green’ message, as if that is all the Green Party stands for. You can already see that the party to gain the biggest percentage increase in votes in the EU elections is the Green Party, going up 2.4%, much more than the Conservatives (+1%), UKIP (+0.3%) or the BNP (+1.3%).

The most important result of the BNP’s success is that this is going to re-energise the left and British politics. Brons and Griffin are now the biggest indication that ideology politics can still lead to success. The transparency between politicians, New Labour and the Tories has become so diluted that people are searching for an alternative and the only effectively marketed alternative has come from the far right. Well now is the chance for the left to learn from the BNP. Throughout the election campaign I heard nothing from any serious left-wing party (accept the Greens) without going out there to find out about parties myself. For those who are not interested in going to find these parties but still would vote then what chance do they have?

It is also a chance for the left to properly ‘unite’ against the BNP. Sure there are superb campaigns such as Hope Not Hate and Unite Against Fascism that have helped to do this to some extent, but there were still those on the left who did not believe that the BNP were any sort of a threat.  It is going to force the left together, it will be a case of unite or die, especially if the left really did take the sort of pounding around Europe that the EU results have suggested. (Here is a good article that suggests that across Europe the left did score more votes, but because there is more apparent unity on the right the vote was split between the different leftist parties- already one anarchist commentator has suggested that the Socialist Party and Socialist Workers Party are looking at some kind of ‘agreement’).

The next 5 years are going to be exciting, especially if the BNP win a few MP’s as well (I’d rather they do not), as British politics is going to be revitalised- ideology is going to start to rule again. Come the next election when New Labour get kicked out they are going to go through some soul searching to rediscover their leftist routes, far right politics is going to be acknowledged (if not accepted), and the need for a serious alternative is going to allow space for the left to speak up and be counted again.

Cultural tales of a European wonderer

I am much travelled around Europe. I have been to countries from the old eastern block, through to ‘the West’, from the warmth of the Mediterranean to the chill of Scandinavia, and everything inbetween. The one thing I have really noticed from these travels is how far we, Britain, are culturally and socially behind European countries. For me to compound this statement consider this fact:

While travelling you are going to meet and speak to [local] people.

To communicate you need to be able to speak a common language and although there are a few Britons who can speak another tongue, there are not many. So this means that you have thousands neh millions of people in other countries who are able to speak our language even though it is not their own.

As said, to communicate you need a common language, so it should not be surprising that a local in say France is very likely to speak English with a tourist from Japan. I have seen this happen. Our language has flown around the world and we should be proud of this. It is this which is our greatest export.

I have noticed on buses in Slovenia that announcements are made in English and then Slovenian and I have noticed on underground trains in Sweden and France for example of signs being written in the local language with the English underneath. Go into a restaurant abroad and you are likely to be given a menu written in both the local language and English (sometimes a few other languages as well).

This combination is carried across into media as well. Go to clubs, listen to the radio or go to concerts in another European country and you can hear scores of songs either from Britain/America being played, or local acts singing in English. When I have been to cinemas in Europe there is often the choice between a film in English with local language subtitles underneath or the same film fully dubbed in the local language.

Everywhere you go you can see how the English language has been embraced, but I must stress, not to the extent where it over rules the local language.

It is not just language. Everywhere you go you will always see the same brands: McDonalds, Starbucks, Tescos, Shell and Ford for example (I know not all these are British and this is a consequence of globalisation). There will always be Irish Bars in the major cities showing Premiership football or England rugby games (I watched the 2009 FA Cup final in Prague). You can easily find the English papers. The British flag can be seen in nearly every street in tacky souvenir shops or even outside restaurants where on the menu you can find ‘traditional English breakfast’ served with ‘English tea’.

Yet despite the British and western invasion in European countries you can still grasp and embrace the local cultures. The people are generally friendly everywhere, but you can tell nationalistic personality types among people from different countries. You will always find the local dishes easy to come by and the local beers strongly advertised. If a country is famed for a siesta you can see it’s impact. If the country is known for a specific drinking style you’ll see it (such as drinking for social enjoyment). Countries and cities may generally look the same in Europe, but you can easily culturally tell them apart from country to country. It is one of the joys of travelling and one of the reasons people do it.

But then transcend this ideology back to Britain. Can you image being given a menu at a typical restaurant written in several languages. Can you see the impact of signs on the buses or announcements on the trains being made in several languages. Can you even imagine many British people communicating to a tourist in a way that is not shouting louder and speaking each word slowly and separately. A lot of British people will not accept this and we have not been bought up to be fluent in different languages.

Now we are not a nation of racists, and I despise the idea that society and culture in Britain is or has collapsed, but as a nation we have such a poor outlook on life and idea on living life. Of course we are the country of business where work dominates our lives, but this is to the detriment of our family, our social and cultural lives. It leads us to binge drinking as a means to divert the mind away from earning money to just pay the bills, lending to the image of drunken Brits stumbling out of clubs and throwing up being screened around the world and acted out by British tourists. It also leads us to not appreciate each other, our family, our friends, strangers, we become more socially reserved, it maybe a cultural trait, but it leads to the British being seen abroad with contempt (it’s not all down to our political leaders). I have walked down streets of the major capitals of Europe and streets of obscure villages in Europe and people walk past me (and travelling buddies) uttering the words ‘British *tsck*’ with so much disgust I fear I may had been singing ‘get ya tits out’ really loud instead of wondering where to get lunch.

We in Britain need to start accepting Europe and European culture. More of us need to properly travel to experience local societies instead of purely sightseeing and spending evenings in a hotel. If there is a fear of our culture being destroyed by such an embrace then I would suggest that those people do not really understand our culture or what it really is. I am not calling for all signs to be written in hundred different languages or even two, but I do think we need to be more open to the possibility of these changes. There should be no excuse as to why more of us cannot speak more languages, even if it is not fluent. While we are at it lets revamp our own society and culture and remove the non-political contempt that a lot of Britain’s seem to be met with by some locals in other countries.

Vote Cock!

Are you feeling the Tory blues? Do New Labour make you turn red? Are the yellows way too mellow? Do the Greens make you queasy and do the BNP and UKIP actually make you spew? Well, have you ever considered writing ‘COCK’ across your European Election ballot paper?

With too many parties not representing what you believe and politicians becoming more distrustful by the day, it is an attractive option not to cast your democratic vote and to throw it into the bin out of a matter of protest.

But have you considered the damage you are doing to society?

Imagine today’s political landscape with New Labour in power and the Tories waiting outside Number 10 with a sledgehammer, the LibDems are far behind, with the Greens and ‘the others’ lurking nearby. You feel that none of these parties represent you, so you refuse to vote, or you feel a party like the Greens does, but you refuse to vote because ‘they are never going to get into power’. Well a refusal to vote is only going to strengthen the New Labour/Tory dominance of government and they will never ever represent you or do things in your interest. Why, I hear you ask.

Look at the situation like this, in this example there are 210 voters in total:

Party A have 100 diehard voters who will always vote for them.

Party B have 80 diehard voters who will always vote for them.

There are 30 voters who don’t know who to vote for, or are thinking of not voting.

Who are the party’s going to target policies towards? That’s right, the 30 voters. If parties already have their diehard voters then they are much more willing to create policies for the other 30 voters to encourage them to vote for them, either to get into power (Party B) or to consolidate power (Party A).

Now if the 30 didn’t vote at all because they didn’t like any of the parties or felt the party they wanted never will get into power then Party A will create policies that benefit their own diehard voters and Party B will have more policies like Party A in order to attract Party A’s voters and get into power. They become the same, and politics/democracy becomes diluted.

Let’s now say for example that Party A and Party B are both right-wing, both still with 100 diehards and 80 diehards respectively. A new party, Party C, comes along who are left-wing, and those 30 turn to Party C because they are different to Party A and B. In an attempt to win back those 30 votes, Party A and B will create a few more left-wing policies in order to turn those 30 towards them, but still keep policies that are right-wing in order to keep their diehards voting for them instead of switching between Parties A and B (because they are the same). There is therefore a lot more choice and parties are becoming more representative.

That is why it is important to vote.

But still you may argue there is no party that represents me!

That maybe true, but did you know that in the UK spoilt ballot papers are still considered as part of the voting turnout. That means if 100 people vote and a Party has 20 votes (diehards or not) that Party will look at winning over the other 80 voters- even if those 80 put in spoilt ballot papers because it is shown that 100 people will vote.

Party’s will only direct policies at those who do vote. Why should they worry about those who don’t vote, especially when things like SCOPA stop you protesting.

So even if there isn’t a party that tickles your fancy still cast your vote, but just make sure across the ballot paper in big bold letters you write ‘THE BNP ARE SICK DISGUSTING RACIST COCKS’

How to do it bad, how to do it good

What is obvious from the ‘credit crunch’, the attack on privacy and now the MP’s expenses saga is that in the upcoming European Elections the minority partys are going to drastically increase their electorial strength.

So it has come as a bit of a surprise to see the (New) Labour Party Election broadcast focus entirely on David Cameron, and what Cameron’s policies would do to the country. I would have to say that i agree with them on every single point, however as an European Election Broadcast it is pretty poor.

Not once does it talk about their own policies. Granted, they are the ones in power and we can see the shambles of some of their policies, but still, come on, you got to have some sort of manifesto.

Secondly, (New) Labour have 19 MEP’s. Why didn’t the broadcast focus upon the work they have been doing?

Finally, talking about how bad Cameron is is all well and good- i generally support it, but, this is a European election, not a local election. Of course the results of these elections go someway to showing what will happen at the next general election and results going either way is either going to strengthen or weaken either side, but still, this is a European election!

Here is a much better party election broadcast:

Note a few things from this: they talk about the great work they have been doing, they talk about themselves and not other parties, they tell you they are not a one issue party as a lot of people like to suggest, they talk about what they will do, they say that going green is not something you should be nagged into doing but that it is up to the government to help you, and finally, they are not a racist facist party.

I’m voting Green

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Here’s another Green Party broadcast from 1999