The BNP (as constituted) should NOT be allowed to exist as a political party.

Hello and welcome to readers and to my esteemed opponent Volkov. It is a pleasure to be debating someone with such an excellent grasp of international politics and I hope that his depth of knowledge does not show me up too much in this debate! We agreed to this debate in the comments section of a debate instigated by my opponent (sadly sabotaged by a troll). http://www.debate.org... This is a subject close to my heart as a British citizen and the parent of a mixed race child. Although my arguments may seem emotive at times, I will attempt to keep them firmly grounded in logic and reason. I don't think there is much need for definitions in this debate as I believe my opponent and I understand each others positions very well, however I would like to clarify that the inclusion of the bracketed phrase "as constituted" is intended to make it clear that if they were to radically alter their constitution they could perhaps justify their existence. There are four main points I wish to discuss in this opening round. _____________ 1. Banning political parties: As a proponent of free speech it may seem strange that I am arguing for a political party with democratically elected members in the European parliament to be banned outright. This is not however a unique position as many democratic states which uphold the right to free speech have succeeded in banning political parties before. http://en.wikipedia.org... The fact is that if a party has unlawful policies then they should not be allowed to promote a political agenda. Aside from the legal issues with the BNP, which I will discuss in due course, there is also the more general issue of social justice and promoting peace and harmony. People should be free to hold their own opinions and express them but organised groups who promote civil unrest and militant activity should not be permitted to endanger the public. The closest comparison I can find between a banned party and the BNP is the case of the inappropriately named Socialist Reich Party. http://en.wikipedia.org... This was an openly pro-Hitler, post-Nazi openly racist organisation with policies not dissimilar to the BNP that was banned in West Germany in the '50s. __________ 2. Inciting Racial Hatred: Racism itself is not of course a crime but in the UK at least, 'incitement to racial hatred' is. http://en.wikipedia.org... Several individual members and activists of the BNP have been found guilty of this crime, including party leader Nick Griffin in 1998 (although he was subsequently acquitted at re-trial) and the parties other current MEP Andrew Brons. http://www.timesonline.co.uk... What I believe needs to be addressed however is that the entire foundation and manifesto of this party is based on inciting racial hatred. Their condemnation of sexual and marital partnerships between different ethnic groups, their immigration policies which would allow white immigrants but not those of colour and their attacks on various specific ethnic groups all fall under this category, as do many of the activities and attitudes they promote in a more subtle way which you won't find in their official literature. Their demonisation of Islam ("a wicked and vicious faith" is the standard refrain) could also be said to be an example of the related offense of inciting religious hatred. _________ 3. History and affiliations: The BNP has it's roots in the British National Front (more commonly known as the NF) http://en.wikipedia.org... having been formed in response to internal homosexual outrage within the NF (lol). The NF were too tolerant of gays for most insecure British bigots to support them so the bigots jumped ship and formed the BNP (although other groups of varying degrees of obnoxiousness had used the same name since the 60s). http://en.wikipedia.org... Going further back though this kind of racist anti-immigration and anti-minority policy goes back to Oswald Mosley a man who idolised Adolf Hitler and after building a political reputation among the ranks of both the Conservative and the Labour party of his day, formed his own British Union of Fascists with an openly anti-semitic, racist and violent manifesto. He was imprisoned during World War Two for national security as he was suspected of Treason. http://www.spikemagazine.com... Hypocritically, despite being holocaust deniers (openly up until about a decade ago, Griffin coining the phrase "holohoax" http://www.telegraph.co.uk...) the modern BNP promote themselves with British military designs and images of Churchill. In the '90s the BNP supported the racial terrorist group Combat 18 http://en.wikipedia.org... who provided security at BNP rallies. This group also firebombed communist party head quarters and have been involved in numerous serious assaults motivated by race or political ideology. They first published the magazine Redwatch which became the notorious website that still exists now exposing the identities of anti-fascist activists and their families. http://en.wikipedia.org... They have also been affiliated with many extreme right-wing groups internationally including the KKK, loyalist terrorists in Northern Ireland and groups in Germany, Italy and Spain. http://www.mirror.co.uk... _________ 4. Membership requirements: It is a well documented fact that the BNP restrict membership based on race. http://bnp.org.uk... http://bnp.org.uk... They refer to a mythical concept of "indigenous white people" although Britain has been subject to wave after wave of immigration over the last 2000 years. http://news.bbc.co.uk... In the past week the BNP have agreed in court to change their membership criteria, as new laws have rightfully come into place to prevent race-based membership policies for political parties. This has thrown the BNP into some turmoil and although they have agreed to make changes they have not done so yet and it is unclear how they will solve the dilemma they now find themselves in. http://www.equalityhumanrights.com... As constituted, the BNP are now (at last) an illegal party in the UK and altering their admission policy would clearly force them to redefine almost all of their key policies. This is not a legitimate political party. ___________ 4. Secularism: The BNP pushes a Christian agenda. As well as being offensive to true Christians, http://www.indcatholicnews.com... this kind of fusion between religion and politics is anti-democratic. http://www.secularism.org.uk... Their persecution of Muslims on the basis of their faith does not have a place in politics. ________ These are my opening arguments but I may possibly present one or two additional points in the next round depending on my opponent's response. Over to you Volkov.