Labour is reviewing how it should respond to the two British fascists in the European Parliament, writes Kate Holman
The arrival of British National Party MEPs Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons in the European Parliament has prompted an urgent question: how should other parliamentarians who abhor their extreme racist views behave towards them?
It’s not a new dilemma, but new circumstances bring a fresh twist. Up to now, Labour has held a “no platform for racists” line, refusing to take part in debates and broadcasts if the BNP is present.
But as Griffin and Brons took their seats last week, it was clear that “business as usual” will be hard to maintain.
While Yemen-born Labour MEP Claude Moraes worried about the media coverage they secured, Labour group leader Glenis Willmott promised to “monitor and expose” the BNP. During the four-day session, Labour focused two of its press releases on the “fascists”.
The policy of imposing a blackout so as to deny their views respectability seems to be losing ground to the belief that if taken on and given a voice, they will damn themselves – as in early July when BBC Brussels correspondent Shirin Wheeler heard Griffin calling for the sinking of boats carrying refugees and asked him whether the EU should be “murdering people at sea”.
European Parliamentary Labour Party insiders confirm that the “no platform” policy is under scrutiny at the highest level of the party, but so far the dilemma is being handled on a case-by-case basis. “Everyone in the EP feels terribly uncomfortable,” said one veteran Brussels journalist, “but they don’t really know what to do.”
Labour MEPs know they risk being seen as anti-democratic if they attack the people some British voters chose to represent them in Europe. So, officially, the party is at pains to draw a distinction between the BNP and its electors.
By claiming that these misguided souls
are probably not racist, just disenchanted with British politics, it hopes not to alienate further voters who might previously have been their own supporters.
Another interesting development has been the reaction of the UK Independence Party. Far from cosying up to the BNP as anti-European Union allies, UKIP’s 13 MEPs are giving them a wide berth, apparently anxious to be seen as “respectable” members.
The dilemma is not restricted to politicians. It also confronts the media, and even MEPs’ social circles in Brussels. Griffin was thrown out of an Irish bar near the Parliament building recently following complaints from other customers, but the move went down badly with the pub management.
The BBC is known to be reviewing its own approach, and Wheeler’s interview with Griffin caused some debate within Corporation circles about whether and how it should be shown.
Of course, the problem is not uniquely British. Other European countries have their Front National and Vlaams Belang. But for Labour MEPs it’s a new ball game and the rules are far from clear.
