# I pit British National Party voters **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 8, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-british-national-party-voters/499118 "2009-06-08T17:48:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-british-national-party-voters/499118/221 "2009-06-18T22:04:50Z")
Quite possibly. Meanwhile, investigations into the black square scandal [continue](http://www.deadbadger.net/2009/06/black-square-abuse/). ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-british-national-party-voters/499118/222 "2009-06-18T22:08:22Z")
> [@Dead\_Badger](#): > > Quite possibly. Meanwhile, investigations into the black square scandal [continue](http://www.deadbadger.net/2009/06/black-square-abuse/). And here :- [http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/politics-headlines/mps-censor-expenses-in-bid-to-make-you-forget-200906181838/](http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/politics-headlines/mps-censor-expenses-in-bid-to-make-you-forget-200906181838/) ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-british-national-party-voters/499118/223 "2009-06-19T08:36:43Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > …some are just bastards? Poor Anne, I think she’s quite funny. I don’t always like her politics, but I quite admire her blunt approach. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-british-national-party-voters/499118/224 "2009-06-19T09:28:40Z")
I disagree with Anne Widdecombe on quite a lot of her political positions but she’s always struck me as a person of no-nonsense integrity (or as much integrity as you can get in a Tory politician, anyhow). I think she’d be exactly what Parliament needs right now as Speaker. ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-british-national-party-voters/499118/225 "2009-06-19T17:18:44Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > Well, IMHO he wasn’t that charismatic, in fact if he had green hair and lipstick he could have replaced Heath Ledger as the joker. Hilarious! ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2009, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-british-national-party-voters/499118/226 "2009-06-22T08:10:45Z")
Thanks, I always wondered why nobody in the Tory party spotted it and used it in an election campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2009, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-british-national-party-voters/499118/227 "2009-06-22T08:16:13Z")
Anyway back to the topic at hand (the BNP). Ed Balls now seems to be considering banning member of the BNP from becoming teachers. See [this](http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/21/bnp-teachers-ed-balls) article inthe Guardian. Now as much as we don’t want racism in the classrooms, isn’t this undemocratic and an infringement of civil liberties? Who else should we ban? Any fundamentalist religious person, atheists (I put this in because I am one)? Can we in fact justify banning them at all. We always have the option to sack them if they are caught spreading racist beliefs in schools, but once again this plays into the hand of the BNP by allowing them to paint themselves as an oppressed group. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2009, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-british-national-party-voters/499118/228 "2009-06-22T11:08:50Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > Thanks, I always wondered why nobody in the Tory party spotted it and used it in an election campaign. Well, [New Labour, New Danger](http://politics.guardian.co.uk/election2001/images/0,9350,449562,00.html) didn’t work out so well for them. Totally opposed to any sort of blanket public service bans, and think the fact that it’s even being mooted is nauseating. If they’re crap at their job, sack them. If, as all good teachers should, they manage to keep their political views out of their classes, then fine. But the idea that people should be banned from certain professions for membership of a legal political party is utterly chilling. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2009, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-british-national-party-voters/499118/229 "2009-06-22T13:16:50Z")
I’d forgotten about that, but it’s the same effect I was thinking about. Shame it backfired. ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-british-national-party-voters/499118/230 "2009-06-22T16:21:02Z")
> [@Dead\_Badger](#): > > Well, [New Labour, New Danger](http://politics.guardian.co.uk/election2001/images/0,9350,449562,00.html) didn’t work out so well for them. > > Totally opposed to any sort of blanket public service bans, and think the fact that it’s even being mooted is nauseating. If they’re crap at their job, sack them. If, as all good teachers should, they manage to keep their political views out of their classes, then fine. But the idea that people should be banned from certain professions for membership of a legal political party is utterly chilling. Agreed on both counts. This kind of censorship strategy never works; about as effective in addressing the underlying problem as was banning “God Save the Queen.” (Though hopefully not nearly as counterproductive). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-british-national-party-voters/499118.md?page=11)