Quite possibly. Meanwhile, investigations into the black square scandal continue.
Poor Anne, I think she’s quite funny. I don’t always like her politics, but I quite admire her blunt approach.
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.
Hilarious!
Thanks, I always wondered why nobody in the Tory party spotted it and used it in an election campaign.
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 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.
Well, New Labour, New Danger 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.
I’d forgotten about that, but it’s the same effect I was thinking about. Shame it backfired.
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).