Should UK parliament have the power to disband extremist groups such as the BNP

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  1. Kenny_B profile image61
    Kenny_Bposted 13 years ago

    Should UK parliament have the power to disband extremist groups such as the BNP and EDL?

    These groups are a minority in the United Kingdom and can be disastrous to public affairs, so should British parliament have to power to disband certain groups?

  2. ktarcus profile image73
    ktarcusposted 13 years ago

    Certainly not. We in the UK do not live in a communist society nor under a dictatorship(despite those in power who would like it so).
    For democracy to have any chance then Free speech is tantamount to that ideal.
    Once minority groups no matter how loathsome to some are banned or disallowed then the growth of them will be far greater underground.
    It is better to have them out in the open so that those of a more liberal mind may know the danger they pose.
    It is far easier to expose them for what they are in the open.

  3. profile image0
    ryankettposted 13 years ago

    No, I despise both groups but I don't think that there views - however twisted and simple minded - should be suppressed. The government already has too much power and have already diluted our civil liberties. CCTV, censorship, etc. The last thing that we need is for them to erode our freedom of speech (well, even further than they already do). What is the next step? Making it illegal for the 400,000 today in London to express their views? If anything they should hold the EDL and BNP to account for the ACCURACY of their propoganda, e.g. their literature. This can be dishonest. As long as they report things accurately then I see no problem.

    The BNP represent 1.8% of our population. Support of the BNP shouldn't be outlawed in itself, if a BNP member uses physical violence against a non-white citizen or any other citizen then they should be held to account for that action. But not for their beliefs or opinions. They have the same right to stand in elections as anybody else, including you or me, and the same right to protest as you or me, and that should remain the case. If they use violence then they should be arrested and punished as individuals for their actions.

    Should we outlaw the Labour Party and the Conservative party because some of their members defrauded the purse? Should we outlaw the Liberal Democrats because Clegg stole our votes? The people to blame for the rise in the BNP are probably our mainstream political parties anyway, particularly their refusal to tackle the legitimate and non-racist topic of immigration. Many non-racists voted BNP because they were unhappy at the rate of immigration and the refusal of the mainstream parties to make any attempt to seriously debate this very real problem. I can specifically state that I do not see a British person as a white person, but as a person of any colour who possesses a British passport with a pride in their nationality or dual-nationality.

    As a non-racist (and non-BNP voter), I too believe that immigration needs to be restricted, as it was going faster than the countries infrastructure could manage. I didn't vote BNP, but I do sympathise with the reasons for many voting BNP as a means of rebellion or as a way of saying 'not represented'.

  4. Doc Wordinger profile image94
    Doc Wordingerposted 13 years ago

    No. As much as I abhor the BNP and EDL, they have the right to organise and voice their beliefs, however vile. We can't start tampering with democratic freedoms because a small minority of blockheads are too unsophisticated to engage in worthwhile politics.

    If parliament had the power to disband minority groups, where would they draw the line? What would happen if Marxism starting gaining support again as the capitalist economy continues to flounder? Would they be able to break up the Communist Party or the Worker's Revolutionary Party under the justification that they are extreme left-wing?

    I think that Britain is too educated and tolerant to ever let a party like the BNP gain serious power. Still, more can be done in schools to educate children about the fascist and racist ideologies that started WW2 and other horrendous chapters in human history. Some of the tabloid newspapers like The Daily Star and The Daily Mail should also be encouraged to operate more maturely. Biased journalism is one thing, but provocative scaremongering and myth-making is another.

 
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