Howard evokes Holocaust in attack on BNP

The Telegraph ^ | February 20, 2004 | Andrew Sparrow

[afuturegovernor]

Howard evokes Holocaust in attack on BNP

By Andrew Sparrow, Political Correspondent

February 20, 2004

Michael Howard launched a sustained and passionate attack on the leadership of the British National Party yesterday.

The Tory leader used a visit to Burnley to dismiss the BNP as "a bunch of thugs" in a high-profile speech that defied the conventional Westminster view that the party should not be granted much publicity.

Michael Howard: 'The policies of the British National Party are based on bigotry and hatred'

In a rare reference to his Jewishness, Mr Howard said that he was particularly appalled by the BNP's refusal to accept the truth of the Nazi Holocaust because his paternal grandmother died in Auschwitz.

He also reaffirmed the Conservative Party's commitment to introducing a new approach to immigration, with asylum seekers having their applications processed in reception centres abroad.

Mr Howard's speech angered Labour and the Liberal Democrats, who are strongly opposed to the BNP but who are both nervous about giving credibility to such a small and extreme party.

He was also accused of hypocrisy, because the BNP's success in Burnley has been helped by the failure of the Conservatives to put up candidates against them in some elections.

Until recently Mr Howard, whose parents fled to Britain from eastern Europe before the Second World War, was reluctant to talk about his family.

But yesterday he evoked his immigrant background as he explained why he was so bitterly opposed to the BNP.

Describing it as "a stain on our democratic way of life", Mr Howard said: "There are those who say that it is better to ignore their presence on the political stage - that talking about the BNP gives extremists the oxygen of publicity. I do not agree.

"It is important for politicians from mainstream parties to face up to extremists in any form, to tell people why we disagree with them and why they should be defeated.

"Let's not mince our words. The policies of the British National Party are based on bigotry and hatred."

[GeronL]

The BNP wins no seats in Parliament. So now the Conservative Party is running against them instead of running against Labor and the LDP??

[risk]

What [the BNP] stand[s] for:

IMMIGRATION - time to say NO!
EUROPE - back to British independence!
LAW AND ORDER - crack down on crime!
ECONOMY - British workers first!
EDUCATION - discipline, standards, achievement!
AGRICULTURE - quality before quantity!
HEALTH - first-class healthcare for all!
TRANSPORT - time to invest!
ENVIRONMENT - NO to pollution!
FOREIGN AID - time to spend our money on our own people!
PENSIONERS - pensioners before asylum seekers!
NORTHERN IRELAND - NO to sectarianism!
DEFENCE - no more cuts!
FOREIGN AFFAIRS - Britain's interests first!
DEMOCRACY - letting the people decide

Plus racism and anti-semitism? Disgusting.

[afuturegovernor]

Actually, I think Michael Howard has put the Conservative Party in the best position that it has been in years.

[GeronL]

I understand he supports gay marriage and is thinking of supporting the end of UK's soveriegnty in favor of the EU?

[risk]

Why can't they do that without the socialism and the anti-semitism? Or is the anti-semitism part being exaggerated by the left?

[GeronL]

The left is antisemitic, those attacks from the left are all about politics

[pau1f0rd]

I understand he supports gay marriage and is thinking of supporting the end of UK's soveriegnty in favor of the EU?

That's a very negative portrayal of his views, to pinpoint 2 areas where he's indulging in realpolitik and then exaggerate them. Michael Howard promises a new era of Thatcherism. He's the only politician with a chance of beating Blair, and he happens to be a damn good one. The EU superstate died last year. It's simply not the issue inthe UK that it was before Iraq. He's engaging in conversations with other European conservatives on how to turn the EU into something more favourable. As for gays, he's on record as being anti-gay so we'll see if his words turn into actions.

[pau1f0rd]

Why can't they do that without the socialism and the anti-semitism? Or is the anti-semitism part being exaggerated by the left?

No, it's not exaggerated. The BNP hate 'Johnny Foreigner' and that includes the Yanks. They are Fascists.

[Deport Billary]

The BNP says Britain is for the British. What's wrong with that? Pretty soon Europe will be reaching crisis point with the burgeoning muslim population and shrinking native stock. London is now a dangerous place thanks to immigration. I don't care for socialism but some of their "racist" beliefs are perfectly justifiable.

[lucidloony]

Sounds good too me!