I'm dismayed it went ahead. Which is not to suggest that Griffin put in a good performance. He certainly didn't. But I never expected him to. That was never the issue.
You have to understand, I'm looking at this in the context of the next decade or so. It's taken the National Front decades to evolve to the point where their suited representatives now get invited on Question Time. This was never about an overnight bump in the polls, but about how the fascist voice slowly but surely enters mainstream political debate.
And in the context of the next decade... I believe we'll see a fertile breeding ground for fascism as the global economy begins to absorb the fact that the days of "growth" are coming to an end. I think resource depletion will become a mainstream and frightening idea over the next decade and even if we succeed in shifting to a sustainable model, the transition period could very well involve major social upheaval. The kind of environment that the far right tends to exploit. The very last thing we should be doing as the global economy teeters on the brink is to be inviting the BNP, and those like them, into mainstream debates.
Just before Question Time last night the BBC News discussed the issue themselves. And the language used very clearly implied that this would be the first of several invites extended to the BNP leader. This very fact... that the BNP leader gets regular invitations to debate with the other parties before an audience of millions... makes it far more likely that Griffin will be replaced by someone more effective at the job. And you can pretty much guarantee that by the BNP's third appearance on Question Time, Dimbleby won't be dedicating 90% of the show to picking them apart.
If you'll forgive the cliché, I fear we just watched as the thin end of the wedge was inserted.
I'm also irritated by how reasonable he made Jack Straw appear. Even on immigration (yes, he was uncomfortable and evasive on the issue, but he was sitting one seat away from Nick Griffin and so appeared reasonable by default). I found myself clapping and saying "Well said Jack Straw" at one point. That's plain terrifying! :-)
I was actually quite disappointed with the entire panel other than Straw. Bonnie Greer made a couple of biting remarks, but academics and intellectuals never do well on Question Time because the quick-fire format doesn't suit them. We're a verbose lot, us academics, and we tend not to do sound-bites all that well.
The tory Baroness annoyed the hell out of me. Her contempt for Griffin simply came across as that same kind of contempt that tory aristocrats hold for most of us. Sure, Griffin deserved it, but it was a powerful reminder of just how obnoxious the Conservatives are, and how close to the BNP they can sometimes be (she seemed to be on the same page as Griffin on at least one subject... both even using that tiresome phrase "homosexuality being taught in schools").
The LibDem guy was pretty forgettable all in all.
Only Straw seemed to channel his outrage at Griffin into something worthwhile. He's either a very good actor, or else there was a lot of genuine and barely repressed rage in Straw's delivery.
Overall though, I'm worried that the BBC set a terrible precedent last night. It'll be a long time before we know for sure, but why take the risk?
