Griffin invited to Buckingham Palace?

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

Reports in the UK press suggest he might have been:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1185030/Fascist-Palace-lawn-Storm-BNP-leader-invited-Queens-summer-garden-party.html

[MilitantAnarchist]

If its from the daily mail its more then likely a lie

[bellyscratch]

I saw this article in the guardian today too

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/20/bnp-griffin-queen-garden

[MilitantAnarchist]

Reads totally different in the Guardian, it seems that way to me anyway :p
Mainly for the hatred i have of the daily mail....
But still, pretty interesting...
Not sure the invitaions will stand though...
Not even like i give a shit... the queens as much of a **** as nick griffin, so i couldnt care really.... infact, lets hope one of the cheifs is a mexican with a cold.... make the country a better place at one poncey garden party..... (if it wasnt just a media hyped up load of shit that is).......
Also, hopefully nick's wanna be working class hero image will go out the window after tea with the queen haha

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

Several bourgeois politicians are trying to get the invite squashed, since they fear it will affect the Queen's 'public image'.

Here is the BBC report:


BNP leader 'is invited to Palace'

The leader of the British National Party is to be a guest at a Buckingham Palace garden party hosted by the Queen, his party colleague says.

Nick Griffin will accompany Richard Barnbrook, a BNP member of the London Assembly, at the event on 21 July, Mr Barnbrook has said.

All members of the Assembly have been invited to the event.

Buckingham Palace said no invitations had yet been issued for any of this summer's garden parties.

A palace spokesman said: "The Queen does not scrutinise and is not consulted on the list of accompanying guest names as they are official not personal invitations and as such, Buckingham Palace relies entirely on the nominating organisations.

"Where a guest is not judged to be a direct threat to security, as judged by the police, an invitation would be issued."

Diversity

Mr Barnbrook said he imagined there would be a "to-do and a hoot" over the invite but claimed "these things are going to happen more and more as the party goes forward".

The BNP is accused by its opponents of stirring up racial hatred. The party says it is standing up for Britain's "indigenous population".

It campaigns for the "voluntary resettlement" of non-white British citizens to their country of ethnic origin and preferential treatment in the jobs market for British workers.

News of the royal garden party invite comes two days after Mr Barnbrook attended the Wembley launch of England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals.

All elected members of the London Assembly were invited to the launch.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the FA Chairman Lord Triesman spoke at the event, putting an emphasis on diversity.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8060268.stm

And here is the reaction of one particular bourgeois politician:


Boris: BNP 'Abusing' Queen's Party Invitation
12:09am UK, Thursday May 21, 2009

London Mayor Boris Johnson has accused the British National Party of trying to turn a Buckingham Palace garden party into a "political stunt".

The accusation came after BNP London Assembly member Richard Barnbrook said he would take party leader Nick Griffin as his guest to the event, which is hosted by the Queen.

All members of the Assembly are traditionally invited.

Mr Johnson wrote to Darren Johnson, chair of the London Assembly, calling for him to intervene and withdraw Mr Barnbrook's invitation.

He said: "I have learnt today that the London Assembly has passed an invitation to Her Majesty's Garden Party to Richard Barnbrook of the BNP, following previous custom for all Assembly Members to be invited.

"It now transpires, however, that Mr Barnbrook plans to bring as his guest the leader of the BNP, Mr Nick Griffin, or another prominent member of the party, thereby threatening to turn a happy annual event - at which thousands of people across the country are acknowledged for their service to the community - into a political stunt.

"We cannot tolerate any such abuse of the invitation or any potential embarrassment to Her Majesty. I am therefore writing to call on you to inform Mr Barnbrook - at the earliest opportunity - that he must either bring a guest who will not provoke political controversy, or consider his invitation rescinded."

Earlier, Mr Barnbrook said: "I imagine there will be a to-do and a hoot. These things are going to happen more and more as the party goes forward."

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/London-Mayor-Baris-Johnson-Accuses-BNP-Of-Buckingham-Palace-Garden-Party-Stunt/Article/200905315285728?lpos=UK_News_Top_Stories_Header_2&lid=ARTICLE_15285728_London_Mayor_Baris_Johnson_Ac cuses_BNP_Of_Buckingham_Palace_Garden_Party_Stunt

The same story has been run on TV and in other papers.

[ls]

My my, politics altogether in the UK at the moment is in the pits.

[Killfacer]

Who cares? Just a gathering of right wingers, monarchists, sellout labourites and now a couple of fascists.

[Pogue]

Who cares? Just a gathering of right wingers, monarchists, sellout labourites and now a couple of fascists.

To be honest, I basically think this too. The only dramatic thing about it is that now the BNP get even more free coverage and it makes them seem more important than they are, as per usual. I think the best thing now would be if they either went there and did something really stupid which made everyone recognise what massive dickheads they are, say like do a racist joke, stack over, get in a fight, etc or if they got barred due to huge protests against it or something. But either way all this does is give them more free publicity.

[AlMack]

no chance griffin'll go in the end

[Sam_b]

Whatever you say about the BNP, you have to admit this is a very clever stunt to pull.

[Pogue]

Whatever you say about the BNP, you have to admit this is a very clever stunt to pull.

I don't think its really that clever, the initiation of this whole thing was Barnbrook getting the invite to the Palace, and naturally he was gonna take another member of the party along with him (isn't there a one guest rule or something, i don't know).

Its useful without a doubt but its not as though its a feat of tactical genius, I think alot of people give them more praise than they deserve. Clearly Griffin had some political intelligence to try and turn the BNP into what it is, i.e. on the face of it appearing more respectable whilst keeping the fundamental racist, white supremacist ideology, but thats basically the turn of naitonalist movements in general - I mean, he effectively copied Le Pen and the Front Nationale, and what he did was less an amazing maneouver and more basically what the BNP wold always have had to of done to stay alive.

I think it didn't take a genius to realise that the image of a bunch of bonehead 'soldiers' marching around smashing windows of Asian families houses wasn't going to get the votes and Griffin realised this as much as anyone, with the trend politics is taking he basically rode the wave of trying to appear 'respectable' in order to get more votes which isn't really suprising at all. Aside from that he doesn't anything amazing, just filled a political vacuum which was left with the demise of the Labour party as a party that represented the working class, and exploited tensions in areas ripe for it.

I don't think this is a very clever stunt and I don't think they are very clever people, they are just opputunists with alot of moeny filling a political vacuum, and the media hysteria and lack of a large well known alternative means they appear bigger and more succesful than they are, and they also get alot of free publicity, etc.

[Sugar Hill Kevis]

He'll get on famously with Prince Phillip

[brigadista]

he should fit in quite well there..

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

Killfacer


Who cares? Just a gathering of right wingers, monarchists, sellout labourites and now a couple of fascists.

We should care. It gives them an aura of 'respectability'; that's why they have gone for it.

I know we don't give a s*it about such stuff, but many voters do.

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

Apparently, he has now been told he can't attend!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1185030/Boris-heads-bid-stop-BNP-leader-Nick-Griffin-hijacking-Queens-summer-garden-party.html

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Politics/BNP-Leader-Nick-Griffin-Effectively-Barred-From-Buckingham-Palace-Garden-Party/Article/200905415287185?lpos=Politics_Top_Stories_Header_3&lid=ARTICLE_15287185_BNP_Leader_Nick_Griffin_Effec tively_Barred_From_Buckingham_Palace_Garden_Party

[Killfacer]

Killfacer



We should care. It gives them an aura of 'respectability'; that's why they have gone for it.

I know we don't give a s*it about such stuff, but many voters do.

I think it will have the opposite effect. All the other major attendees will condemn his being there if he does even go.

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

The point is, however, that it will confer 'respectability' on these twerps. I know we don't give a shit about 'respectability', but many voters do.

[Hit The North]

Although there's the risk that those who are rightly fucked off with the political establishment, especially with the current "duck island parliament", and were wavering over voting for the BNP will see this as confirmation that the BNP, at least, are not part of the problem. At the moment having "respectability" is not necessarily a positive attribute as far as most voters are concerned.

[Vanguard1917]

Although there's the risk that those who are rightly fucked off with the political establishment, especially with the current "duck island parliament", and were wavering over voting for the BNP will see this as confirmation that the BNP, at least, are not part of the problem. At the moment having "respectability" is not necessarily a positive attribute as far as most voters are concerned.

That's right. And that's also part of the reason why the key objective of the 'no platform' strategy -- the policy of 'exposing' the BNP as being outside of the realm of respectable and 'rational' mainstream politics -- is fundamentally flawed. An automatic reaction of sections of the public is, 'well, if the BNP is not like the rest of them, it could maybe be saying things worth listening to'. That reaction could, of course, not be further from the truth. But in order to demonstrate that, we need something other than 'the BNP must be rubbish since the whole establishment hates it'.

[Hit The North]

Erm, yes we expose them as Nazis and point out that their policy of divide and rule cannot, in the end, help the working class.

If we went around saying 'the BNP is rubbish since the establishment hates it' we'd just be equivalent to you going around saying 'no-platform is rubbish because the left like it'.

[Vanguard1917]

If we went around saying 'the BNP is rubbish since the establishment hates it'...

Isn't that what happens and what 'no platform' basically amounts to in reality? E.g.: http://www.revleft.com/vb/bnp-vs-uaf-t108889/index.html

[Melbourne Lefty]

'the BNP must be rubbish since the whole establishment hates it'.

yeah thats a good argument when people actually give a damn what the establishment wants.

If a newspaper tells someone not to vote for a party these days the person is likely to vote for them simply because they dont like being told what to do.

[Vanguard1917]

yeah thats a good argument when people actually give a damn what the establishment wants.

If a newspaper tells someone not to vote for a party these days the person is likely to vote for them simply because they dont like being told what to do.

Yep. Voting for the BNP has, in the main, really always been about sticking two fingers up at the mainstream parties.

[Melbourne Lefty]

Yep. Voting for the BNP has, in the main, really always been about sticking two fingers up at the mainstream parties.


how do we get that working for us?

Do we need to go more extreme so that the papers attack us as much as they do the BNP?:confused:

[Hit The North]

Isn't that what happens and what 'no platform' basically amounts to in reality?

No.

[Vanguard1917]

how do we get that working for us?

Do we need to go more extreme so that the papers attack us as much as they do the BNP?:confused:

No, i don't think so. We need to take principled stands. For instance, since the majority of the BNP's support rests on its strong opposition to immigration, we would do well to counter public anti-immigration sentiment through a rational defence of genuine freedom of movement. Not many on the left seem very interested in that. Instead, we have 'anti-fascist' groups who think that the way to stop the BNP is through hysterical appeals to emotion ('Nazi', 'remember the Holocaust', etc.). That's not going to work because it's seen by many -- rightly -- as an attempt to evade discussing the real issues.

[Melbourne Lefty]

That's not going to work because it's seen by many -- rightly -- as an attempt to evade discussing the real issues.



Happily it does scare off many people. But you are right they need to be beaten on the basis of the issues, otherwise we allow the capitalist groups opposed to the BNP to maintain their agenda.
__________________

[Killfacer]

It would appear Nick has declined the invited claiming he didn't wish to "embaress the queen".

thoughts?

[Pirate turtle the 11th]

Thoughts - he got warned by boris not to come as they felt that barnbrook was using his guest as a political opportunity.

[Pogue]

Do you guys think the Queen would join Antifa if they asked nicely?

[Pirate turtle the 11th]

Yes. She would be like an antifa rambo.

[Pogue]

i wonder if she would stand her ground and fight

[Melbourne Lefty]

i wonder if she would stand her ground and fight

she is getting on in years now.:laugh:

Maybe she could shout the pints afterwards?:laugh:

[h0m0revolutionary]

*From a friend's blog*

It's been splashed across the papers for days: Nick Griffin has been invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace.

Why is this news?


There are plenty of places that Griffin could visit that would be cause for concern. Buckingham Palace isn't one of them. In fact, where better for a fascist to go than the historic epicenter of British establishment support for the Nazis? Why, he'll feel right at home!


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_zY5M9RMhhtw/ShlK8khgesI/AAAAAAAAAd0/zAASs_x8_9o/s200/Nazi_Windsors.jpgThe Queen's Uncle, King Edward VIII (later the Duke of Windsor) was an enthusiastic cheerleaders for Hitler and the Nazi regime. The picture on the right shows him and his equally fascist wife making friends with Hitler in 1937. The Duchess of Windsor was also a friend of famous British fascists, the Oswald Mosleys.


Then there is the case of Princess Michael of Kent's father, Baron Gunther von Reibnitz, who was - you guessed it - a Nazi party member and SS officer. There's also Prince Philip, the Royal Family's chief sexist, racist, homophobic bigot. Aside from his desire to be reincarnated as a "deadly virus" to stop the population "problem" (sounds like a nice guy, doesn't he?), there's also the question of his sister's marriage to a SS Colonel who named their son "Adolf" in honour of Hitler.