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Rod McPhee: A missed opportunity
IT was when Bonnie Greer wagged her finger and derided him for only having gained a 2:2 in his degree that all hope faded.
Forget cutting off the oxygen of publicity, Nick Griffin's appearance on Question Time was a very real chance to nail him in full public glare of the nation. No one succeeded.
Instead the BBC foolishly created a politically-correct lynch mob, the very lynch mob which Griffin is now complaining about.
The set-up on last week's show appeared to confirm the British National Party's key assertion: that a 'white minority' in Britain, represented, obviously, by the BNP leader, is being overwhelmed by lefties, ethnic minorities and a liberal intelligentsia – represented, it seemed, by everyone else in the studio.
There were many raised voices, numerous jabbing fingers, plenty of smug middle class types trying to illustrate their superior social/historical knowledge in contrast to his crude politics of hate. Unfortunately everyone piled in but no one dealt a killer blow.
The net result? He emerged at the end something of a martyr for his sick cause. Question Time allowed him to legitimately claim he was ambushed and, effectively, he was.
And as the learned bourgeois patted themselves on the backs, no one was thinking about the disgruntled masses watching at home who might just be on the cusp of voting for the BNP.
Patronising
When Greer, an African-American member of the literati and deputy chairman of the British Museum, started patronising Griffin, who looks like millions of white, working class middle-aged blokes across the country, who was going to gain more sympathy? The attack misfired.
Why didn't the producers include a panelist who could counter-argue every point Griffin made and actually strike a chord with those potential BNP voters?
The other politicians present, who were either Asian, middle class or (as Jack Straw proudly boasted) of Jewish descent, were never going to chime with the kind of people they needed to chime with.
I know it's a crazy idea, but what about another white, working class, middle-aged bloke who would be seen as more objective in his condemnation of racist politics.
But, no, that's just not a very BBC thing to do, is it?
More fool them. They were brave in inviting Griffin on to the show but senseless enough to let him get away with peddling his vile lines without ever having them effectively discredited.
Sure, he floundered, he looked ineffectual and flaky and the vast majority of viewers saw him as the fascist frontman he is.
But he did land a blow on Straw on the question of Islam, pointing out that his government had taken Britain into the Iraq War. Tory Baroness Warsi was also wobbly when quizzed on her attitude towards gay marriage.
That aside, the other party representatives should have returned fire more effectively. Why, for example, did they spend so much time arguing over whether there's such a thing as an 'indigenous Briton' ? (However inappropriate, any potential BNP supporters will make the simple equation: indigenous = white.)
Policies
Why didn't the other panelists smoke the far right leader out, grill him on his party's policies on the economy, on defence, on international development, on the environment, on pensions, on education?
Rather than trying to prove what we already know – that the BNP are a bunch of racist, holocaust-denying, homophobic Nazis – why didn't they just show Griffin up as personifying a completely unviable political alternative to mainstream parties?
Because, surely, this unique edition of Question Time shouldn't have been a self-serving exercise in bigot-bashing, it ought to have been a bid to convince people not to vote BNP. Terrifyingly, it may well have had the reverse effect.
Thinking outside the box
THIS week I was fortunate enough to catch Clive James doing one of his talks at West Yorkshire Playhouse.
Most people know the Aussie raconteur as the host of Clive James on TV in the 1980s but in real life he's a lot funnier and more intelligent than he was ever shown to be during his years on the box.
Strangely the 90 minute 'show' basically involves Clive chatting, often randomly, about current affairs, his life and the world in general.
Hypnotic
Which might not sound like a scream but his voice and manner is hypnotic, not to mention hilarious.
His best story recalled the disillusioned writer of a movie in Los Angeles asking his agent if he could withdraw from the production.
The agent told him: "You can't. You're not just involved, you're committed."
And when the writer enquired what the difference was between being involved and being committed his agent replied: "Well, it's like a plate of ham and eggs: the hen is involved but the pig is committed."
Light...but not that fantastic
AS much as I like the new Neville Street art installation it isn't, let's be honest, out of this world.
It's aesthetically pleasing and unquestionably makes the railway bridge underpass brighter and more interesting, but does it really look like a work which cost 4.6m?
While I'm all for paying money for something which will make the city look more contemporary and forward-thinking, in this case I believe they could have chosen a more striking piece of public art.
The concept is intriguing and the subtle effect is pretty impressive to pedestrians but, sadly, you could easily drive through and barely register its presence. Surely part of the reason for building it was to create an alluring gateway for visitors to Leeds?
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 26 May 2012
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