New Party standing (SPA - New tories)

[AlanG]

just checked out a new party standing at elections, they are basically the tories. but slightly more right wing.

SPA

Their policies include:
no Scottish MPs
56 Scottish MSPs (i.e. no proportional representation for list candidates).
These MSPs sit in Westminster 2 days a week.
Cut income tax
stop welfare benefits and make a minimum weekly family income
Stop smoking by cutting tobacco tax (bizarre?!?!)
Point system for crime (like 3 strikes youre out??) - as part of this, if a teen gets done for something and gets points their parents also get points.
Asylum - Citizen tests and harder right wing measures against "durty foriners" etc
More power to landowners of highland estates

So basically following the same lines as the tories then. I worry that them wanting people to apply online to stand for them will mean some BNP/NF can sneak in on the back of their asylum policies :s

Whats interesting is they only appear on the electoral commisions register as "The Peoples Alliance" either the site has not been updated or they are standing as "Scottish Peoples Alliance" without registering the party. this is of course frowned upon and will be extremely funny if it turns out they havent registered properly

[musink]

I dont mind extreme right politics. Theres nothing like a bit of facism to wake us all up a little. Its this fucking Imperialism disguised with a grin that Blair is all about. Cant fucking stand the shite.
You can laugh in the face of the BNP, but there is just something about New Labour that is really sinister.

[Highlander]

I don't think all right-wingers are overtly fascist. Many of them have extreme views, many of which I believe are valid. For instance, laying down boundaries on the Welfare State and such with means tested benefits and the like.

However, I agree with Musink that there is an undercurrent of fascism that needs to be addressed and more importantly segregated from right-wing opinion, this is perhaps where the BNP fail. However, talking of laughing at the BNP, it seemed that they were extremely exploited on Question Time last Thursday night, which was brave considering that none of them ever get on the panel, thus are disenabled from ever being able to defend themselves. Now I ask, without being a BNP supporter, where is the democracy in that?

[AlanG]

the democracy in that is preserving democracy. The BNP are opposed to it and their manifesto clearly states how they will clamp down and limit it if elected. Also its risky putting them on as they will breach the race-relations acts, again. There was a program on TV months ago following one of their main activists and at the start he was all "im not racist i just dont want them here" and by the end of it he was screaming obseneties about racial minoritites. If they have them on a live debate and start going down that road then any TV show would get in major shit. So basically when the BNP can debate and speak like adults they'll get treated like it.

[Highlander]

It could be argued however, that our democracy is already very limited, what with First Past the Post and the majorities with which it gives. Therefore the preservation of democracy is irrelevent. And also, war with Iraq, the choice to go to war was not democratic. Anyway, I am beginning to sound like a bloody fascist so I better be off!

However, in conclusion, cheers for pointing out that the BNP has ideologies towards laying down boundaries on democracy, I was unaware of this and am still trying to find evidence of it on their site. I am fairly clued up on their policies but checked the manifesto page to no avail. If you could let me know where I could read this for myself that would be cool!

[AlanG]

well, democracy si the principle where everyone has a vote. tehyw ant to treat minorities as second class citizens. I would presume the end goal of this is their non-voting rights, they already want to expel them from the country.

[musink]

The BNP are swine, they gain votes by creating unnessecary hate and fear.