The “egging” of BNP leader Nick Griffin [see video below] is not good for democracy. Rather, it’s very bad for democracy.

No matter what we think of him and his party, they have the right to say their piece. They are a legitimate party, and they did win their seats in a democratic election. And the best way to deal with their disgusting and racist views and policies is to expose them in rational discourse.

Rather than attacking them with eggs (which I hope were rotten – otherwise it was a waste of perfectly good eggs) and chanting “Nazi scum, off our streets”, these protestors should have butted in and asked Griffin well-rehearsed and pertinent questions. These would have destroyed his credibility in front of the cameras and created a story that would have been far larger than “cranks make BNP leader abandon speech”.

On an aside, the BNP aren’t far-right or, really, far-left either – they’re just racist extremists. So please can people stop arguing about it? And can the media please take note.