Speaking for the electorate as a whole

Dirty Euro

The BNP are full of people who wantt kill ethnic minorities they are never acceptable. This is not an excuse for a holocaust.
Plus the UKIP had some issues anyway.

logdon

I wonder if he approached the BBC or the other way around? His interview was obviously mannah from heaven to them.

Vulture

Quite right, Matthew. If Dave 'disciplines' Tebbit and leaves troughers like Duncan, Maude, Lansley, and Hogg ( was ever a porker more aptly named?)- alone I and I suspect millions of others will finally give up on the Tories. Norman has always fearlessly spoken home truths and he is right to have done so on this occasion. Sackcloth and ashes is the only dress code for politicians for the forseeable future.

Richard

It's an unwinnable fight. Buy the guy a cake and ask him to please shut up, pretty please - look there's a cherry on top.

John Lea

Lord Foulkes described Lord Tebbitt's boycott call as 'dangerous nonsense'.

Lodr Foulkes - now there's a fatcat in every sense of the word.

Jeremy

I suppose that I have now read as much about the expenses scandal as anybody else, and as a voter it is difficult to know how to respond. I think the Labour members - particularly Hoone, Blears and (it beggars belief) the Chancellor of The Exchequer - have behaved in the most cynically venal fashion. But no better are the arrogant Tory grandees who have been merrily claiming to have their chandeliers hung and their moats cleaned at the expense of taxpayers who earn, in a year, the smallest fraction of what these people (both Labour and Conservative) are worth. And therein lies the rub. What should one do? How should one vote? The BNP are just a bunch of loathsome thugs - "Labour with racism" as Lord Tebbit puts it, or "National Socialism" as it has sometimes been called. My sympathy is actually with Dave - whom I like - but I can't just vote for him in isolation, without taking into account the nature and misdemeanours of the people he leads. I haven't yet made up my mind, but perhaps the best thing would simply be not to vote at all, in the current climate.

Grania Davy

Norman Tebbit is a great politician, but in this instance it is not sensible to suggest that people go 'off stream' and waste a vote.
The public now have the information that politicians have spent years trying to conceal from us, and now that we have that infomation let us use it, demand repayment by legal means, deal with those who have abused the system, and ask those we elect to do the job we elected them to do, make OUR world a better place.
Wasting your vote is a daft idea. We must ensure that politicians understand they are not above the law and thay are not underpaid. Anyone who thinks they are go out and get another job in the real world and see how the rest of us live. Poloticians are privilaged, mix with the brightest and most successful people, both at home and abroad, and get confused and compare themselves to the very best. Ego and envy then rears up and voila, they think they are it.

David

"they are never acceptable"
Tebbit never said they were, fool.

I'm a bit concerned about the Telegraph in this case. There are issues which are clearly problematic, notably flipping for capital gain, but not all of the examples it is pushing are bad, and in some cases MPs have been able to point to clear flaws in the Telegarph's analysis.

There is some seriously poor work going on there which you wouldn't expect from a broadsheet of its history. To be honest, it looks like its trying its hardest to paint all politicians as corrupt and to whip up a frenzy.

TGF UKIP

UKIP MEP's have been no angels on expenses and it is a fairly turbulent party. However, it is the UK's only conservative party and it does have a robustly sceptical approach to the climate change scam in complete contrast to Cameron's turquoise Tory Party.

Following the Good Lord's intervention, Coffee Housers can look forward to a concerted Tory smear campaign against UKIP most likely spearheaded by their special friends in the media, so well represented in the Speccie,

jules harris

I'm just so depressed by all this.........things were going SO well for the Tories and now these b****y idiots are going to undo all the good work that's gone into modernising and dragging the party into the 21st centuary.

Bexleyite

I'm voting BNP. Just to show them at some point I have a say in this charade.

oldrightie

It seems another valuable consequence to my theory just posted at my blog. I hope someone gives it some space.

Tom Pride

I do not know who it was but I have always presumed that Mr Tebbit had a hand in what (in my opinion) was the most devastating piece of legislation to bring the Trade Unions back under control. Highly technical, lost in a Finance Act and unknown to most was the restriction on re-claiming overpaid tax until after the end of the tax year. Before this was changed when a strike took place the Inland Revenue would set up shop in the workplace to pay out weekly tax refunds due because previous PAYE deductions became too high once earnings ceased due to the strike. It was a form of official strike pay which helped maintain the strike.

It was too technical a measure to be noticed by the ranks of those who years later would not even notice the removal of a ten per cent tax band. Cameron will need to be as clever as this and would be well advised to remember a remark made to Mr Tebbit by one of his constituents – Norman, when they’ve got me by the wallet they’ve got me by the balls.

He handled the taunts and barbs along with his personal tragedy with great dignity. A great man.

Backbench Warrior

Amazing how you managed to write that article and not mention UKIP once.

C

An alternative view is that he might actually be helping Cameron - counterintuitive I know! But by coming out and saying this he is sending a message to the Parliamentary party to buck up their ideas and reainforcing the point that they have to go and earn their votes.

Ian C

You don't make it clear enoug that Tebbit is calling for the message to be sent only in the Euro elections, not in the local elections.

I would endorse this and was thinking of doing so anyway as the fringes need to be strengthened in the European Parliament, in order to minimise further what little democratic legitimacy the Euro project has.

This, categorically, is not an endorsement of the 'tax your every movement' Green Party!!

Steve.W

The comparison with the “discredited fossils”, Benn and Scargill is good. Does Lord Tebbit have young relatives seeking to go into parliament? If he does it will be interesting to see if he allows them to shamelessly trade on the family name as the younger ones of clan Benn do. Also Tebbit's comments are not anti-democratic, unlike the suggestion by Polly Toynbee to install Alan Johnson without a vote.

Sir Graphus

I think my MEP is Dan Hannan. Should I boycott him?

Bob.India

Sir Graphus. I'd say Dan Hannan could be the exception.

Ray

Sadly, I fear the election of a few BNP MEPs on June 4th will be about the only thing that will wake up the political establishment.

Augustus

Lord Tebbit simply sounds as if he is putting his country first. Now that's a change from the present bunch of career opportunists. Europe definely needs new political blood, and the wily old codger knows that only too well.

Paul B

I'm a great admirer of Lord T, a true representative of working Britain's, who instinctively knows what we thinking.

To any true Conservative, who believes in the market and small Government, I ask, how could you even contemplate voting for the BNP, an extreme left wing party. Socialism and has brought this country to it knees, and you would consider voting for a more extreme socialist/communist party, you are barking.

Lord T is all but advocating a vote for UKIP (in the Euro election, although I suspect it would be different come a real general election). In reply, Lord T, I hear what you say, and I`m considering my position carefully, however, as I understand it that, you are advocating this course of action as a protest against the main three parties Westminster expenses scandal. That is all well and good, and I'm appalled as the next person, but UKIP MEPs are far from whiter than white, with several with questionable expense claims. This is one UKIP MEP, questioned Radio5 last week, whose name escapes, who draws his salary, but never attends the Parliament. No, I fear on this one Lord Tebbit, you Sir, may have got it wrong.

Ian C

There is a direct connection between a vote for UKIP and stiffening Cameron's spine to the Lisbon Treaty and a referendum regardless of the Irish.

In this capacity and in the European elections only, I can see that they have their uses - to assist with moving the true centre of British politics back to where it actually is in the minds and hearts of the British elctorate.

the vast majority know that the UK has been overrun by the european project and the consequences are much further reaching than the majority of British accept.

If there is an opportunity that helps get this across to the next government, while not destroying their chances of becoming that, thus leaving us with the disaster that is the present alternative, it is a one that should be taken.

I see no harm in using them for the purpose for suc a purpose even if they have a slightly swivel-eyed appearance and history.

CS

Given that Tebbit's two great enemies are gays and Europeans, it's little wonder that he'd propose something which would benefit UKIP and the BNP.

The man is a nasty little bigot and has got away with spewing his spiteful bile over the body politic for far too long on the back of sympathy over what happened to his wife.

One might have thought that, after the Brighton bomb, he'd know better than anyone how unreasoning hate and bogotry can destroy the lives of innocent people. But Tebbit's reaction has been become even more of an intolerant bigot himself.

John Walker

Lord Tebbit is a relic of the past, who is afriad that a Cameron victory will wipeaway any remaining remants of Thatcher's legacy.

Chingford Man

Plenty of Tories have voted for UKIP at the last 2 Euro elections. His Noble Holiness The God of Chingford has probably encouraged even more to do so.

I suspect the Euro votes will go off in every direction: New Labour types to the Greens, traditional Tories to UKIP, and non-aligned folks to the BNP in large numbers.

Mark

Traditional Tory attitudes have resulted in such splendid general election results over the last ten or so years. Just listen to the repetitive droning of the likes of Verity. Tebbit is a folorn relic.

Tim Carpenter (LPUK)

Apart from Dan Hannan (I would not suggest anyone boycotts him!), there is also the option of adding your own "None of the above" to the ballot.

The LPUK intentionally kept out of the EU elections because we do not wish to be a part of it or take "one penny piece" from the EU - our stance is it cannot be reformed from within.

Tebbit is right in both rejecting the big three and the National Socialists of the BNP. It is a Leftist meme to call the BNP "far right". They are authoritarian, Socialist but aligned on ethno-nationalistic contours.

Boudicca

I had already decided to vote UKIP if Cameron didn't give a clear and unequivocal message that a Referendum will be held on the Lisbon ConTreaty regardless of its ratification status in other EU nations.

The expenses scandal is another reason so I now need two reasons not to vote UKIP:

The Tory grandees who have been maintaining their country manors at public expense should pay the money back; Cameron should get rid of them. They are the face of old Tory .... we need a Party that reflects ordinary working people - not the squire-ocracy.

Carrie

Great piece Matthew I agree with every word. Tebbit is more in touch with the majority of people in this country than most in the Tory party will ever be. Tebbit represents grassroot Tory views not Notting Hill Tory views.

Anthony Makin

I loved his description of the BNP as Labour with racism. Classic. Tebbit still got it, he is a political beast.

Andrew, London

I am horrified that anyone in the Tory party would even think of expelling Tebbit. Norman Tebbit is worth more than all the so called 'modernisers' put together. These people ought to show some respect. Cameron may have got the Tories some decent poll ratings, although they looking pretty shaky at the moment. But Tebbit has won general elections, served in Government and actually delivered real policies. Only when Cameron has achieved a fraction of what Norman Tebbit has will he even be fit to lick Tebbits' boots.

David Lindsay

Norman Tebbit wanted to say “vote UKIP”, and I don’t know what stopped him. In the European Elections, disgusted Tories and Tory Lib Dems should vote UKIP, while disgusted Labourites and Labour Lib Dems should vote NO2EU.

Yes, there are some very extreme elements in the latter (and in the former, for that matter). But people like Bob Crow, Dave Nellist and Tommy Sheridan are not as extreme as people think they are, or indeed as they themselves seem to think they are. And NO2EU lists also include Peter Shore’s old researcher, leaders of the Visteon and the Lindsey oil refinery workers, and the immediate past Leader of the Liberal Party (not the Lib Dems, the Liberal Party).

Alas, I have a prior engagement. But there is a NO2EU rally at Newcastle’s Station Hotel on Thursday, between 5pm and 7pm. Get along to it.

Anti EU

Tebbit is a political giant compared to the pygmies currently running the Tory party. He is also an arch Eurosceptic and is quite clearly sending out a 'dog whistle' to Conservative supporters to vote UKIP. Although I'm sure Tebbit would not want to boycott Dan Hannan. A true Conservative, he is the exception. Mind, I would not be surprised if the 'mods' start discussing expelling Hannan from the party next, inlight of the revelations in this piece.

Chris

Cameron should expel Tebbit immediately. You can't be a senior member of one party and tell people to vote for another. This is David Cameron's chance to show that he's a real leader.

Max Kaye

I agree that unless Cameron promises to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty irrespective of whether or not all the member states have ratified it, then one should (protest) vote UKIP in the European Elections.

Verity

I know! Let's spot the number of times a Speccie writer writes the letter BNP without a qualifying adjective in front of it. Nul points so far. Earlier, Pete referred to the BNP as "the disgusting BNP". Matthew, above, prefixes the initials with the word "loathsome". Come on, Speccie writers, I dare you! Write the initials BNP unadorned by a shudder of contempt.

CS - What is "bogotry"? Hatred of the loo?

David Ossitt

Dirty Euro
May 12th, 2009 10:27am

The BNP are full of people who wantt kill ethnic minorities they are never acceptable.

Utter bilge; but then almost all of what you post is even more stupid.

David Ossitt

CS.

"Given that Tebbit's two great enemies are gays and Europeans, it's little wonder that he'd propose something which would benefit UKIP and the BNP".

Idiot!

Bill Brinsmead

What an idiot you are Matt. Last week you were impressed by Sir Mick Lyons - long time labour apparatchik and Gordon Brown's placeman at the BBC - now its the Polecat himself.

He was a totally useless minister at the DTI and almost a disaster as Party Chairman in 1987 - I remember the panic the weekend before the election when Norm was in danger of being dismissed due as his abysmal management of the campaign had led to a Labour surge in the polls.

Paul B

Verity, its three bogs in Ireland.

James C

"Come on, Speccie writers, I dare you! Write the initials BNP unadorned by a shudder of contempt."

They can't.
NUJ rules.
The word "odious", or a synonym, must prefix the acronym BNP.
Good to know that we live in a free country, eh?
Pity Lord Tebbit didn't destroy the NUJ.

TGF UKIP

Verity, excellent point but these pejorative adjectives before the name BNP are all part of the linguistic uniform of the liberal metropolitan classes.

Most of them are stupid or malevolent enough to describe the BNP as a party of the far Right whereas it is in reality very much a party of the Left.

Big question Brits should be asking themselves is do we get the journos and editors we deserve as well as the politicos.

Verity

Paul B - Funny!

Alf Tupper

Verity.

You beat me to this one. The 'loathsome BNP'.

Do you think there is a box at the Speccie, holding all the nasty BNP words?