Peter Hoskin

One in five would consider voting for the BNP

Here are the stand-out findings from today’s YouGov poll, conducted after this week’s Question Time, for the Telegraph:

“The survey found that 22 per cent of voters would ‘seriously consider’ voting for the BNP in a future local, general or European election. This included four per cent who said they would ‘definitely’ consider voting for the party, three per cent who would ‘probably’ consider it, and 15 per cent who said they were ‘possible’ BNP voters.”

This just reinforces my qualms about Thursday night’s show.  Yes, Griffin embarrassed himself in front of a hostile audience and panel, but that may not have mattered.  He had already reached out to any potential voters before the cameras were switched on.  And he’s continuing to reach out to them with his subsequent claims that he was the victim of a lynch mob.  Operation Martyrdom is in full swing, and it’s the BNP’s best strategy for picking up more votes.

If anyone needs reminding that we cannot be complacent about the BNP, then polls like this should deliver the requisite psychic shock.  The simple fact emerging from all this is that the political class needs to do more – much more – to deal with people’s concerns about a range of BNP target-issues; from immigration to radical Islam.  The sorry alternative is that Griffin’s views fill the void.

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