Some of the BNP’s policies have become mainstream over the last decade (Picture: metro.co.uk)

More than a decade ago the BNP were on the fringe of British politics peddling a message that was considered fascist and hateful.

But fast forward to 2017 and it is being argued that those same pledges have become mainstream policies favoured by the big political parties to win elections.

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Were Nick Griffin and his cronies visionaries that were ahead of their time when drawing up their manifesto for the 2005? Probably not.

As you will see, much of what they pledged was extreme, like a British parliament on the Isle Of Man, or nasty, such as disputing feminism.


But their fundamental messages – withdraw from the EU, bring back grammar schools, cut immigration, increase security – appear far more familiar.

Nick Griffin served as BNP MEP from 2009 to 2014

Human rights activist Craig Murray wrote recently that he can see ‘little significant difference’ between what the British National Party was proposing then and what the government is proposing now.



He claims on his blog that the ‘few differences’ between the current Conservative platform and BNP are found in the NHS – where he says the Tories are ‘more right wing’.

His argument seems extreme, so metro.co.uk decided to see to what extent the BNP’s manifesto from 2005 compared with the policies of today’s parties.

‘Leaving the European Union’

The BNP’s manifesto from 2005 (Picture: BNP)

Brexit is the obvious one and received cross-party support.

In fact, we have come so far that the debate at this election is not ‘will we leave’ but instead ‘how we should leave’

Whether it is a ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ Brexit remains to be seen but some of the language used in the BNP, and also Ukip, manifestos from 2005 was similar to those used during the EU referendum campaign.

Compare these quotes

Since the Norman Conquest, European imperialists or aspiring imperialists have threatened to invade this country, or otherwise extend their rule over it. The long list includes the Hapsburgs, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm, Hitler, and now, the EU. – BNP manifeso 2005

Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods – Boris Johnson to the Sunday Telegraph 2016

Or these:

The burden imposed on our NHS by treating imported diseases such as TB and the new wave of heterosexual AIDS is removed forthwith. In addition to refusing to allow their carriers entry into Britain , or deporting those already here, we would also introduce a massive public health awareness campaign on the danger of choosing high-risk groups as sexual partners – BNP manifesto 2005

People who do not have HIV, to be frank. That’s a good start. And people with a skill. – Nigel Farage when asked by Newsweek Europe what sort of people should be allowed to migrate to Britain.

Or how about

Finally, the greatest single threat posed by the European Union comes from the plans (supported by the Conservative Party) to expand further into Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, and subsequently into Turkey – BNP manifesto 2005

and…

Vote Leave’s controversial Turkey poster (Picture: VoteLeave)

Other words or phrases such as ‘superstate’, ‘diktat from Brussels’, ‘unaccountable’, ‘corrupt’ were used by Brexiteers too.

‘Immigration – a crisis without parallel’

Parties promising to get tough on immigration is nothing new.

For instance, Michael Howard’s Conservative Party promised tough action in 2005, including setting an annual immigration limit.

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His party also proposed ‘an Australian-style points system’ for work permits – an immigration policy proposed numerous times since.

The BNP took a really touch stance in 2005 proposing a zero tolerance agenda that immediately halted immigration from all countries on a ‘stop’ list.

This bears some resemblance with Donald Trump’s ‘muslim ban’ which immediately halted not just immigration but travel from a number of muslim majority countries.

In it’s manifesto, the BNP also talks of how a ‘relentless wave’ of immigration will lead to a ‘loss of British culture and identity’ and promises to clamp down on a ‘flood’ of asylum seekers.

Farage by the controversial breaking point poster (Picture: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)

Such symbolic language – tide, flood – has been used to argue that the UK should secure its borders in the wake of the migrant crisis.

Indeed, a tough stance on immigration is certainly a vote winner for all parties.

The Conservatives promised to crack down on immigration by cutting it to below 100,000 a year.

While, for the forthcoming election, Labour is understood to be arguing internally about whether to use a point-based system for EU citizens after Brexit or to allow free movement of workers but not benefit provision.

Grammar schools, English-only votes, traditional subjects at school, etc…

Some of the policies put forward by Ukip have also become mainstream (Picture: UKIP)

Of course, the BNP has some extreme suggestions in its manifesto as well.



For instance, they use the 1996 Dunblane Massacre to argue for a reversal of gun law and claim that law-abiding citizens who have completed military service should be permitted to keep an assault rifle and ammunition at home.

They also suggest putting a pan-British parliament on the Isle of Man and dispute the ‘feminist argument’ that ‘men and women are innately the same’.

But alongside these pledges are others that are more familiar.

They make a case for the return of grammar schools, they argue for English votes for English laws and seek a focus on traditional subjects in school.

They argue for a National Service, not too dissimilar from the National Citizens Service that David Cameron introduced.

Ukip’s manifesto argues against wind turbines and for nuclear power and for the Human Rights Act to be repealed.

Why has this happened?

David Cameron was ignored by constituency associations (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

The question of course is was this shift to the right led by the voters or the parties?

According to lobbyist Jon McLeod it is a mixture of the two.

‘Three principle things have happened,’ he told Metro.co.uk.

‘I think the first one boils down to the nature of the selection process of Conservative party candidates by constituency associations, which effectively fought back against David Cameron’s attempt to produce an A-List of specially-groomed Notting Hill-type candidates.’

Conservative constituency associations have the final say in selecting candidates to try and win the seat in their area.

McLeod told us that in the pre-David Cameron period those associations tended to favour more right-wing Eurosceptic candidates and that became more profound in 2015.


‘In 2015 the candidates tended to be slightly more working-class Tory, in touch with their local government roots. A little bit more isolationist,’ he added.

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‘That was absolutely key as it changed the character of the governing party.’

Britain’s ageing population combined with the tendency of older people to vote Conservative has also had something to do with it.

‘The second reason is the demographic one,’ he said.

‘It is a matter of fact that older people tend to vote more conservatively if use us a small c or big C and vote more consistently.

‘In order to appetise the consistencies across the country, parties have had to apply policies that tend in that direction.’

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McLeod said the third reason is a new one.

‘It is the echo-chamber effect of social media,’ he added.

‘Regardless of age, people on the right are more effectively having their views projected back to them by news sites that are driven by bots or other aggregation devices.

Ukip was not responsible for a shift of policy to the right, experts say (Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images)

‘People are reading more news that hardens their views.’

As for Ukip and Farage? ‘I don’t think [UKIP] actually moved policy. I think they became in effect a lobbying organisation that may have had an impact on the Tories but I don’t think it moved the entire centre of gravity.’

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Louis Rynsard, director at reputation and communications firm SBC London, said part of the problem was a lacking of convincing argument from anyone in the centre.

‘No one from the centre of any party built a convincing narrative or plan for how the lives of those affected would get better,’ he said.


‘Disenfranchised individuals turned to fringe politicians who they felt shared their concerns, would handle their issues and deliver them a prosperous, better future which, for them, was effectively to go back to the past.’

What happens next?

Theresa May might well shift back to the centre (Picture: PA Wire)

Ironically, McLeod thinks that selecting a right-wing government will lead to a shift to the centre.

‘I think that’s the unintended consequence of the situation,’ he said.

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‘If Theresa May gets a majority of around 150, she will be much freer from the shackles of the conservative right and will be able to plough a more distinctive policy furrow which is in line with her outlook.’

He added: ‘Her initial leadership speech was quite anti-corporate, it was about social justice, social mobility and it was about access to opportunity. Actually her agenda, her philosophical agenda is more centrist.

‘Even though the debate about hard Brexit, soft brexit will make people think she has hardened to the right, her domestic policy agenda is more centrist.’

Rynsard said it is now up to the politicians in the centre to build a more convincing argument.

‘If the last year has taught us anything, it’s that you cannot predict what is going to happen next,’ he said.

‘But one thing is sure, unless the liberal open centrists get their act together, the right-wing politics, policies and ideas will continue to win.’

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