people should be allowed to make up their own opinions. I'm sure most people will be against the BNP without the mob-squad. This article just sounds like intimidation all over it.

I had the same issue when i went to vote last time. Loads of labour supporters outside the polling office telling me that i'd better vote for labour nudge-nudge. Like something out of zimbabwe.
What do you do about these kinds of intimidation?

You don't consider the BNP are ever likely to intimidate anyone, then? Are you black, mixed-race, Asian, gay, anti-fascist, Polish, Catholic, a refugee, an asylum-seeker? Aren't you intimidated by the BNP? If you're not, you should be.

Anyway, where's the intimidation? A number of people respond by making their opposing views known and by counter-leafleting. Is that intimidation or is that a little too much like democracy in action?

Bloody BNP-apologists.

"handing out a few leaflets" completely conflicts with the image portrayed in the article. Either a big crowd of anti-facists initimidated the the "BNP to flee" or they didn't?

The thing is you that like all polititicans, you are treating people (or "local shoppers") like they are stupid cattle. By being there and shouting out your own messages, you are hoping to change the way people think. "These people are stupid - they might vote for BNP. Lets get out there and ensure they don't by ramming our own messages down their throats by rote because we can't trust them to make up their own minds - so we must make it up for them."

Sorry, its not just you lot. I just hate the whole political harrasement we have to endure. Constantly being treated like a sheep when i'm perfectly capable of making up my own mind - like everyone else is. Then when i complain about it, i get told to keep my mouth shut.

Remember what happened to Sarah Palin? The best thing possible was to let her speak, because everytime she opened her mouth she made an idiot of herself. By the end, her own party was actually the ones who were preventing her from talking.

By stopping the BNP from making idiots of themselves, you are effectively saying that you fear what they have to say, and you believe people will listen to them. If you really believe the BNP is a pile of crock, then let them speak as much as possible. People dig their own holes.

People can make up their own minds without your censoring.

You make the mistake of thinking that Fascists are all stupid, sure whilst some of them have certainly proved that to the amusement of us, I have seen equal idiocy on the left. The point I am making is being far left or far right or anywhere in between is no way to asess intelligence, the two are not linked. So therefore the message from anti-fascists is not "the BNP is a pile of crock" but that fascism is a dangerous ideology that must be opposed.

The reason why anti-fascist oppose fascism in the way they do, is because history has taught a valuable lesson: When left unopposed, fascism flourishes.

we dont want any uneducated people to think theres something very natural about it

How arrogant of the 'anti-fascists' to think they need to protect people from the BNP's views.

We don't need authoritarian, busybody, intimidatory thugs deciding who we can listen to and who we can't. These self-appointed 'anti-fascist' guardians of the people are themselves fascists with their anti-liberal behaviour. They think that they know best for everyone and should therefore be allowed to decide who gets to address the dimwitted, impressionable populace and who doesn't. What a nasty, sinister elitist attitude. Freedom of speech is not on their vile agenda.

If the BNP run from people who oppose them that’s not the anti-fashs fault. As a mixed race person, I applaud this action went dangerous, (sometimes) terrorist BNP members go anywhere they should be opposed.

Sorry Morris, but to paraphrase your argument, -‘the best thing possible is to let the BNP speak, because every time they open there mouths they make idiots of themselves.’ Is simply wishful thinking, because this argument has been heard lots and lots of time in the past and even has a name- APPEASEMENT.
At the time of Hitler coming to power in Germany, lots of liberals and some on the Left thought that the Nazis were so mad, that within months the party would fall from power. 18 months later most of the leaders of the Left were dead or imprisoned. Across Europe (and across the world)in the 1930s the Fascists’ message did NOT make them look like 'IDIOTS' but quite the opposite, they seemed to provide an answer to the right wing and establishment of how to deal with the Left and workers anger at the depression. After all, apart from Russia, Germany had had the best originated Left in Europe for decades, the Nazis managed to completely smash it in very short period of time.
When the British Union of Fascist started to grow in mid 30s, sections of the British establishment started to support them. Anti fascist groups campaigned against the causes of the depression but also attacked the BUF physically. After 1936, The BUF declined and the 'non-fascist' wing of the British establishment came to fore in ruling class thinking.
A similar story was played out in France, but after Hitler invaded in 1940, they establishment set up they own fascist regime up based in Vichy.
In Spain the people fought back and could have won (no space here to go into the civil war) and it took the Fascists 3 long years to win power.
In the 1970s in the UK, again sections of the ruling class started to flurt with the National Front. Anti Fascist again fought and won.
The Fascists grow in economic crisis, in 1928 general election the Nazis only got 2.6 pervert, 5 years later and after the Wall Street Crash, they came to power. We need to be on our guard and readily to fight the Fascists but also fight against the causes of Fascism.

ta richy. I've read a lot of history so it a good to see your arguments.

I'd completely disagree on your definition of appeasement. Appeasement is more about agreeing to a compromise to avoid conflict. Obviosuly this is term that dates back to pre world-war-2, but nowadays it is more often twisted as a form of political justification for an armed response. (eg. we must not appease north korea's missile program -- would indicate an argument towards a heavy handed response)

To let the bnp just make fools of themselves is not avoiding a conflict or a compromise. It is deliberate and tactful reasoning much in the same way that it was a good idea to let Sarah Palin make a fool of herself in the TV interviews. No compromise is being made.

Secondly, i'd also disagree with your comparing the BNP to nazis. Hitlers ideology can be best understood through Mein Kampf which i see little in the BNP. I'd also separate the BNP fascism from the German 'nazism', which was built on the principal that the state was a means for aryan race to realize its true destiny. The BNP fascism would probably be more akin to italian fascism where the state is all thats matters

anyway - just my views. i may be wrong. I'm not really an expert on the BNP ideology.
But i don't see them with any power rather as a useful yardstick to be able to draw current right-wing opinions from.

The BNP are not a problem and there is no need for pompous, arrogant people to deny the BNP a platform by harrassing them. If the BNP is allowed a platform and people choose to vote for them then that's democracy in action. If people choose not to vote for the then that's democracy in action too.

Either way, there is no reason for self-appointed guardians of the public like these sad 'anti-fascists' to intervene, unless of course they are afraid that the populace needs protecting from it's own incorrect desire to vote BNP. If these people are allowed to control what political messages we are allowed to hear we might as well just let them vote on our behalf at elections. As many 'anti-fascists' seem to have some admiration for the sick, murderous, evil creeds of left-wing authoritarianism perhaps they do think that the current system would be better replaced by one where we all vote for one party of which they approve, just like they do in China, Cuba and throughout the defunct Soviet empire.

The BNP have a platform. It is called Democracy. Unfortunately for the power worshipping thugs that skulk about spreading their vile ideology, Democracy allows people to make up their own minds. Which they do. On a regular basis. Time and time again, the BNP are told to go away. Time and time again the BNP are told their vile creed of race hate and power worship is an alien creed imported from elswhere. Time and time again the BNP are told their disgusting presence is not wanted.

The BNP are not told these things by trade unionists (whom they hate) or by ethnic minorities (whom they despise) but by ordinary passing shoppers. Shoppers who are horrified when they hear the vile poison of violent criminally convicted racist thugs.

When the BNP appear so do ordinary people. They tell them, in no uncertain terms to go away. To take their vile fear of real life away and hide.

Troll is internet forum speak used by intolerant types to describe someone who doesn't agree with you!

I'm not a member of any political party. I don't need 'anti-fascists' to protect me from the BNP's opinions. These 'anti-fascists' only want us to hear opinions of which they approve - they are authoritarian censors who think they know better than everyone else and have some kind of duty to protect the gullible from views they can't handle or understand properly. What a sinister, illiberal group of inadequates they are!

So Zippy thinks the BNP is an anti-catholic organisation. Where did he get that crock of shite from? Half the membership is possibly RC.

as the vast majority of roman catholics in the uk are either Irish or of Irish descent its a fair comment