i will admit to knowing nothing more about this particular issue than what was displayed in the article, but surely a move to block this debate equals a restriction of freedom of speech? after all, surely the arguements against the BNP and it's policies are so strong that the speaker could be 'proved wrong' to the public through debate and this action would be more helpful than the marginalisation of a group whose very existence thrives on their position on the outskirts? by discrediting their policies in public, we humiliate them while still remaining true to the principles of free speech which we should all fight for. after all:
"I disaprove of what you say,
but I will defend to the death
your right to say it"

Voltaire

The reason they want it banned is because they can't defeat the BNP, the logic of the BNP and their policies make far more sense to most people in this country. After all, how does it benefit us to be a minority in our own country by 2060?

The university staff, residents, and ANL simply informed the venues that a Nazi was going to speak - in this case, they were exercising *their* freedom of speech, and the owners of the venues exercised their ownership rights (we can argue about those later, if you like) over their property. There was no physical intervention.

Regardless, when it came down to it, there was in fact no denial of "freedom of speech" at all - the event fell through because the Lib Dem MP cancelled when he got in trouble with his party, which effectively killed the "debate." What I don't understand is why anyone would "debate" with a Nazi in any case - did the Lib Dem figure, "Hey, I know, I'll debate this Griffin fellow, and maybe after we're done talking I'll have really learned something from the experience and think that Hitler was just misunderstood, that the holocaust never happened, or that maybe they deserved it..." Like, what the hell is the point?

As for being a minority in your own country, well, speaking as someone from North America I've got to say that the British owe a profound debt of gratitude to their immigrant population for bringing some decent recipes with them; British cuisine is not much to be proud of...if a victorious BNP means that I'd be subjected to endless servings of meat and two veg, it's my human duty to fight them with all the means at my disposal.

For the samosa revolution,

fb

No one denied the BNP their right to freedom of speech. The only thing that the Cambrdge campaigners want is for the debating societies or any other organizations linked with the university not to *assist* it by inviting them over. This is called not giving a platform that is very different from saying that they should be sent to jail for what they say.

As a side line I do believe that it is a good thing for the general public to be exposed to the ugly ideas of the BNP. They are so repulsive that they make our antiBNP arguments for us.

As for the idiotic comment above about "being a minority in our own country" my answer is: any country is the country of the people living in it, and it does not belong to any particular "race" as you imply. Do you feel a minority amongst the saxons, the angles, the vickings? They are all "foreighners", but I guess you think they are a legitimate part of england! So just get used to other people, and start considering them as an integral part of our country.

Richard, I understand your argument but take a step back and look at the whole picture.

The BNP and other Nazi groups haven't been banned, they are free to organise marches and meetings, sell their papers, stick leaflets through doors etc. Meanwhile, many Muslim and Arab political groups HAVE actually been banned, here and across Europe and the US. This is the reality; free speech for Nazis, bans and censorship for Muslims and Arabs.

Also, never forget that, though you defend Nazis' right to speak, they won't return the favour. Nazis have no qualms about using every method available to them to silence their opponents; including threats, violence and murder.

And finally, to our Nazi pal above; I think you'll find in the end, much as it may shatter your apocalyptic wet-dreams of race war, the majority of us in every community are anti-racist and anti-fascist, and we will not fear you.

thank you to those who replied / commented to my earlier point. i agree with the most of you (save our BNP friend). The information that the Lib Deb politician dropped out clarifies the issue greatly.
however, my opinion issue of exposing the views of the BNP to be the racist beliefs they are remains the same. we debate with them to reveal through dialogue the inconsistencies in their arguements. likewise i agree that the Islamic parties whose views have been censored should be free to express their views.
and yes, while we allow them to speak we should oppose their policies to the end.
but again, thank you to those who brought a greater level of information on this issue.

ps: on a side note, maybe someone should suggest to our government and the BNP that if they want less immigrants / asylum seekers they should stop waging wars on foriegn countries...

by 'we should oppose their policies to the end' i refer to the BNP. i am not suggesting that we oppose all the consored Islamic parties.

Any talk of freedom of speech for nazis is simply an oxymoron. Does a lump of shit have freedom of speech? Obviously a nazi being of less value to society than a lump of shit should have less rights than a lump of shit. I also believe that a nazi should be forced to pay for the cost of the bullet used to blow their head off at close range.

which is nice