Have your say: should the BNP speak in Oxford?

News menu

Page content

By UPSU news

Last updated: Mon 26th Nov 2007 at 13:36

BNP speaker Nick Griffin and David Irving are due to speak at Oxford Union this evening, amid widespread debate over whether the BNP should be allowed a public platform. As news agencies across the world, including the BBC, give coverage to this event, and reports of attacks against students in Oxford increase, we want your views.

Do you think a representative of the British National Party and a person jailed for Holocaust denial should have a public platform to speak on the limits of free speech, even if they will not speak about their beliefs?

Do you think that allowing freedom of speech is more important than allegations that their presence fails to respect common decency?

You can find more about this debate and the issues surrounding it by following the links on the right of the page.

Send us your views in the comments box below. Please note that comments are moderated before publishing, and may be used on any Union media.

Comments have been closed for this article

It is absolutely unacceptable for Griffin and Irving to be given the opportunity to promote their racist opinions and ludicrous interests in this manner; the Oxford SU are deliberately courting controversy to show how open-minded and radical they are, and have completely failed to realise that this whole event is simply a PR tool for the BNP.

H - Mon, 26 Nov 2007

I disagree, it is about time someone talks about immigration honestly without all the political correctness. I do not agree with all that the BNP stands for, but if they are the only party to express what the majority of the population are thinking, then let them speak.

S - Wed, 28 Nov 2007

Viewed historically, it is not surprising that Oxford Union have invited Griffin and Irving.
Oxford and Cambridge between them also supported Communism from the 1920's onward, supplying many famous spies to the Russians.
If there is a new political movement going, these two so-called senior universities have jumped on the bandwagon to rebel against their familial backgrounds. For the students there it is just a way of telling Mummy and Daddy that they are independent now and it is also done for shock value.
As a way of rebelling against the Establishment they will one day be part of, it's about as much use as a kettle made of ice and about as see-through. They will continue to invite people that clear-headed, straight-thinking people would reject and to welcome all our rejection of this.
While we cannot ignore them, we could try harder to educate them about where these stunts might lead.

John Roskilly - Mon, 03 Dec 2007