Cucumber sandwiches are awrf love.

Like Iain Dale, I initially felt that the Palace's decision to bar Nick Griffin was a mistake. The invitation to Griffin proffered in his role as and MEP, and thus was in many ways an invitation in recognition ofthe votes of thousands, not in any way a suggestion of support for him or his policies.
As such, much as it must be distasteful he had earned the honour.

But the reasoning displayed by the palace is on the button. There is no doubt by broadcasting his invitation on the BNP website, calling for suggestions on what he she say to the Queen and so on was deeply inapproriate.

The fact that his fellow BNP MEP Andrew Brons seems not to have been excluded makes the point entirely.

Ancona is barking over Barking

Mathew d'Ancona is badly wrong when he calls for the three main parties to "collaborate and field a single candidate to ensure that Griffin is defeated comprehensively and definitively".

Utterly nuts.

An object lesson in how to play into the hands of the BNP. Again we would see the sight of the political establishment closing ranks against the BNP. All well and good, but of course this allows Griffin and his supporters to (accurately?) portray themselves as victimised by an establishment that doesn't care about the white working class.

All parties must work the patch hard, they must explain why they are relevant, and what they will do to deal with mass immigration, poor schools, disasterous housing, and dire crime rates. Then and only then will the BNP threat subside.

Not by gangimg up against him and allowing him to portray himself as a villain.

Governors barred from Westminster

The little saga of Hariet Harperson and her tropes barring access to the Houses of Parliament to the 72 MEPs in order to block vists by the BNP to Westminster is of course ridiculous.

Unpleasantly socialist they may be, unapologetically racist they are, but to suggest that overcrowding is the reason is risible. Refusal to accept the verdict ofthe electorate more like.

Of course Westminster was happy to have the Sinn Fein MEP visit last time, an unapologetic suporter of the IRA. It also seemed happy to give office space to Mr Adams and his party workers, all of whom would no doubt pass all security checks with flying colours.

However what is ironic of course is that, aprt from one or two Cabinet Ministers, MEPs have more real power to effect legislation than MPs. So why would they want to visit Westminster? It would be the political equivalent of slumming it.