WOULD the election of Nick Griffin as a representative of Merseyside and the North West in the European Parliament be a sensible expression of our disgust at the behaviour of greedy MPs?
There is a real chance that the leader of the British National Party will win a place because of the proportional voting system that will be used next month.
Actually it would be a huge mistake. One of the many depressing results of the MP expenses scandal is that this country’s reputation for relatively clean politics is in jeopardy around the world. The election of a neo-fascist from our multicultural region would send out an appalling message.
It’s a great shame that Griffin’s election chances have become such a central issue. This poll for our representatives in the European Parliament should be an opportunity to discuss the parties’ policies on Europe as they affect Merseyside. That’s not an easy task at the best of times, but because of the seedy disclosures of the last 10 days at Westminster, it is going to be almost impossible this time.
What happens in the European Parliament does matter, and it is important to vote. However that message rarely gets through because many of our papers have a Rupert Murdoch-driven agenda which requires coverage that either mocks its activities or tries to scare us with talk of its power over our lives.
The institution doesn’t help itself by meeting in two places nor can one deny the tenuous link between the nurse in Neston and the bureaucrat in Brussels.
The election is for the whole north west region from Carlisle to Crewe. We will not be voting for individual candidates, just parties. Those party representatives will go forward to sit with other parties in big groups in the European Parliament which itself shares power with the European Commission and Council of Ministers. Direct democracy it ain’t, but it’s what we’ve got at the moment.
Sadly these elections are not going to be about cross national boundary issues like workplace conditions, crime, regional aid, consumer rights and the environment. Understandably, most voters will want to send some very strong messages of disgust to all the main political parties.
So who is going to win the eight European seats up for grabs in the north west? The public mood is such that the revolt against established politics could possibly see the Tories with a couple of seats, Labour and the Lib Dems with one each and four seats being fought out between the BNP, UKIP and the Greens. Don’t rule out a strong performance by the latter. Protesting Labour voters could easily support a party with respectable policies on the environment. This would send a local man to Brussels; Peter Cranie, who re-established the Liverpool Green Party in 2002.
Merseyside-based man, Paul Nuttall, UKIP’s chairman, could also be off to Europe.
But would they be joined by Nick Griffin whose concealed racist agenda has nothing to offer Merseyside’s multicultural community?
