Why a knighthood for Rushdie?
One of the advantages of writing in this column is that from time to time I express a view that is not necessarily the official BNP view.
Elsewhere, the party has rightfully condemned the behaviour of some Moslem extremists at home and overseas who have burnt our national flag and waved banners demanding “May God Curse the Queen” in response to the knighthood awarded to Salman Rushdie. It was not our Queen herself who put Rushdie’s name down on her Birthday Honours list, but Blair’s government.
What was the point of this when any idiot must have known that because of Rushdie’s Satanic Verses it was bound to provoke more anti-British feeling throughout the Moslem world? It was nothing more than a gesture of approval to multiculturalism, and more publicity for Blair (who passed the Arts and Media Honours Committee’s recommendation) in a ‘noble stand’ against the fatwa and attempted censorship.
The honour of a knighthood is in recognition of services to Great Britain. Indian in origin, Rushdie’s permanent home is in New York. Many people who like to affect a literary taste found it fashionable to have Satanic Verses and/or Midnight’s Children on their bookshelves: but few manage to read either book to the end. Why no Sir Martin Amis, Sir Julian Barnes, Sir Roald Dahl, or Lady J.K.Rowling?
The BNP has consistently said that the major threat to Britain and Europe from Islam is demographic. It is still only a minority who are advocating violence against us non-Moslems (who should be deported immediately they utter such threats). Therefore, why carry out such pointless acts as Rushdie’s knighthood which even moderate Moslems look upon as an insult?
Similarly, whilst I hold no brief for Mohammad Sarwar, the Glasgow Labour MP, I think it would be churlish not to express sympathy for him in being forced to stand down after death threats. Sarwar was instrumental in bringing back the three men who had fled to Pakistan after the torture and murder of teenager Kriss Donald (OK, one of his motives may have been to placate his white vote).
He and his family have now received numerous death threats from associates of the murder gang who have said that they “would do to his son what they did to Kriss Donald”.
Arts Council Spurns Elgar
For many classic music lovers Sir Edward Elgar stands head and shoulders above any other British composer and is the equal of the great German composers.
Perhaps to refer to him in a music context as “British” is a misnomer, for apart from Land of Hope and Glory and the other inspiring patriotic music of his Pomp and Circumstance marches, much of his music is quintessentially English. None more so than with his Enigma Variations, Sea Pictures or the great Cello Concerto. Listening to the latter played by the tragic artist Jacqueline Du Pre, if your emotions are not moved to tears then although you may have rhythm you have no real music in your soul.
To return to reality, and to Land of Hope and Glory , this was the masterpiece of Elgar’s great popularity, including for so many patriots not given to listening to classical music. With this he gave the country its unofficial second national anthem - for which the liberal-left have never forgiven him. It is therefore not surprising that outside of classical music circles the 150th anniversary of last month went almost unnoticed, not least by the Arts Council England, which refused to help fund any notable celebration including a contribution for £174,000 towards a series of youth concerts.
To illustrate how politically correct and culturally decadent Arts Council England has become, in 2003 it paid a lecturer in the East Midlands £12,000 to kick an empty curry carton down a street. In 2005 it provided £65,000 to a homosexual club which was promoting drug use on its website. The British Council, which promotes what it considers to be British culture overseas, also failed to contribute funds to the celebrations. And who was it at the Bank of England who decided to remove the composer’s image from £20 notes in the anniversary year?
There is a similarity here with the attempted persecution of the ‘BNP Ballerina’ Simone Clarke. Any aspect of the arts that hints of inherent patriotism must be suppressed and even vilified.
Grammar Schools should be part of an educational choice
Having delivered another insult to former Tory voters worried about the effects of immigration, tireless and tieless Dave has now launched a broadside against those erstwhile voters who support grammar schools, including telling them that they are “delusional”. Again following much of the Blairite agenda, Cameron has made it clear that a Tory government would not add to the remaining grammar schools. A number of Tory MPs fear that he would even undermine support for the 164 that still exist.
The shadow education secretary, David Willetts, is a former grammar school boy, as is David Davis, but David Cameron is one of many leading Conservatives who either went to Eton or other private education establishments. The BNP would not abolish such private education, but support other systems that will give our youth the opportunity to develop their full potential, irrespective of the disposable income of their parents.
This must include grammar schools and therefore they should be available in city areas as well as in the more affluent parts of Kent or Manchester, as at present: in fact in any area where a sufficient number of people wanted one. This has long been in our election manifesto. We believe that grammar schools are the best way of allowing social mobility and a genuine meritocracy. Regardless of socio-economic status and parental income, grammar schools allow the brightest and keenest children of working class and lower middles class parents, as well as others, to excel in academic studies. This would, of course, mean reintroducing an eleven plus examination, but we recommend a retest at 13 for the “slower developer”.
The Conservatives under Cameron, together with the Lib-Dems, now favour Blair’s City Academies, which David Willets argues have shown they can offer chances to “academically able pupils from deprived backgrounds”. Now we have the hub of the matter as far as the Cameroons are concerned. “Deprived backgrounds” in this context is doublespeak for “ethnic minorities” - but can be dressed up to include “poor whites”. It is part of the tactics to compete with Labour and the Lib-Dems over the middle ground where the party that can gain most of the all-important ethnic vote (now at least 10% of the total) gains power. And power, as Blair has shown, is far more important than any political principles.
Blair’s large City Academies have so far lacked any success but have scooped up money that should have been spent in improving the mainly smaller existing comprehensives. If we are to allow more grammar schools to open where they are requested, then we should also extend the use of streaming and setting, with smaller classes, in the comprehensives to allow even more pupils to develop their abilities without the dominating presence of their disruptive peers. Added to this, it is urgent that we should return to developing technical schools.
There is little point in moaning because building and other industries are happy to employ Polish carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc, when a diminishing number of our young people lack any of these skills. Mainly for this reason over half a million British 18-24 year olds are out of work. More technical schools and colleges would alleviate this considerably. This has the support of the British Chambers of Commerce, a leading representative of small businesses, who only last month urged the government that immigration is not the long-term answer to tackle the “tragic skills shortage that many young British people have”.
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