Britain: Dumbing down of language skills?

[Anthea Fraser Gupta]

Readers outside the UK may need to know that the BNP is the 'British
National Party', which is an extreme right wing party whose main
platform concerns a policy favouring people of British (i.e. white,
non-Jewish) ancestry. The context of this diatribe is that since the
2006 local elections, a small number of municipal governments (councils)
now have one or two members (councillors) who are from the BNP. Many
other councillors from mainstream parties feel uncomfortable about
working with members of the BNP: the three main political parties
(Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat) and church groups were
especially active in uniting against the BNP by encouraging people to
turn up and vote for something else. Less than 40% of those entitled to
vote chose to vote in these elections, which helps extremist parties.

As you will see, the BNP attack multiculturalism in an explicit way.
However, politicians from both the Labour and Conservative parties have
also attacked multiculturalism in more acceptable forms. Those of us who
are happiest in a world that welcomes diversity (linguistic and other)
would do well to engage in arguments that counter this kind of crass
nationalism.

You might like to read the BBC's account of the BNP results, and watch
the video of Nick Griffin of the BNP being grilled in an interview:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4974870.stm

Anthea

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Anthea Fraser Gupta (Dr)
School of English, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT
<www.leeds.ac.uk/english/staff/afg>
NB: Reply to a.f.gupta at leeds.ac.uk
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