What with being away, I’ve only just this minute seen the BNP Party Political Broadcast.
At least, I thought I had. Now I’m fairly convinced what I saw was a brilliant satire. I tend to ignore the BNP, so I wouldn’t know Nick Griffin from Peter Serafinowicz in a fatsuit. I’m given to understand that the BNP are trying to claim popularity on the back of the MPs’ expenses scandal, presumably on the grounds that MPs are unpopular and they’re the only party who don’t have any. If this video is real, they’re actually going more for a kind of pity-vote. It’s so adorable. Here, have a look:
My favourite part is the woman who stands in front of bemused-looking houses presenting a bizarre kind of plumbing forecast. I love that she stumbles repeatedly on the word ‘hip’, and yet nobody thought to try anything as reckless as a second take. But my favourite part of this, my favourite part, is when it cuts from there to another, nearly identical scene, with about half a nanosecond’s pause between the sentences. It looks like a Mitchell and Webb sketch that would start with ‘hello and welcome to Coverage Of People Asking For Security Lighting And Getting It. We’re here with this elderly couple who want a downstairs shower and we’ll be catching up with them when it’s been installed which is now’.
I also liked the bit where Nick Griffin brilliantly promises ‘no Big Brother spychips, inyerbins’, as if that had ever been a major concern. You can’t just make up policies and then promise not to enact them. ‘No spy chips in your bins, no compulsory gay sex for children, and we won’t nail a railway sleeper to your dog.’ Thanks. I think I’m going to go vote for the man from the Nationwide adverts.
And just when you think it might actually be real, it cuts to hopeless graphic of the website, with a voiceover that sounds like it was recorded in a toilet cubicle. And then the phone number appears behind the on-screen graphic! That’s the final brilliant touch that lifts this video out of Slightly Naff and into the realm of Satirical Genius.
And the whole way through the video, everyone is trying very hard to squeeze everything in. There are almost no pauses between sentences, even where you really need one. And yet, most of the time they’ve used is wasted on fluffing lines and the huge pause at the end while clipart shuffles ponderously around the screen.
It can’t be real — nobody would sign off on it as anything other than parody.
Tags for this article: BNP , Nick Griffin
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May 22nd, 2009 at 20:16
Where have you been for the past ten years? According to the Daily Mail gay sex already IS compulsory for chidren attending state schools! I do wish you`d pay attention!!
May 23rd, 2009 at 00:17
You can almost see the notes on the autocue – “Louder here”, “Quieter again now”, “Leave a bit of a of a gap next”, “Angry!”. Some of them should have a go at presenting have I got news for you.
May 23rd, 2009 at 10:50
It is that standard of talking, isn’t it? I don’t expect politicians, even insane ones, to be good at presenting to camera, but they should be able to find three party members who can do it a bit. Or, get actors in. Then they could have fake candidates for fake voters.
My worry with them presenting Have I Got News For You is that Ian Hislop would probably still come across as a bit of a dick and they’d look good in comparison.
May 23rd, 2009 at 14:37
That is extraordinary, quite a find.
May 23rd, 2009 at 19:16
I suppose you heard that the Spitfire used on their “very patriotic” election leaflet was one from a Polish squadron! It now appears from the Daily Mail site that all the photos and quotes on the leaflet are bogus (what a surprise) and that the people shown are all foreigners, hahaha!! You`d think they would have a bit more nous than that, even if they ARE neanderthal! Of course, I wouldn`t be the first one to point out the irony of a fascist party appealing to “The Dunkirk Spirit” either – who the bloody hell do they think we were fighting from 1939 to 1945!!!
May 24th, 2009 at 11:04
I see you`ve already got a link to that information – I was a bit slow there!
May 24th, 2009 at 22:06
Hang on, how did it take 30 years to fit a security light to an elderly person’s bungalow? People aren’t elderly for 30 years. They’re elderly for maybe 20 years tops, and then they die.
May 25th, 2009 at 12:51
Most of the time seems to have been wasted at the Sunshine Club – at least, I think that`s what it was called: you couldn`t hear anything because of the awful din in the background! And wasn`t the fat lady funny – sign her up for “Britain`s Got No Talent” immediately!! I notice that any reference to actual BNP policies was very thin on the ground – apart from some waffle from Nick Piggin about “doing what people want”. That would obviously involve restoration of the death penalty, and a lot of other regressive legislation then!
June 19th, 2009 at 06:24
So, despite the scoffing, didn’t they win?
I don’t want the death penalty and I think Britain needs MORE immigration. I’m not a BNP natural and would never vote for them because I suspect they are a racist party in disguise, but sneering at them and dismissing them out of hand does no one any credit.
Liberal Britain appears aghast at the fact that people actually voted for the BNP but instead of crying about it, they should be asking why that happened or, better still, coming up with a credible, electable alternative.
People are utterly sick of professional politicians like and the BNP video shown here has none of that, as all commenters gleefully pointed out (pre-election).
But perhaps the lack of slickness was part of the appeal and maybe it was ever so slightly deliberate. Perhaps the BNP were gaming you and a little bit smarter than you thought.
Or maybe BNP popularity is just a blip.
Anyway – I don’t know why I’m talking about politics. I came here because I was searching for pictures of coins and found the super sketch of the 20p with the hole/not-hole. Great site!
June 19th, 2009 at 09:37
I don’t know about ‘win’. They got 1.4% of the electorate to vote for them.
But the BNP are not gaming anyone. They’re not smart enough to game anyone. This is not a well-run operation. Doubtless parts of it are, but have you seen their MEPs in interviews? These are not political masterminds cunningly exploiting the vulnerable; these are racists and idiots voting for racist idiots, and nobody voting for the credible parties. That’s the problem: decent people not bothering to register their opinions.
It does rather depress me how reliably people can win elections almost everywhere just by spending money advertising themselves. Voters really don’t think at all.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:12
They`ll probably be in power before long, too. Most of the people interviewed on the telly seem to say the same thing – “We`re voting for X this time, because the others have been in power for some time now, and not done much good, so it`s time smeone else was given a chance.” This seems such a pre-eminently sensible way of choosing your government to me, as it does away with the need for expensive campaigns and time-wasting political debate!
October 20th, 2009 at 19:25
Nick Griffin makes some silly statemnet today about Winston Churchill being a natural supporter of his piss-poor party, and what do you think was the LEAD ITEM on the News tonight? I can just see the front-pages of tomorrow’s “news”papers as well! Do these people ever learn? (Hint – “No” is the correct answer.) I do think, however, that as a legitimate political party in this country, BNP representatives should be included in media political debates. Besides being their right it will, as with the above video, show them up for what they really are.
(BTW Maybe Whiffin’ really IS Peter Serafinowicz in a fat suit!)