"No Platform" posturings

Via Snowolf, I see the self-proclaimed 'progressives' Ken Livingstone and whoever's standing for the Greens have pulled out of a BBC London debate for the mayoral election, taking the standard umbrage at the participation of the BNP candidate. Said Ken:

"The far right want to destroy our democracy and stand for the elimination of our basic rights. They cannot be treated as a legitimate part of politics."

That would scan just as well with 'far left' instead of 'far right', and as for the Gaia-worshippers, you could amend it thus:

"The greens want to destroy our economy and stand for the elimination of most of the population. They cannot be treated as a legitimate part of politics."

As for 'progressives' in general, it's worth noting what exactly that term meant in the first half of the 20th century. By those standards, Hitler was incredibly 'progressive', given that he went further than anyone to implement their favoured eugenics programmes. He was also an early pioneer of enviro-mentalism, what with his new agey love of the 'sacred forests'.

Ken just doesn't want people to see how close the BNP's policies are to his own, and the greens want to sneak into the mainstream of politics, even though, if they ever got the chance, they'd be far more extreme than any of the other parties. As for the other two establishment types, it's likely they'll pull out. Boris will claim a prior engagement, and Brian will bottle it, as without the other two, he'll have nothing to say. No problem. We will then have the opportunity to hear from the UKIP fellow and the independent woman, from whom we note:

Despite those withdrawals, a spokeswoman for UK Independence Party candidate Lawrence Webb said he was still planning to take part.

"We are going to take every opportunity to talk to Londoners, particularly as we are fourth in the polls but are being treated as an also-ran."

She said it was "pathetic" to pull out of the debate over the BNP adding: "Are there any toys left in their pram?"

Independent Siobhan Benita said: "For me it's just really disappointing because this was the only platform the BBC had given me alongside Boris and Ken.

"My feeling is all seven candidates have been selected, all seven should have a voice."

Well indeed.