Just when you thought the repulsive figure of Nick Griffin couldn't get any more ridiculous, he decides to treat us to his views on green issues. Global warming, he told Nicky Campbell, is a hoax, presumably perpetuated by "illegals," Johnny Foreigner and asylum seekers. The European elections on Thursday actually saw the Green Party win a greater share of the vote than the BNP, but inevitably it was our own wannabe goose steppers who grabbed the headlines.
What has this got to do with the events industry? Well, now that they have two seats in the European parliament, the BNP have access to previously untapped resources. They will want to seize the initiative and build momentum while they have the media spotlight. That will mean roadshows... party conferences... forums and debates... events in other words. I don't think anyone in the UK events industry should work with this group of ignorant thugs.
I have no problem at all with free speech. In fact I agree with Billy Bragg when he said that the BNP should be allowed a platform so that their grubby little world can be exposed for what it is. But that freedom also extends to our right as an industry to withdraw our services from individuals or groups which we find abhorrent.
As an agency with a focus on sustainability we're often asked which companies we would or wouldn't work for, and it can be difficult to know where to draw the line. It would depend on the individual circumstances and the attitude of the client concerned. But with the BNP there would be no such dilemma.
So let's spell it out. Here's my three point manifesto for the UK events industry:
1. Seventeen Events will never work with the BNP (that's the easy bit), or with any company or individual that works with the BNP. So lighting, photography, AV, staging, trucking, whatever - you work with them, you can't work with us.
2. I call on the UK event industry trade bodies to demand that their members do not work with the BNP. I would like to see Eventia, AEO, AEV, ESSA and the like saying to their members - if you work for the BNP, we will expel you.
3. Name and shame those who decide to put a quick buck ahead of principles. Let's expose anyone who does work for the BNP and ensure that potential customers know who they could be dealing with.
I have absolutely no delusions of grandeur about all of this - and you may well think that this is all a bit pompous. But the sight of people like Griffin trying to claim our country for their own narrow, extreme ends should be enough to make us all say "enough."
