Paul Waugh, posting on a rumour of a Con/Lab pact in Barking to keep out Nick Griffin of the BNP - a story which has subsequently been denied - incorporates a video clip of Margaret Hodge, Labour MP for Barking, being interviewed on Channel 4 News prior to the appearance of Griffin on the infamous Question Time programme.
Margaret Hodge makes an interesting argument for debate with Griffin in which she says "It is through debate that you can expose people, their bigotry, their lies........In a democracy we have to uphold those values of democracy and debate with them - not through censorship...."
Politicians of all parties now fill our television screens, newspapers and the internet debating, for example, the economy and the need for cuts - yet without specifying exactly where the cuts will be or how much - and in fact will debate just about everything but the subject of democracy and who actually governs us.
David Cameron has called Ukip 'fruitcakes and nutcases' - a view I feel sure shared by Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg - which presumably also covers anyone else who wishes to end our membership of the EU. Therefore, as bigots and, presumably, liars, why will they not discuss with us 'Outers' the most basic question of all and uphold one of the values of democracy, a subject which they all profess to hold dear.
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