Lauren McLaren: mad dogs and Englishmen

Fearing the immigrant

Three weeks ago, the British National Party held its annual two-day Red White & Blue Festival in Sawley, Lancashire.

This may sound frightening to most people, who imagine hordes of skinheads getting together to stoke each other up with nationalist propaganda and then going out in the evenings to beat up some poor soul who happens to have the wrong skin colour.

Based on the list of activities available at the festival, however, one could be forgiven for thinking that it is just a bit of fun with hours of carefully timetabled entertainment. One could have participated in the tug-of-war competition, taken in a bit of good, clean "family comedy" (or some "non-PC comedy" for the grown-ups in the evening), watched a Punch and Judy show, danced around a maypole, listened to cover versions of classic pop, rock and even Frank Sinatra songs and, of course, enjoyed a nationalist dog show. Oh, and then there were the odd 15 minutes or so for "nationalist poetry", "nationalist classics" and "British history for kids". For the hard core, there was also a "leaflet design workshop", which could be followed by sessions on "what can you say and write without getting arrested" and "party security". And all for only £30 for a weekend family ticket.

Given that participants could camp for the weekend in a truly beautiful part of England, one might have expected thousands of white supremacists to turn up. To judge from the BNP's own "taster" clip from last year's festival on its website, it would be surprising if there were more than a couple of hundred people singing along to My Way or cheering on the German shepherds. But even though most white Britons do not attend such festivals or vote for parties such as the BNP, many do seem to share concerns that such groups express.

We know, for instance, that anti-immigration sentiment is on the rise. And we also know that one of the main concerns of white Britons has to do with the values of new entrants to the country - it is perceived that they just do not share the same customs and traditions as established citizens.

By definition, no society can function without at least a few shared norms, principles or values; and so it is perhaps not unreasonable for people in a society to worry about these things. To look at the BNP festival, however, it is unclear as to what these customs and traditions might be. Maypoles? Non-PC comedy? Dog shows? Are these really the sorts of things that people think need defending by restricting immigration to this country?

It is perhaps ironic that it may be that the values that are of deepest concern to British citizens are values that the likes of the BNP have more difficulty expressing - notions of fair play, politeness, stoicism and hard work, for example. It is not clear, though, how the anonymous group labelled "immigrants" threatens these values. In fact, it should be recognised that one of the factors that attracts new migrants to Britain is a perceived acceptance of a diverse range of cultures and beliefs, whether served up as politics or even a chance to participate in a dog show. If that is not a testament to British values and customs, I do not know what is.

Lauren McLaren is a politics lecturer at Nottingham University. She will speak at the Political Studies Associations' Elections, Parties and Public Opinion conference at Nottingham University, September 8.