When I started this blog nearly 4 years and nearly 300 posts ago one of the labels I used for it/me was "radical." Perhaps I used it a little unreflectively. Recently I've been pondering what radical means. A couple of things have made me think of this. Firstly this blog series from my friend Jeremy, which explores a distinction between "radical progressives" and "rational progressives." There is also this definition of radical, liberal and conservative from Terry Eagleton quoted at Young Anabaptist Radicals : “Radicals are those who believe that things are extremely bad with us, but they could feasibly be much improved. Conservatives believe that things are pretty bad, but that’s just the way the human animal is. And liberals believe that there’s a little bit of good and bad in all of us.” What interests me is finding a way to express the tension I feel sometimes between myself and the wider Unitarian movement. One way to express this is to say I tend
Seeking paradise in Cardiff
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It is clear from the recent European elections that there is a debate over national identity, immigration and state / constitutional issues that needs to take place.
Turnout was lower across the political spectrum (down from 40% to 30% I think) - therefore, whilst it is to be acknowledge that research shows loyalist BNP voters are more likely to turnout, it still has to be recognised that the BNP's electoral performace was maintained and arguably improved slightly.
There are two big agendas coming into play here - a general fear from the political / media establishment over radical parties breaking through and specifically, a refusal to acknowledge the nationalist sentiments of a large swathe of the British public.
These sentiments - expressing themselves in votes for anti-immigration and anti-European integration parties - strengthen the argument that we need a national debate over future policies in relation to national identity, multiculturalism, immigration and the nature of the political system in light of European integration.
If the political-media elites and the left continue to act like ostriches on these issues by putting their head in the sands, the frustrations of the public will eventually manifest itself as a destructive beast (i.e more votes for the extreme right / left).