The former leader of the British National Party, self-declared “lifelong white rights fighter” and all-round grotesque has-been Nick Griffin has found a new political project to funnel his bile into.
The Labour Party.
In a tweet, he has threatened to vote Labour for the first time in his life, because somewhere along our bizarre political spectrum, Jeremy Corbyn’s reticence about condemning the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad for a chemical attack killing dozens of his own people has chimed with Griffin’s own worldview.
“IF he sticks to his guns then for the first time in my life I will vote Labour,” Griffin tweeted. “Right now NOTHING is more important than resisting the psychotic rush to WW3 of Boris and the neocons.”
IF he sticks to his guns then for 1st time in my life I will vote #Labour – right now NOTHING is more important than resisting the psychotic rush to #WW3 of Boris & the #neocons Corbyn refuses to blame Assad for chemical attack in #Syria https://t.co/ifxqeFlqvd via @MailOnline
— Nick Griffin (@NickGriffinBU) April 9, 2018
This tweet falls between one calling Donald Trump wise and another condemning BBC lies.
While online onlookers boggle at Griffin pledging this unlikely allegiance, it has long been the policy of far-right politicians in the UK to urge the government to keep out of foreign wars. Ukip sums up this view in its 2017 manifesto:
“Ukip will avoid allowing Britain to become embroiled in foreign wars. We will maintain our sceptical view of neoconservative arguments for attempting to deliver change in the Middle East at gunpoint. You cannot bomb people into democracy.”
This stance comes from apparent fears about terrorism and immigration spreading to the west (though it really just sounds like xenophobia), whereas the Labour leader’s dovish approach, however controversial within his own party, is based on the devastating effects he believes western intervention can have on the Middle East.