Of course the BBC were right to give the BNP a place on TV.

Of course the BBC were right to give the BNP a place on TV. At this year's European elections 11% of voters in Dudley Borough voted for the BNP. It would be an insult to these voters to say that their votes in some way didn't count. And it was right of the BBC to let members of the audience and the other panellists "have a go" at Nick Griffin for his appalling views. But at the same time it was wrong of the BBC to allow the programme to proceed in front of a studio audience that so clearly failed to represent the balance of opinion on the issues concerned. Democracy means taking people's views seriously even when you fundamentally disagree with them.

It is no surprise that white working class voters should feel let down by the Conservative and Labour Parties who, in government, have increased inequality, lost the plot over immigration policy, let the bankers play fast and loose with people's jobs, prevented local councils from providing housing for those on the housing list, and allowed MPs to gain unfair advantage from fiddling their "second homes" allowances.

But however angry people are, they should think very, very carefully before ever casting any vote for the BNP. It has to be said that there is really no justification for voting for a party which deliberately places itself in the tradition of the horrendous (and disastrously failed) policies of Mosley, Mussolini and Hitler, even if that party has repudiated their worst excesses in an attempt to appear more cuddly. It would be a tragedy for our country if voters' anger should cause them to turn in that particular direction.

There is a serious alternative party that wants to bring about real change - to change people's lives for the better. Voting Liberal Democrat is a better way to protest, and at the same time a positive step towards a fairer, better Britain.

Chris Bramall

Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate, Stourbridge constituency