Their economics are left-wing, there's no doubt about that.

I don't really think being racist is a solely right or left wing thing, so that's irrelevant to where they lay.

I don't think these labels work for a party like the BNP, others are easier. UKIP are right-wing, No2EU are left-wing, English Socialists are left-wing, English Democrats are right-wing. The BNP is, as one might expect, totally different to all of them. So different that it doesn't fit on a political compass, perhaps they don't deserve to be on it.

Perhaps instead of 'far-right' or 'far-left', we just call them the racist BNP?

Yeah, I was going to write a variation of Bob J's comment. As excellent as Unity's article is, albeit slightly loose in places, I think we're in danger of crediting the BNP with more intellectual capacity than is warranted.

It's barely possible to identify the BNP with the human race, never mind a particular political ideology.

Mussolini was a Socialist before founding Fascism.

Hitler was an admirer of both Marx and Darwin, and was taken with the kind of corporatism that the leaders of today's Labour Party have sadly indulged in aling with the Tories, since 1945. NSDAP does include the word socializmus i.e. socialism.

Really fascism is the bastard child of Karl Marx. British socialism, with it's links to the trades unions and co-operative movement, and thus a link to the real working class was not, until the Labour Party was infiltrated by Trotskyists and Communists in the 1930's.

Left and Right are really outdated expressions, linked to the French Revolution, a jolly long time ago.

If the BNP is so bad why does New Labour not do the modern thing and ban it, like smoking in the pub and freedom of expression?

Be careful of Wayman Bennett and his pals in the UAF - when supping with the (Trotskyist) Devil, make sure to take a long spoon ...

I've heard the word(s) ethno-nationalist being used to describe them, but what it was that positioned these groups to the right - despite of their economics - is their fetishisation of nation politics, and traditional outlooks on certain institutions. Despite what some political writers like John Gray and others say, the terms left and right DO still mean something in our day. WE just all need to remind ourselves what they mean to go any further with this argument (which has occupied the spaces of Liberal Conspiracy, Iain Dale and other blogs all night...)

Carl, but Old Labour was just as obsessed about nation. It wanted protectionism (as the BNP do), it didn't trust the EU - was for a long time the country's Eurosceptic voice - (as the BNP don't), it wanted to stem globalization and have jobs here.

Now, of course, Old Labour wasn't racist, but it had as much of a 'fetish' for nation politics. Most parties tend to, and probably for good reason.

I've yet to see much of a reason to consider the BNP right-wing. Some reason to consider it left-wing, but all of it rather meaningless with a party like theirs. We can't really expect to place anti-Semitism, hatred of black & Asian people, Holocaust-denial, anti-Gay, anti-Muslim policies on a left-to-right axis.

Unity drivels on like exactly the sort spotty politico little nerd that forms the onanistic leadership of the odious BNP. He demonstrates they take their ideas form anti Semitic continental collectivists and calls black white by pretending that nationalisation and Public ownership are Conservative ideas . The Channel four survey showed that BNP voters are overwhelmingly some time Labour voters and previous surveys of Labour voters have shown that they often place the BNP as a second choice Party (35% quoted by Nick Coen ).
Eugenic theories were commonly held by the early left conspicuously by the Fabians and in fact these theories were influential in Australia and contributed to the genocide of the aborigines . This was because the left were more impressed with “Science “ than Conservatives who have never had an racist element to their creed. Margaret Thatcher had Eight Jews in her cabinet and the only strain of racism I detect in any of the main Parties is the consistently anti Semitic bias of the left . Also the willingness to forgive the outright racism of Islam and anyone in fact , not white .
Surveys show that to the question would you children marrying a black man” disgust you” whites and working class whites especially were far far far the least racist community in this country . Note that Bob , working class whites are the least racist even less so than middle-class whites , but all are enormously better than any other ethnic group.
The argument seems to be that is right to call the BNP right wing because they hate immigration and conservatives re more worried about it than the
If the end point of immigration concern is genocide as is implied perhaps you would like to tell me what you views on immigration are Bob ? Do you want open borders? Do you support the end of the country as anything other than a geographically expression. If not then you are apparently a racist by the logic of this slippery slope nomenclature .
I do not care if political students wish to trace lines of decent from, the French Revolution to a fringe fascist Party . If there is any implication whatsoever that this has anything to do with the Conservative Party and Conservatism then it is a lie a smear and if you admit that to be a fact then I will be happy for you to call the BNP whatever you like .

Just stop lying and smearing by the poor and imprecise use of language.

Obviously "far-right" is the accurate term for the BNP, but it's clear that many over-sensistive dears are feeling deeply offended by the association, so we should perhaps consider adopting a different term, out of respect for their feelings.

How about "ultra-Tory"? "Nick Griffin, leader of the ultra-Tory BNP, arrivied in Brussels today..." Can we all get behind that?

It is I suppose an emblem of Muphry's Law (sic) that Unity mispells illiterate.

And the 'right-wing' thing on the BNP demonstrates little more than that since fascists were historically considered right-wing by virtue of their opposition to communists, fascists and neo-fascists have always since been referred to as right-wing, even though there's not much that identifies them with centre-right politics.

It is, ultimately, a barren argument, but one that annoys the Tories. And in these dark times it would be decidedly mean of us to seek to deprive you of that.

Extremists of any ilk are at one end of the spectrum, Bob and moderates at the other.

Keir Hardie wrote

'Hitler was an admirer of Marx' - sources please?

Without those, I think you are talking nonsense.

Instead of left / right/ neo this or that, why don't we just label them "stupid" and ignore them.

Montgomerie hasn't got the foggiest idea what a duck is. How right you are Bob ! Having recently read in "timesonline" that Nadine Dorries MP says that she had an "affair" with Tim Montgomerie ( and it was serious ) alas all over now ah ! and she doesn't do one night stands.
Well what can you say when Tim gets involved with Nutty As A Fruit Cake Dorries.