The BNP would ensure the “protection of British companies from unfair foreign imports” (source).
The BNP believes that in order to rebuild our manufacturing base British industries need to be protected in a similar style to that employed by East Asian countries such as Japan or South Korea. In the past, such countries have used a variety of tactics including tariffs, quotas, special tax arrangements, cheap loans, and currency undervaluation. By limiting the number of imports and raising their prices, they believe they can give British companies a captive market.
Remember, the effect a BNP system of tariffs could cost us each an extra £1,300 a year.
The non financial effects of their protectionist measures are even worse:-
- They reduce diversity and choice. Today, we can wear clothes made by Milanese designers, drink wine from the valleys of New Zealand, or use computers made in Tokyo to access websites designed by Indians in California. It’s difficult to put absolute numbers on the value of this, but a recent fair estimate by Broda and Weinstein estimated the U.S. welfare gain from a greater variety of imports could be as much as much as 2.6% of GDP, or $1,000 each a year.
- Quotas create rationing and waiting lists. As well as tariffs, another mainstay tool of protectionist policy are quotas. The BNP might not block the entry of the new iPad to Britain entirely, but you’d have to be in the lucky first 1,000 people on a waiting list to get one. More crucially, there would be these waiting lists for items in every area of our life – from pairs of jeans to the latest medicine.
- They lose money from the British economy. While tariffs at least raise some money which could be used to cut taxes elsewhere, quotas don’t raise any money – at least for our government. What they do do is create an artificial scarcity which raises prices, but that extra profit goes straight into the pocket of overseas producers.
- They’d kick off a trade war. Once Britain unitarily imposed a system tariffs and quotas, it would not take long for other countries to respond in kind, or the WTO to chuck us out. British goods would be blocked from going overseas, leaving our manufacturing industry no better off than it was before and all of us worse off.
- They’d inspire corruption. The inevitable result of rationing is black markets being formed. Decent, honest Britons would lose out, while the corrupt and wealthy paid through the nose to to keep on their old lives.
- They take away consumer choice. In today’s economy, we as informed consumers increasingly expect to be in control. Rather than being what told to do by big government or by big corporations, we want to choose what we want and when. In the internet long tail age, our niche interests and tastes traverse the whole globe. We don’t want to wait six months after America for the latest Hollywood blockbuster or Sony gadget.
International trade and the variety of goods it brings make our daily life more vibrant and dynamic. The BNP’s plan would return us to a dull, grey world, where we all consumed the same brands, wore the same clothes and drove the same cars. They’d increase the corruption and jealousy in British society as people fought to get their fair share. They’d take away our choice, limit our freedom and make Britain a more boring place to live.
Tags: policy
I have a feeling other politicians will get us there first, maybe a ration on the amount of carbon we can emit?
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What will the Torys do to increase investment in British industry and jobs?
Nothing. So voters have nothing to lose by voting for the BNP.
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AussieAl – the BNP would cause a massive cut in investment. Just to start, they’d ban foreign direct investment. No more Toyota factories or Amazon warehouses
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Jonathan
you are being disingeneous, as we both know that the BNP are not going to win the keys to 10 Downing st. Voters have a right to know what the Tory’s industry policy is, especially those who might be dithering between voting Tory or BNP.
As i said, Britain has nothing to lose by flirting with the BNP.
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The purpose of our Policy Focus series is to show how their policies would be disastrous for Britain, and hurt most the working class the BNP claim to represent.
If you want to know the Tory policy, your best bet is to visit http://www.conservatives.com/. It’s not really our job here to discuss the mainstream parties.
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“No more Toyota factories or Amazon warehouses”
They’ll probably disappear anyway!
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NB have no idea how we true patriots think and feel; if they did they would not constantly attack the BNP, instead they would focus on the madness of multicultural policy afflicting this nation.
Vote BNP and stand up for British values.
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Hey P.A. hope your well.
Bad news though… British values of Fairness , good manners , justice etc etc dont really tally with the BNP and its ideals, hence it being a minority party since its formation and on the brink of becoming MULTICULTURAL … which is only right because you dont have to be a white christian to love Britain/England etc etc
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I don’t recall the BNP ever stating you “have to be a white christian to love Britain/England”, only that you have to be British to be British.
The establishments view is that the indigenous British do not even exist and if they do they’re a mongrel people and yet it’s the BNP being accused of the dreaded racism.
Jack Straw : “The English are not worth saving as a race”, now imagine if Nick Griffin had said that about the Irish, Jewish, Polish, Nigerian, Somalian etc etc
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Isn’t it funny how the other parties always try to find flaws in BNP policies from the safety of blogs like this one, but will run a mile, or resort to the old accusation of racism, when challenged to debate BNP policies face to face.
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I’d very happily live off meagre rations if it meant being rid of the liblabcons.
Not sure the toffs that run this site could survive without their fine Cuban cigars though !!!
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I am convinced the Torys are scared of the possible electoral gains the BNP might make at the next election. I wonder what the Tory private polling shows.
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Jonathan, I’ve concluded that you must live in a different world from the rest of us!
Selective protectionist measures have always been used by the world’s major economies (Japan, USA, China), determined by a natural desire to protect their own people’s welfare, something that globalist Tories have never been motivated by. Nationalists have always believed in international trade but this has to be based on a solid bedrock of the home economy.
Your picture of the BNP implementing blanket tariffs on all imports is wrong. Selective protectionism is a positive measure in the interests of the British people.
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Jim, the only people those protectionist measures normally helped out was rich capitalists who their government had granted a captive monopoly.
Rightly, the British priority has always been free trade and helping the poor in our society. Sadly, that actually hasn’t always been the unanimous Tory position – take the Tariff Reform League (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff_Reform_League ). Thankfully, they were defeated by the Liberals, and those who’d rather keep the price of bread low than followed discredited continental ideas.
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The TRL actually sounded a good economic policy…
“The TRL aimed at the British Empire being transformed into a single trading bloc to compete with Germany and the United States. It was in favour of hefty duties on imports and the channelling of the money raised from these duties into social reforms.”
Whats wrong with that?! Thats the most sane tory policy I have ever heard!
As for the bread, I’m sure there was plenty of wheat in Canada!
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Oi Jonathan du ponse
We had our own car factories before Toyota and what is amazon,its a river,grow up you idiot……….God these people have short memories.
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same oul peggy….think his way,or he will slander you,thats the racist way though,you wouldnt expect it any other way
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i think we could ration the bnps air intake
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Only if we can have your ration!
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Did you just admit to being an oxygen thief ? Or are you suggesting the BNP shouldn’t be given the oxygen of publicity?
If the latter is the case I think you should leave that to the controlled media, they have of coursed mastered the art of opinion manipulation.
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naw mate ,i just dont like the bnp,simpleees
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