London is facing a visit from Gabor Vona, the leader of Hungarian fascist party Jobbik. See more from Owen Jones here.
He should arrive to find opposition, protests and information campaigns about the nature of his party. But it is a mistake to follow the lead of some London Labour MPs and AMs and appeal to the Home Secretary to prevent Vona entering the UK.
Never mind the irony of using border controls against a man who is all too much in favour of border controls, State bans of any sort cannot defeat fascism. They allow the far right to pose as victims, a favourite tactic, and set a dangerous precedent. Once it becomes established practice to exclude political speakers from a country because their words might foster extremism or stir up discontent, we move into very dangerous territory. Do you trust Theresa May to exercise this power responsibly? Even talk of 'inciting hatred' doesn't capture all and only fascists. Everyone from anti-austerity campaigners to fracking activists has been accused of it in the recent past.
No Platform is a reasonable policy. There is no reason the labour movement should provide fascists with meeting spaces or opponents in debates. State bans are something very different, and not the way forward.
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