By Nick Bradley

Originally published by The Libertarian Press

In recent days, the British media has relished slamming Conservative Member of Parliament Jacob Rees-Mogg for addressing a dinner which was hosted earlier this year by the Traditional Britain Group (TBG), an organisation which upholds traditional conservative values and is chiefly characterised by disgruntlement, patriotism and nostalgia. The media also attacked the TBG, labelling it ‘far-right’, ‘racist’, and accusing them of being affiliated with other ‘far-right’ groups in Europe.

When the press learned that Rees-Mogg had been enjoying the hospitality of a group in favour of voluntary repatriation and allegedly affiliated with Le Front National in France, they could not believe their luck. The familiar practices of phoney outrage and customary condemnation were exercised in the media and in the press releases of opportunistic labour politicians.

Rees-Mogg was hauled onto Newsnight and questioned. The Old Etonian, clearly under instruction from whimpering conservative officials, said that it had been a serious mistake to attend the dinner and that he had nothing whatsoever to do with them. He has thrown away the credibility he has earned in the Commons for being a genuine, unapologetic and audacious politician, with a likeable eccentricity and a rare talent for oratory. For Rees-Mogg’s many admirers, his response has been bitterly disappointing.

Ultimately, this is a question of free speech. Rees-Mogg merely addressed an audience. The idea that politicians should attend only the dinners of people deemed left-wing enough by the mainstream media is a disturbing prospect. A country in which inoffensive audiences are selected for politicians by the media using cross-party consensual committees is Soviet-esque. Suspicion and fear embody the political process.

This is exactly the right way to prevent radical thinking, to prevent progress, and to discourage free thought. If reasoned and rational debate is desired, then people from different political persuasions should be encouraged to address each other, attend each others’ dinner parties, and ultimately debate with one another. For instance, is it not beneficial for a group of Holocaust deniers to be addressed by Holocaust survivors? The TBG knew full well that Rees-Mogg would never endorse some of their views. Nevertheless, they made him their guest of honour. For this, they should be praised.

For instance, whilst I am not a supporter of the TBG and disagree with their stances on some issues, I believe that they must be included in the democratic process and they provide a necessary counterweight to the powerful lobbies in favour of diversity, multi-culturalism, political correctness and Colonial guilt. These values are in no way absolute.

Admittedly, the impassioned response posted by the TBG on its Facebook page following the appointment of anti-racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence to the House of Lords, is disconcerting to say the least. The post called for the voluntary repatriation of Lawrence and ‘millions of others’. However, the criticism of Lawrence’s appointment is entirely legitimate and justified.

Baroness Lawrence

Doreen Lawrence has long been granted the state-sponsored status of infallibility and immunity by the media, driven by fear that any criticism of her might be misconstrued as racist. In the same week that UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom underwent a thoroughly pointless media assault for alleged “racism”, the attempted prevention of criticism towards Lawrence is just another example of political correctness gone mad.

As a paid member of the House of Lords she cannot be covered in BBC bubble wrap any longer and she must undergo the same thorough scrutiny and criticism that the likes of George Osborne, David Cameron and Nick Clegg regularly receive.

Lawrence’s peerage is an admission that the Lords is no longer a serious debating chamber. It has long been an overcrowded and extortionate fun-house full of wealthy business-people, champagne socialists and political appointments. When working-class lad Lord Prescott complains that he must attend prayers before the House sits in the morning in order to squeeze his over-sized chassis onto the chamber’s benches, it represents a good analogy of the farcical contradiction that is the House of Lords today.

So with Rees-Mogg receiving a tidal wave of criticism for daring to accept a dinner invitation, with Godfrey Bloom branded ‘racist’ for making a light-hearted comment, with the TBG smeared by the media and cynical Labour politicians, and with any questioning of Doreen Lawrence’s appointment deemed unthinkable, Britain’s traditional democratic values are under threat. The country is plunging towards the dark depths of totalitarianism and liberal bigotry. Unless there are radical cultural changes (and soon), Britain will sink into an oily seabed of censorship, restriction and ‘far-right’ witch-hunting; an Orwellian nightmare.