The BNP should play no part in British politics says Tory leader

5:31pm Tuesday 24th November 2009

By Kevin Bradford

NATIONAL issues dominated the discourse last night during Tory leader David Cameron's visit to a Hendon school.

Despite visiting an area close to what he described as the “marginal seat” of Finchley and Golders Green, there was little debate or questioning on topics relevant to the borough.

No mention was made of the Barnet Council's proposed “Future Shape” plans, which have been widely praised by the Conservatives nationally, of the controversial warden cuts, or of the recently approved multi-billion pound redevelopment of Brent Cross Cricklewood.

Instead Mr Cameron was grilled by the audience of about 150 people on matters such as the war in Afghanistan, immigration and the BNP.

On the current crisis in the Middle East, Mr Cameron said pulling out now, or remaining where we are, are not options.

He said: “The right option is what I would say is surge up to train up to get out. You increase the commitment, particularly America, to increase the training of the Afghan national army so they can take more responsibility in their own country.”

He also said there should be tighter controls on immigration, and claimed limits on the overall numbers should be put in place to ensure net levels of people coming into the country is in the tens of thousands and not the hundreds of thousands.

Mr Cameron was able to joke with the audience that he “hoped it wasn't too much of a Tony Blair moment” when after about ten minutes he took off his suit blazer, before continuing to answer questions for about an hour at the Hasmonean High School for boys.

He went on to emphasise his belief that MPs expenses should be a lot more transparent and outlined his support for an independent review panel.

He also joined the wider condemnation of banking bosses and ruled he would cut bonuses while bringing in greater regulations by putting the power back to the Bank of England. There was a cautious note when it came to answering questions about cutting the 50p tax rate, claiming it would benefit the county's finances, about which he said “the cupboard is bare, in fact, we've sold the cupboard”.

Talking about the BNP, Mr Cameron described them as “a problem” that mainstream politicians need to work out how to deal with and added: “I don't think of the BNP as particaully extreme right, I just think of them as extremely unpleasant.

“Their whole theory is about trying to divide people against each other on the basis of the colour of their skin or on the basis on their culture or background, and I don't think they should have any part in British politics at all.”

When questioned on the 2012 Olympics, he stated the country needs to make sure it make it a success and said: “The real test will be, not just do lots of people go to the Olympics, but do we as a whole country get a legacy out of the Olympics.”

Any questions you would like submitted to David Cameron can be sent to The Times-Series. We will then select ten of the best for the Tory leader to answer. Questions can be emailed to Times-Series group editor Rachel Sharp at rsharp@london.newsquest.co.uk