THE English are a most unusual breed, are they not? And I can write that in the sure and certain knowledge that I am among their number. We have wildly conflicting opinions, especially about race relations.

The question of colour and the emotions it can engender -- prejudice, suspicion, fear, hatred even -- have been thrown into sharp focus by the assault, allegedly perpetrated by Asian youths, on an elderly man in Oldham.

Certainly the pictures of his battered face, shown repeatedly on television, were sufficient to raise levels of emotion in the vast majority of even the most liberal households.

And one wouldn't need the IQ of an Einstein to predict the reaction among other, less tolerant segments of our society, looking for any excuse to stir up racial hostility.

Of course unconfirmed rumours of exclusion zones in Oldham-- the much publicised no-go areas for whites and Asians -- will have added to the tension, hardly eased by a report that the British National Party was in the process of orchestrating a march through the town.

At the time I was writing this column, Oldham Council, representative of both cultures, was holding emergency meetings to head off the threatened arrival of the BNP, whose supporters are vehemently opposed to immigration.

The question of race seems certain to be an important issue in the General Election, and Conservative leader William Hague has become embroiled in an internal wrangle which has further damaged his image.

In fact, critics inside and outside the Tory ranks are growing increasingly strident about his credibility as party leader.

This follows the comments by right wing MP John Townend about the British being a 'mongrel race', Mr Hague's refusal to expel him, black Tory peer Lord Taylor of Warwick threatening to defect to the Labour Party and former Conservative Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath referring to his sacking of the late Enoch Powell for his "rivers of blood" speech and castigating Mr Hague for not taking similar action over John Townend.

In fact, Mr Heath went further. He suggested that Mr Hague's attitude on race had led to the Conservatives being placed on "the extreme right," a view endorsed by Nick Griffin, chairman of the British Nationalist Party.

Mr Griffin said the Tory leader had "opened the door on the immigration debate" and hastened the day when the BNP would be in a position to slam the door on immigration. The last thing Mr Hague needs just now is a ringing endorsement from the leader of the BNP.

Turmoil

In the midst of the turmoil created by the Oldham incident and the Tory in-fighting, one local businessman of my acquaintance -- a humorous, cheerful and essentially decent man -- made passing reference to how simple it was to inflame people's emotions when it came to matters of race.

He used as his example the violence and humiliation inflicted on the Jews in Nazi Germany and suggested that while not every German bore direct responsibility for the holocaust, their indifference to the suffering of the victims contributed in no small way to the actions of the party leaders.

He stopped short of suggesting that the same thing could happen here, though in no doubt that incidents like the one in Oldham, and the recurring problem of asylum seekers viewed as 'freeloaders' by some indigenous 'Brits', could lead to further significant erosion of racial tolerance.

We now get to the thoughts behind my assertion, in the opening paragraph of this column, that the English are an unusual breed.

Around the same time as the Conservatives were bicking over the racial issue and problems were mounting in Oldham, Nelson Mandela arrived in Britain to say thanks to the thousands of anti-apartheid activists who had campaigned for his release from prison and free, democratic elections in South Africa.

Mr Mandela, who is 82, is now feted throughout the world as a statesman, his unquenchable spirit and courage viewed as an outstanding example of man's determination to rise above injustice, cruelty and despair.

At the height of the UK protests about his incarceration, which lasted for 27 years, a group called The Specials had a hit with a song called 'Free Nelson Mandela'. The music industry was prominent among the anti-apartheid movement in the UK and Mr Mandela was guest of honour at the huge concert of celebration in Trafalgar Square on Sunday.

Quite what he would have made about the current ripples of unrest over race can very easily be forecast. He would be filled with sorrow that a country which fought so hard on his behalf should be beset by its own racial tensions.

Maybe he was cossetted from the truth, which is a shame if he was. He could have given Mr Hague some much-needed advice on how to resolve his party's internal squabbles, which seems to have diverted attention from Tony Blair's problems over the livestock crisis.

Mr Blair's team haven't exactly covered themselves in glory with their handling of the foot and mouth epidemic. But Mr Hague's lot are suffering from a similar disease, almost as contagious and definitely as deadly -- politically that is. It's called foot in mouth!!!