AV vote is rejected by UK

CRUSHING: A resounding victory for the 'No' campaign

ALTHOUGH counting has not concluded yet, the Liberal Democrats miserable 24 hours at the polls has just been finished off resoundingly.  Britain has decided to reject the ‘Yes to AV’ voting policy, which would have seen the Alternative Vote scheme, where voters would rank their politicians to vote for in order of preference.  Instead, we have decided to stick to the tried and tested formula of ‘First Past the Post.’  By just putting a simple x on the ballot papers, the country has decided to keep the simple policy at this referendum, and it is a crushing victory too.

LOOKING OVER: Clegg will be under pressure after this battering

    With 386 results declared in the 440 councils across England and Wales already, the ‘No’ campaign has already taken over 360 regions, with the ‘Yes’ campaign still staggeringly in single figures.  This is going to be a hammer blow to the Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg, who is already under pressure and will surely feel the full force at the next annual party conference in Liverpool in September.  This adds to total rejection in the council elections across the country, which saw a number of Lib Dems MP’s lose council seats, in which the party has had strangleholds on for the last decade, particularly in the North of the country such as Liverpool, Manchester and Clegg’s own constituency of Sheffield.

    Around 18.6million people voted in this referendum, but the percentage turnout of 41% (excluding Northern Ireland) is disappointing.  This hints that either people couldn’t care less about the referendum, or the feelings towards the coalition government in general are really starting to hit home, just under a year after its formation in Downing Street. 

    The crushing rejection by the British voters is a blow to the Lib Dems, who although feared a backlash, surely can’t have predicted such a grim response to one of their key pledges in their manifesto.  Danny Alexander, a Cabinet minister for the Liberal Democrats told Sky News of his thoughts;

“It is disappointing that people have chosen to vote the way they have.  I think there is a whole number of reasons for that, but I think the most important thing is to accept with good grace the verdict of the people and say 'That's that'."

This follows a harrowing night for the party, following their worst council elections results since the 1980s.  This morning, Clegg spoke to reporters outside his home and remained defiant, although he admitted it is ‘a kicking’ in which his party took.  It seems like the brunt of the blame has gone with Clegg and the Liberal Democrats within the coalition, especially with the controversial spending cuts, and the change in heart over a rise in tuition fees.  The battering of the Liberal Democrats means that Conservative support stuck relatively at the same.  The results will be of some relief to David Cameron, which suggests that the public don’t seem to mind his side of the coalition.  There were some encouraging results for Labour too, although they missed out narrowly on forming a majority government in the Welsh Assembly by a single vote.  Ed Miliband will be modestly satisfied with the results last night, especially as it was a test for him, considering the unpopularity he seems to hold from several political experts.

    Both Cameron and Clegg have insisted that the coalition will survive the referendum results, although things did turn very bitter in the ‘AV’ campaign, and definitely showed some cracks that simply weren’t there before.  What is clear is that the British public have spoken and made their decisions.  It is crystal clear that the Liberal Democrats are not the flavour of the month with anyone in Britain at the moment.

The AV vote - Making the right call

NEXT week, Britain goes to the polls again.  This time, it could well decide how the country votes in future elections.  Thanks to Nick Clegg and his failing party – we have to decide whether we want to keep the current voting system, or go for the ridiculous idea of numbering party candidates by first choice, second choice and so on.  Are you confused by the AV system, do you even care?  I don’t think people do to be honest, but all the same – it gives me the chance to express my thoughts on such a crucial system.

LISTENING: Cameron looks on as Reid gives his reasons

     Last week was a funny one, to see political rebels on the same platform as one another, promoting their views on AV.  Prime Minister David Cameron shared a stage with former Labour Home Secretary John Reid.  When Cameron said; ‘There aren’t many things me and John agree on,’ can you imagine what must have been going through Reid’s head.  Talk about stating the bloody obvious!  Cameron, Reid and the BNP leader, Nick Griffin are in the ‘No to AV’ camp.  I must admit – I’m in the same camp.  Yes, you heard it here first – I actually agree with something that Nick Griffin says and that makes me feel dirty inside!

     The current voting system works fine.  Okay, it doesn’t favour minority parties such as UKIP, the BNP, Green Party and others and it would mean another century of either ‘hung parliaments,’ or Conservative and Labour majority governments.  However, what’s so bad about that and I think, after the Liberal Democrats dramatic fall from grace in the past twelve months, many feel its bad enough they are part of a coalition at the moment, let alone if they governed the country solely.

     This referendum on the voting system was agreed in the coalition package last May, and was one of Nick Clegg’s critical reforms in his party manifesto.  So, he stuck to one of his pledges in pushing for something.  Such a shame he didn’t think the same way, when it came to tuition fees.  Students always saw the Liberal Democrats as their ‘natural’ party.  They were the only party that seemed interested in making higher education and University tuition fees a thing of the past.  Labour introduced them and the Tories were only interested in raising them.  So, when Clegg and current Business Secretary Vince Cable had their chance to rebel their point, they blew it and lost a load of staunch supporters.  Clegg doesn’t seem to regret it, but he should.  Last year, the Lib Dems were the crème of the crop and could have forged a major surprise in the General Election.  Fast-forward twelve months and the party has been battered at numerous by-elections, looks set to be thrashed at next week’s local and council elections and isn’t very liked within society.  Maybe ‘Yes to AV’ is a fairer voting system – but is it necessary?  Politics might be in a complete mess nowadays, but I think it would be in a worse state should ‘Yes to AV’ be passed. 

UNPOPULAR: Ed Miliband will do well to turn around his fortunes

     Plus, if you didn’t need any more convincing about the ‘Yes to AV’ being the wrong idea, Clegg’s biggest supporter is the Labour leader Ed Miliband.  Ed Miliband seems to be about as popular as a micro chip!  His party doesn’t seem to like him already and let’s be honest – what has he done since he was elected leader of the opposition last September, absolutely nothing!  If Miliband ever got into Downing Street, the consequences could be unimaginable.  What were the Trade Unions thinking when they backed Ed over David in the leadership contest last autumn!  David Miliband would have given Labour a more positive future, after the backwards steps it took in Gordon Brown’s later days.  In Ed Miliband, they have the wrong man in the job, when Labour could make big steps forward – especially when the coalition’s popularity is not very high in society.  Miliband backing Clegg doesn’t surprise me and it convinces me enough that ‘Yes to AV’ is the wrong way to go.

     In summary, the AV vote is not the most exciting thing to have ever gripped the country, but it is still valuable, especially with future elections in the balance on what happens at the ballot box next Thursday.  Whatever the nation ends up deciding, it will and with good grace.  I just hope you use your vote wisely and think of the possible outcomes before making your mind up.    

Tax demonstrations add to coalition issues

LAST weekend, the fast-growing movement UK Uncut stepped up their campaign over evasion of taxation regulations.  Across the country, demonstrations and blockades of shop entrances led to several major top-chain stores being forced to close their branches on their busiest day of the calendar year.  Why are these big businesses and individual avoiding the system and is it fair?  Journalism student Simon Wright looks into this controversial detail in closer form.

WITH the highly anticipated tuition fees vote in the House of Commons tomorrow, the budget cuts that the coalition government have come under severe fire in recent weeks. 

DEMOS: Protests take place last weekend at Oxford Street

One issue that seems to be dodged by all politicians is the lack of action on tax avoidance by some of the wealthiest in our country.  Last Saturday, campaigners from UK Uncut carried out some deep pop-up protests about the regulations, which force several branches of TopShop and Vodafone around the country to close their doors, on one of the busiest trading days of the year.  Several campaigners and journalists were ejected by security guards as demonstrations took place in 21 towns and cities across the UK.

UK Uncut is a fast-growing movement that is gathering growing support via social networking sites Twitter and Facebook.  Already, demonstrations have been planned this weekend for Aberystwyth, Chester and Bury St Edmunds.  A website was set-up as recently as November 28, with many people already getting involved.

A spokesman for UK Uncut, James Kelly told the Guardian; “Tax avoidance is a big issue and we believe this is the alternative to the cuts the government are making.”  UK Uncut is taking their action on two organisations in particular.

Vodafone dodge

TAXING: UK Uncut's strong opinion of Vodafone

OVER the last ten years, communications giant Vodafone have been fighting tooth and nail to avoid paying the government around £6billion in tax.  After a defeat this summer in court to HM Revenue and Customs, current chancellor George Osbourne let Vodafone off the hook, rather than force through the payment in October.  The UK Uncut called the action ‘shameless’ and furious ex-Vodafone customer Tamika Short agrees; “Everyone has to pay their way and the higher should pay more than poorer families and students.  What Vodafone are doing is an absolute disgrace!”

The campaign continues against Vodafone, and they aren’t the only businesses to be affected, with Boots, HSBC and Barclays Bank avoiding similar laws.

Greedy Green

THE ninth richest man in the UK, Phillip Green is also taking a lot of stick from UK Uncut.  Green, whose wealth was, estimated at £4.4billion in 2008 runs some of the biggest names on Britain’s high streets.  His retail empire includes TopShop, BHS and Dorothy Perkins.  Even though Green lives in the UK, he runs the Arcadia retail group that he doesn’t even own.  His wife does, and by living in the tax haven of Monaco, doesn’t have to pay a single penny.  One of the demonstrators, Chris_Coltrane posted this chant on Phillip Green in London on his Twitter account last weekend; “Where did all the money go?  He sent it off to Monaco!”

In 2005, Green awarded himself a cool £1.2billion, and divided it via tax havens in Monaco and Jersey.  It is costing the annual taxpayer around £300million, which angered protestor Benjamin Neem.  Neem told the BBC; “Phillip Green’s missing millions need to be reclaimed and invested into public services, not his wife’s bank account.”

Recently, Green was made an advisor on the spending cuts by David Cameron, which adds to the pain for many protestors, including James Kelly; “Phillip Green is a well-known tax avoider and today, we’re bringing our campaign right to the heart of the empire.”  In fact, his £285million dodge could pay the salaries of 20,000 NHS nurses and the full tuition fees of £9,000 for almost 32,000 students, an extraordinary statistic. 

Link with students

I ASKED accounting and finance expert at the University of Northampton, Christopher Cook on the issue, but he declined to comment, only saying “It would cause heated and long debates.”

The evasion of tax payments links in with the tuition fees issue, as these were two of the Liberal Democrats four key pledges that have been broken from their manifesto.  The newly-formed group UK Uncut is also believed to feature public sector workers, the unemployed and pensioners.

This is one debate that won’t go away, and the coalition government have now got major tests infront of them, if they are to control the growing frustration from many on the spending cuts.

Browne's Report Shakes-Up University Fees

TUESDAY morning saw the highly-anticipated news of Lord Browne’s report into higher education fees.  With it, there is very grim news for all students, both current and prospective who are thinking of university in their future careers.

If the coalition government goes ahead with Browne’s recommendation, students will be paying upto £6,000 a year to study at university.  Currently, the fee is capped at £3,290 a year.  Browne, a former chief executive of BP wants the current system to be replaced with a much easier format.  However, it now means that students could be finishing their degree in debt of more than £30,000.  The interest rates on student loans are also set to rise, from 1.5% to 2.2%.  To compensate these changes, Browne also wants to increase the salary threshold, so students begin paying back their loans, when they start earning £21,000 a year, rather than the current £15,000 scheme which is in place now.  It is by far the biggest shake-up in education policies for over two decades.

His report could cause a major rift in the current coalition partnership.  The Conservative party are certainly for the idea, but David Cameron will be desperate for the Liberal Democrats to back the proposal through parliament.  In the lead-up to the General Election, both Nick Clegg and Vince Cable were totally against a rise in tuition fees, making it one of their key pledges in their election manifesto.  The news has angered the president of the NUS (National Union of Students), Aaron Porter; "Lord Browne is clearly dangerously out of touch with the pressures faced by students and their families.  "The Government must reject proposals that would recklessly undermine our future by ending the notion of public higher education."

Compromises need to be made by all parties; even David Cameron said that in his first Downing Street media conference on Monday.  However, students are bound to rally around the expected rises, and many will question the point of university, especially if they become saddled in thousands of pounds of debt and with no guarantee of a decent job after graduation, especially in the tighter economic climate we live in today.  Plus, universities may struggle to get the intake required, especially if students start becoming scared to pay such ridiculous amounts of money.  Standards will need to rise in all universities; otherwise these changes simply can’t go through. 

This isn’t the last we’ve heard of tuition fees.  It is bound to be a major topic point throughout the autumn.

Cameron Gets The Keys, As Brown Makes A Dignified Exit

Just when you thought Monday's events couldn't be toppled, the political world was shaken once again, as after five days of bickering, negotiation and stalling, events unravelled last night, which now see the end of Labour rule.  After thirteen years in power, and three in No.10, Gordon Brown made a dignified exit from Downing Street and British politics.


Flanked by his family, he gave a graceful speech to the media, before heading off to Buckingham Palace, to tender his resignation to the Queen.  Around an hour later, the Queen accepted the request of David Cameron to form a coalition government, between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.  At last for many, Cameron has the keys to the most prestigious house in the UK.  As part of the deal, Nick Clegg is set to become the new Deputy Prime Minister, whilst Harriet Harman will step into Brown's shoes, as the Acting Labour Leader, until autumn's party conference.


No more words can describe the monumental shift in political power yesterday, so here are a few YouTube videos to sum things up.  The first is of a massive argument between Sky News Adam Boulton and Alistair Campbell, which nearly saw them come to blows live on TV.

The second is Gordon Brown's resignation speech outside Downing Street.

The last is David Cameron's inauguration speech as Prime Minister.

Gordon Goes, What Will Happen Next?

At 5pm today, Prime Minister Gordon Brown came out of No.10 Downing Street, to make a statement that shook the political world to the core.  He announced he was to step down as Labour leader as soon as possible.  He announced a leadership election for the party, and hoped that the new leader would be selected before Labour’s annual party conference this autumn.  He also said he would not play any part in the electoral process, nor back any candidate personally.  It was a dignified and gracious speech, but where does this leave the country now.  Lost and confused seems the best way to explain it.

The day started with William Hague, the Conservative Shadow Chancellor announcing to the media of another positive round of talks between the Tories and the Liberal Democrats.  Their leaders Nick Clegg and David Cameron have been locked in talks throughout the weekend.  However, the stumbling block of the Lib Dems determination to push forward its voting reform seem to have put all negotiations at a stalling process.  Later on, after a meeting with MP’s, Clegg confirmed that the PR scheme, which he hadn’t initially pushed for, was now a condition the Conservatives must meet.  At this stage, he also announced that he was to open talks with the Labour party.  So, was Brown pushed by his own party, did he step down on his own accord, or has Clegg pushed him out of Downing Street.

Throughout the election campaign, Nick Clegg has always maintained that he would not work with Gordon Brown, even calling him a ‘desperate politician’ at one stage.  With Brown suddenly leaving, some are already speculating that for the Lib Dems to do a deal with Labour, one of the conditions was for Gordon to quit.  Brown insisted that he had made the decision last week, after Labour’s overwhelming defeat, though not by a majority in the General Election.  Tonight, William Hague has launched a final set of negotiations for the Liberal Democrats, a ‘take it or leave it’ offer, which included a referendum on voting reform. 

For a Labour/Lib Dems coalition government to go through, it would still need to get past the magical 326 mark in the House of Commons.  Together, they can’t reach that figure, which means bringing in smaller parties, including Plaid Cwyrmu and the SNP (Scottish National Party).  That government just has ‘disaster’ written all over.  We haven’t heard much from David Cameron today, which is quite surprising, but with Brown stepping down, he can technically go to the Queen, to request and form a minority government.  Nick Clegg’s tactics are not smart at all, he is now playing off the two major parties, and it looks like he will sell out to the biggest party, which is what some people I know closely predicted around a fortnight ago.  Clegg and the Liberal Democrats political reputations are on the line, and their reluctance to do a deal, must worry the British people.  Some are probably wondering already, ‘Why did we vote, if we were going to get in this mess?’

Today’s announcement brings down the curtain-raiser on Gordon Brown’s long career in politics.  Starting out as a strong, political student at Edinburgh University, he got his first break in the Labour party in 1983, with younger hair, alongside a certain Tony Blair.  He was a strong figure in the Neil Kinnock regime, but the implications in May 1994 were going to have a sudden part in how today’s politics is shaped. 

The sudden death of the Labour leader John Smith, from a fatal heart attack looked to have set the path for Brown to take over as Labour leader.  Reluctantly and under pressure from many Labour figureheads, he gave way to Blair, who swept into power in 1997 via a landslide majority.  Brown was always seething in private, even if he put a brave face in public, but as the cracks started to appear in the Blair regime over Iraq, Brown did little to support.  At times, there seemed to be complete civil war between the pair.  Eventually, he got the long-awaited keys to No.10 in June 2007, when Blair decided to step aside.  However, he was never elected as a Prime Minister and at the first opportunity; the people decided he wasn’t good enough to run the country anymore.  Charity and volunteer work destined for the soon to be incumbent Labour Prime Minister.

This story is far from over, and with MP’s due back for business in Westminster next Tuesday, something needs to happen and quickly.  Gordon Brown’s shock decision has put Labour firmly back in the race, but all that we know tonight, is that the British political system is in shock and chaos and the country lost and confused?  What happens next is anyone’s guess….

2010 General Election Results - Hung Parliament Is The Outcome, What Happens Now?

   

So, the country (or most of it) has had its say and it is quite clear from the results that Britain wants change.  Although he failed to get the magic number of 326 seats in the House of Commons, the Conservative Party and David Cameron have the most seats and this lunchtime, Cameron is the favourite to form a government in the coming days.

With 294 seats so far, the Tories did very well last night, though not the landslide that everyone predicted at the start of the year.  Labour finished a confident 2^nd, but lost at least 80 MP’s last night, and looks set to relinquish power in the country, after thirteen turbulent years of British politics.  The main Labour men, including Deputy Leader Harriet Harman and Peter Mandelson, had hoped that Gordon Brown would be able to strike a deal with the Liberal Democrats, to form a strong government.  Those final hopes were dashed at 10.45am, when Nick Clegg returned to the Liberal Democrats headquarters and confirmed, he thinks the Conservative Party should have first choice in being able to form the government.  Clegg has firmly put the ball in Cameron’s court now, with the condition to change the electoral reform system, which has plagued Britain in this election.

For the Liberal Democrats, it was a very disappointing outcome.  Nick Clegg had hope for nearly a hundred seats in the new House of Commons.  Instead, they dropped at least ten seats short of what they did in 2005.  After all the promise from the three hotly-contested TV debates, their potential turned as flat as a giant pancake.  This morning, he admitted the disappointment, but is still confident of positive change for the future. 

Despite not gaining the majority he was looking for, David Cameron seemed fairly satisfied with the result.  At 2.30pm today, he will release a statement to the media, with his plans of how to form a government.  The keys to No.10 are getting ever closer, and if he can work together with Clegg, by making some minor changes to his manifesto, for the best of the country, this ‘Hung Parliament’ combination might not be so bad.  However, with no overall winner, the chances of a five-year term look increasingly unlikely.

Gordon Brown has returned to Downing Street and as things stand, he is still Prime Minister.  However, he has released a statement suggested “he is open for discussion for civil parties to form a government, for the good of the country.”  Most people in Westminster seem to think that Brown has to step down today for the best of the UK.  I would agree with these suggestions, I struggle to see how Gordon can survive now, because although Labour figureheads will deny it, it was a bad night last night.  Although they prevented a landslide that hit the Tories in 1997, they lost a lot of seats, especially in the East Anglia region, with the Tories snatching Ipswich, Colchester, Northampton and Milton Keynes from long-standing Labour leaders.  I’m afraid Brown’s time is up, and the sooner he calls the removal van from Downing Street, the better for the country’s stability and its future.

The Green Party won a historic seat in Brighton, their first ever in the House of Commons and other significant figures that lost seats last night include former Education Secretary Charles Clarke, beaten in Norwich by the Liberal Democrats and the ex-Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, overcome by the Conservatives in Redditch, after thirteen successful years.  Ed Balls held onto his seat, denying the media a ‘Michael Portillo 1997’ moment.  He then went onto accuse Sky News of patriotism bias throughout the election campaign, much to the chagrin of its political Journalist, Adam Boulton, who looked flabbergasted by Ed’s outburst.

It means that we have our first Hung Parliament since 1974, and it is probably not what Britain needed, especially as we are still dealing with the fall-out from the crippling worldwide recession.  The question is now, can we cope with this scenario.  If the parties bang their head together, we might be able to limit the damage.  What I can say for sure, is that the future is very unpredictable for the country, anything is possible….anything.

General Election 2010: Four Weeks of Crazy Campaigning

      

On Tuesday 6^th April 2010, the worst secret in politics was revealed, when the Prime Minister emerged out of No.10 Downing Street, flanked by his closest allies.  Gordon Brown confirmed what we had all predicted, the 2010 General Election would be held on Thursday May 6^th.  Nobody could have predicted the amazing twists and turns that have followed since that sunny, Tuesday morning.  As polling day approaches, it is interesting to lookback at the moments that have made this General Election the closest battle since 1992. 

The early sparring was between the two heavyweights of the political spectrum, Gordon Brown, and the Conservative leader David Cameron.  As the battle lines were drawn, it was Cameron who held a significant advantage in the early forecast polls.  Meanwhile, Brown was failing to deliver on his initial promise of interacting with the people across the UK.  An angry father proved this as early as day two in ‘Campaign 2010,’ when he approached Mr. Brown about why his son couldn’t get into his preferred primary school.  Gordon walked past him and ignored him, without a care in the world, to which the father response was ‘Joke!’  If David Cameron thought that he had the election under control, an historic event turned politics on its head just one week later.

On Thursday 15^th April, at Manchester’s Granada Studios, Alistair Stewart hosted the first ever live TV election debate between the three main party leaders.  The 90-minute debate, broadcast live on ITV1, saw a resounding victory for the Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg.  Cameron’s underperformance on that night might well cost him the keys to Downing Street.  On the Liberal Democrats Twitter homepage, they posted the following tweet: “Vote for real change, not fake change,” straight after the debate.  All of a sudden, Clegg was on a crest of wave and the YouGov, Sky News and ITN polls soon had him surging ahead of Brown and into second place.  Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown was convinced that the tide was turning: “I think last night potentially was a game change."  Labour was suffering and soon, they were under attack from natural forces.

The volcanic eruption in Iceland on the same day of the first election debate caused havoc for travellers, as air travel was grounded for the best part of five days.  The ramifications are still being felt across the globe today with Cameron and Clegg strongly criticising Labour’s handling of the travel chaos.  The focus of attention seemed to be on their slow response to the crisis and the decision to ground all air travel for so long.  Once again, this disaster would hurt Labour in the polls.  Could the second live election debate turns things back in their favour?

Realising that the tide was swinging away from him, Gordon Brown urged Nick Clegg to join forces to keep the Tories out of No.10.  Clegg’s response was that Brown is “a desperate politician.”  In the Sky News Leaders Debate on April 22^nd, the results weren’t as clear cut, although many experts believed that Clegg edged the contest again, despite having to endure Adam Boulton’s question on his private expenses, which had made that day’s front page of The Daily Telegraph.  Conservative Shadow Chancellor William Hague said on Twitter – “David Cameron has done really well tonight, explaining his positions with great clarity and conviction and taking no nonsense from the rest.”  Despite this, the Tories needed another surge and last Wednesday, it came in the shape of Gillian Duffy, a long-time Labour supporter.

Following a seemingly pleasant conversation with Duffy in Rochdale, Gordon Brown forgot his Sky News microphone remained on as he was driven away, and his damming comment left him embarrassed and humiliated.  “Everything, she’s just a bigoted woman that said she used to be Labour, I mean, it’s just ridiculous.” An apology swiftly followed, but with egg on his face, followed by another dismal performance in the BBC Election Debate on April 29th, it meant that the possibility of a Labour majority in the polls had been well and truly extinguished. 

So, tomorrow, the nation decides who should be in power for the next five years.  This General Election campaign has swung back and forth and as the political parties head into the finishing straight, it is still too close to forecast the final outcome.  As Nick Clegg has said already – “The cross you put on the ballot paper is small, but what you are doing is big."  It is now for us to decide.

The Sky News Leaders Debate - Back In The Balance

Last night, the race tightened and got even more interesting in the battle to become the UK’s next Prime Minister.  The second of the hotly anticipated televised leadership debates in Bristol, fronted by Sky News and its highly-respected political journalist Adam Boulton showed no clear cut winner, and put everything firmly back in the balance.

Following his overwhelming success with many in the ITV debate the previous Thursday, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has been on a crest wave, even attracting a popular Facebook group, with similar implications to the Rage against the Machine campaign to Christmas No.1 last year.  Was this the night when Clegg’s bubble was going to burst?  Well, it seems like the Liberal Democrats are happy with his performance, though I must admit; I thought he was the weakest out of the three leaders.  By being in the middle of the stage, the pressure was firmly fixated on him and he lacked conviction when coming across with his answers.  The most damming response was when Boulton asked him a simple question about his appearance on yesterday’s Daily Telegraph, in regard to donor money being paid into his personal bank account.  It was an awkward response; “Yes, it is absolute nonsense, but moving away from that.”  It certainly looked like he had something to hide.

David Cameron, the Conservative leader was expected to get the most out of these debates, and last week, he struggled to make an impact.  Last night, he was back to his usual self, and didn’t hold back, like he had seven days earlier.  Cameron looked far more confident and fluent and wasn’t afraid in going on the attack.  His annoyance with Clegg’s stance on MP expenses was impressive and he really was made irate by Labour’s Gordon Brown, urging him to withdraw some posters, slamming the Tories policies for the elderly, such as the removal of free bus passes, eye tests and prescriptions.  Though Cameron admitted live that all of those policies will stay, he clearly was very angry with the leaflet campaign, using the word ‘lies’ against the Labour party.  This was a very strong word to use and I did feel that was unnecessary.  On the closing speeches, he attacked Labour again, saying that Brown’s closing speech to the debate “sounded desperate, in a bid to frighten people.” 

The 90-minute debate, based initially on International Affairs, then on other questions for the audience, was bound to be a grilling for Gordon Brown.  Nevertheless, he can be fairly satisfied with the performance he gave.  He seemed far more punchy and convincing than in the inaugural debate, and not as mundane or pedestrian.  The very commanding approach paid off in some areas, and he was not frightened to go on the attack, slamming Clegg’s ‘anti-American policies’ and the ‘nuclear weapons ignoring’ policy, a real danger with Iran and North Korea still a major threat in the nuclear society.  He told Clegg to “get real, get real,” with that, showing he wasn’t frightened to dish it out, as well as take it.  He highlighted the Tories manifesto to not have the free eye test/prescription, which was very brave, but maybe not give the result he was looking for on that area, following Cameron’s insult back.  However, if Gordon wants to win the commanding votes, he needs to get out there and promote his face further.  Some Labour insiders think the campaign is lacklustre at the moment, and needs a big lift, so he still has the most work to do, in efforts to convince the voters. 

Adam Boulton did an outstanding job last night in chairing the debate, unlike Alistair Stewart who lost control of the debate and probably the occasion, the previous Thursday.  He allowed the debate to flow and as a result, it was a far better watch.  According to ITN’s poll results straight afterwards, Clegg won the debate, with 33%, far lesser than last week’s margin, yet still a victory.  Both Cameron and Brown were tied on 30%.  This seemed to be more of a common debate at Prime Minister’s Questions; the nerves weren’t as bad from anyone from the previous week.

With less than two weeks to go until we go to the polls, it couldn’t be any closer to call.  Nick Clegg was less fresh last night and was missing the bold attitude that came across during the first debate.  David Cameron can reflect on a much more polished performance, but is still looking for a major breakthrough if he wants a majority government.  Gordon Brown did far better than expected last night, and can take a lot of satisfaction from this.  I would give Cameron the edge in round two of the debates, but it is still too close to call and the BBC’s debate next week now has much more significance.  The General Election 2010 is firmly back in the balance.   

The First Election Debate - The Jury Is Out...

Last night, television history was made, when at the Granada Studios in Manchester, the first ever General Election live debate between the three main leaders of the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties took place.  Sharp exchanges on hot topics such as immigration, crime and MP expenses were the main headlines, as Nick Clegg, Gordon Brown and David Cameron went toe-to-toe on the home affairs and policies that dominated their manifestos earlier this week.

At the beginning of the debate, all three leaders looked petrified, as if they had just seen a hideous ghost.  Their opening intros seemed more akin to the 90’s show, Blind Date, not an electoral debate.  However, as the debate went on, the sparring began. 

Having recorded the debate and watched it this morning, the clear winner was the Liberal Democrats leader, Nick Clegg.  Clegg was excellent throughout.  His intro was based on ‘there is an alternative,’ for us, whereas his rivals focused on a certain policy.  He was always talking to the camera and he looked very relaxed and totally professional at work.  He definitely seemed to gain the most out of this first debate, as proven by the instant reaction from ITV News after the debate. 

A sample from over 4,000 people, a TV first showed that Clegg got 43% of the vote for Which party leader do you think won the debate?  That was an overwhelming margin, compared to David Cameron, who was second with 26%.  For Cameron, last night was not his best night.  A people’s person, he seemed a bit lacklustre and though his points on immigration and getting discipline back into our education system were very worthy, he seemed to be holding something back.  The outcome of these polled results certainly suggests this.

This was never going to be Gordon Brown’s strongest area, but he will need to do a lot better if he is going to win another five years at No. 10 Downing Street.  Brown urged us to stick by him, saying ‘We’ve got to get this economy moving forward again.’  However, his defence of the immigration issue, the reliance he seemed to be holding towards Clegg was noticeable and whereas David Cameron’s body language did look strong at times, Brown looked in comparison, very weak.  His determination to stick by the National Insurance tax proposal, plus the need to spend ourselves out of recession drew a lot of criticism from his main opponent.  Cameron responded by saying: ‘Gordon is effectively saying, I want to waste more money, and then put up your taxes later.’  Finally, his jokey attitude towards some posters that the Tories have put up of him, with a smile on his face did not work at all.  Wise words Gordon, humour will not win you this election.

Chairing this debate was the former London Tonight anchorman, Alistair Stewart.  At best, his performance was very mediocre, pretty poor to be honest.  Stewart struggled to show the authority needed to chair a hotly-contested debate like this and at times, looked like he was going to lose control of the situation.  I’d expect Adam Boulton and David Dimbelby to put in better performances when chairing Sky and BBC’s debates in the next fortnight.

An average of 9.4million watched ITV’s coverage of the 90-minute show between 8.30pm and 10pm, peaking at 10million in places, with no commercial breaks for advertisements, a speciality for ITV it must be said.  Clegg may have been the bookies favourite, but in a way, the pressure is now on him to deliver next time on Sky News, to prove that his excellent performance was not a fluke.  The latest poll from The Times suggests that David Cameron has increased his lead to six points, 37% to Brown’s 31% and Clegg’s 21%.  However, that’s still no way near enough to win a majority at an election looming, just three weeks later.

At times, this debate felt a bit sterile, lacking some of the drama I had been expecting.  Everything remains in the balance and the jury is still out, especially on the undecided voters.  However, round one certainly belonged to Nick Clegg and it has blown the race to Downing Street wide open now…

The General Election - The Race Is On!

      

So, quite possibly the worse kept secret in UK politics is out.  Gordon Brown did his duty today and gave us the expected date we were waiting for.  Thursday 6^th May will be the day when the 2010 General Election takes place, the day when we visit the polls, the day when we get our say to decide whether we want change or continuity.

This is shaping up to be the closest General Election since 1992, certainly for many, the closest in generations.  Voting figures have lowered over the last three elections, largely following Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 1997, followed by years of continuous dominance from the Labour party, whilst the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats went through lean periods of decline and obscurity.  Now, things have closed up, meaning the possible majority of a Home Parliament should shake the fear into anyone.  For this country to move forward, following the dark days of the recession and MP’s expenses, it is essential we end up with a majority parliament.

Since inheriting power from Blair, when he decided to walk in 2007, Gordon Brown has had a rough and rocky ride for sure.  There are many judgements that have been made, many more that can be made.  However, he is sure to do his damnest to keep Labour in Downing Street.  Consequently, with Labour trailing in most opinion polls by around ten points, his impact on the leadership debates, to be televised live by ITV, the BBC and Sky News could have a massive influence on the final outcome.  Labour’s campaign message is based firmly on the economy and the recovery that we are meant to be in.  They are determined that change will ruin the country completely, although whether that is the case is unknown.

Labour’s determination to increase the National Insurance tax has angered their rival parties and the Liberal Democrats are convinced that after sixty-five years of Tory and Labour government, they deserve a proper say in the country.  Nick Clegg certainly gives the party their best chance at a General Election for nearly twenty years.  He is the fresh, prompt face that the Liberals needed after the ageing Menzies Campbell.  Despite reports of coalition with the Tories, Clegg is determined to do things his own way, which is brave, but could well reap results for the Liberal Democrats at the polls.

Many believe that David Cameron is the man to lead Britain into this second decade.  Cameron is fresh, opinionated and strong-minded and has incentives and drive that may be missing from the Brown administration.  His impact on politics seems similar to Barack Obama over in America, but he is the man who is quite possibly under pressure the most.  The Conservative party are the slight favourites to inherit power from May 7^th onwards.  However, that doesn’t mean they will win, just ask Labour’s Neil Kinnock, who was the long-term favourite in 1992, yet was gazumped at the post by John Major. 

The campaign trail has already begun and for the next four weeks, the party leaders will travel the full width and breadth of the country in an effort to persuade voters that their vision is truly the way to go.  Attacking and defensive strategies are already being applied by the parties, keen to win key seats, unexpected and expected seats.  The battle lines have been drawn – let the race to May 6^th and Downing Street begin!