My Take On: The Election Debates

Something that never ceases to amaze me is that when it comes to politics, 2 people can watch exactly the same speech, but hear completely contradictory things. Anyway…

These debates have been what Britain has needed to inspire the masses into political debate. Thoroughly entertaining stuff, although Sky managed to take some of the magic away. Speaking for myself, I was thinking it was ‘time for a change,’ not because I feel that New Labour have let the country down, but simply because change is a healthy way of eliminating the stagnation that will always be created if one party rules for 13 years.

There was a bit of hype about Clegg and the Lib Dems leading up to the first debate. I’ve always thought of the Lib Dems as comparable to my local low league football team: I always keep an eye out for them, but realistically they’re not going to get anywhere any time soon. “A Lib Dem vote is a wasted vote.”

Every politician performed well and I was reminded of how lucky we are to live in a society that maintains such open and fair politics. People moan about the state of UK politics (see my earlier post: ‘The Trouble With Politics’) but look at the rest of the world. We’re lucky to be born here, if you can’t realise that then fuck off to the Congo and have a rethink.

Gordon Brown had the toughest job: New Labour have recognised that the nation is demanding change and he had to persuade us that the existing party are the ones to do the job. He put forward strong arguments, but focussed on knocking Tory policies too much. He was also the only person who interrupted a bit too much, but managed to stay within the realms of appropriate conduct. Just before the final debate, he was heard (by a microphone he’d forgotten about) calling a woman “bigoted.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14f3aOC929w – don’t know about you, but his embarrassed reaction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKZU7rzwagk&feature=related actually warmed me to him.

David Cameron has received criticism for being too polished and focussing on PR… but that’s what politics is all about. It’s also not his fault that he’s from such a privileged background. You could argue that he’s ‘out of touch’ if that’s what you believe, but to dislike him because he’s rich is pathetic. He spent too much emphasis rubbishing Labour, and this continual arguing seemed to be a strange tactic for the 2 main parties to adopt. Rather than acting as point scoring, it had the opposite effect. To think of it as a point system, Brown simply took points away from the Conservatives, Cameron took points away from Labour. In turn Clegg was neatly set up to be political adjudicator, highlighting “old school politics” and why such arguing needed to stop in order to benefit the country as a whole. I didn’t like the way Cameron avoided questions from time to time.

Nick Clegg had the easiest job for the first debate being the underdog. He’d obviously considered his approach very well, and it worked. In the first debate Clegg stood casually with his hands in his pockets as the other two argued amongst each other. He repeated the names of the question askers, and made personable gestures throughout. Notably, in the final debate, he really pushed the fact that he’s ‘just like you and me.’ For example with regards to the economy, he said “I didn’t create this, YOU didn’t create it, THEY created it” He was the only politician who got nods of agreement from the people who asked the questions, and he was a bit cheeky when he forgot the rules and said “just nod if I’m right” knowing, according to the rules, that he couldn’t ask a question.

It was clear during the first debate that Clegg was winning over the audience and was backing up his charisma with fair policies - even suggesting putting political allegiances aside and getting together to sort out issues such as the pensions situation. For some reason Cameron and Brown never really had a go at pulling apart Lib Dem policies and in Brown’s closing statement he even said “Nick’s policies on the economy are too much of a risk, as are David’s” which in a subconscious manner gave credibility to Lib Dem economic policy by suggesting it was similar to that of the Conservatives.

Turns out this is the first election in a long time that a Lib Dem isn’t a wasted vote. Polls suggest that Clegg outperformed Brown and Cameron, and Lib Dem policies seemed refreshingly fair. The important factor, in my opinion, is that Clegg came across as an honest man who would stick to his word. He did not claim to have all the answers, instead he made it clear that he was open to cross party conferral on key issues and made it clear that on major issues he would call a referendum.

My only reservation is the Lib Dem’s nuclear policy. I don’t get it – I can’t see how such an ideological view that “Britain will lead the way to a nuclear weapon-free world” can be put forward as a policy in serious politics. It can’t happen. It should never happen. We need a deterrent. It’s not about getting revenge if we come under attack, it’s about stopping rogue states such as North Korea from thinking they can take over the world.


--- "For a prince should have two fears: one, internal concerning his subjects; the other, external, concerning foreign powers. From the latter he can always defend himself by his good troops and friends; and he will always have good friends if he has good troops." Niccolo Machiavelli ---

So, personally, I’d like to see the Lib Dems in power. My passion for politics has been reignited and I trust Nick Clegg to do what he believes is the right thing. I don’t think he’ll let ego get in the way of things, and feel his decisions will be well thought through and just. He won’t see calling multiple referendums as a sign of a weak parliament, and neither will we.

Oh yeh, and 90 minutes is too long without a break. It’s not too bad if you’ve got Sky+ because you can pause it to discuss issues raised etc, but if not – you’re screwed. Next year, lets have 4 x 60 minute debates. And don’t let Sky get involved. Give the opportunity to Channel 4 instead. Thanks.