Friday, 16 April 2010
Nick Clegg judged to have won Leader debate
It's 23:54 on Thursday night an I'm watching Sky News analysis of the Leaders debate. It seems that the instant polls have decided that Nick Clegg won the debate. The pundits seem surprised by this result. I saw Nicks speech to the Lib Dem conference in Birmingham recently. He also did a question and answer session. I'm not surprised at all. I wasn't surprised when Vince Cable won the Chancellor debate either.
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8 comments:
Maybe he did, but as they are agreeing on This Week it's because no-one had ever heard of him before a now and thought 'he's ok'. Don't think many see him as a potential PM.
Dan,
I suspect that if that is the lesson the Tories have drawn from the debate, then they are being rather complacent. If David Cameron wants to be Prime Minister, he clearly has to raise his game. To suggest Nick Clegg only won because no one had heard of him before does the people of Great Britain a gross disservice.
Being a football fan, I've learned one lesson in life. All the excuses in the world don't change the result.
Drawing another football analogy, one fleeting great performance from a suffering Football League Two team can't take them to the top of the premier league in one season ;)
By the way, have you an answer to the question that none of the Lib Dems on the telly seem to be able to answer? They keep repeating that they will support the party with 'most seats and votes' if there is a hung parliament but won't say if more seats or more votes are more important.
Give that Barnet's Lib Dems propped up Labour for 8 years (who had less seats and votes than the Conservatives) I'm very nervous that they could do the same in Parliament should the situation arise.
Have you been able to find out if Nick Clegg would prop up Gordon Brown and Labour even if they received less votes than the Conservatives nationally?
Dan,
It might surprise you to learn that Nick Clegg hasn't shared his plans with me. Should he tell me in advance of the election, of course I'll let you know.
As to what will happen in Barnet, I'm surprised that a Tory activist such as yourself is so despondent that you think the Tories will lose their majority. Given that you are a true blue Tory and you couldn't work with the local basket case party are your really surprised that the Lib Dems didn't. Maybe if the Conservatives in Barnet actually picked a few sensible candidates that would be an option, but you of all people know why it isn't at the moment.
I would go so far as to say that you know, although you won't say publicly, that the best thing for the Conservatives and the people of Barnet is for the Barnet Tories to get kicked out and for the people who are the power in the local party to lose their seats.
Would you really expect the Lib Dems to prop up a regime committed to warden cuts and future shape?
Forget about the football analogy boys: I thought the debate was more like a sixth form debate in a minor public school, with Sir, ie Mr Brown, joining in from time to time. I thought it showed Cameron for the one dimensional character he is, inexperienced, and out of his depth.I've noticed in the campaign that he is gettng increasingly tetchy and uncomfortable in interviews and press conferences: he has no substance behind his airbrushed image, and now it is beginning to show. Nick Clegg is young and ambitious, and wants to be Head Boy: he did brilliantly,let's all be honest. The reason is he actually believes in what he is saying, unlike all the practised, cynical politicians in the main parties. Naive, but rather admirable. Of course, after a few years in power he would be the same as all the others,that's just the way things go. And yes, the only hope for this borough is if the lunatics are kicked out of the asylum and Labour or a Lib Lab alliance take over.
I agree with Mrs Angry that the lunatics should be kicked out of the asylum, but not with her proposed replacements. The Conservative Party in Barnet (or, more accurately, the Conservative councillors in Barnet) do not even come close to resembling the Party nationally and party politics at local level it is an outdated concept that has run its time given how much of what a council does is dictated by central government.
At council level we should do away with political parties altogether and just have non partisan local councillors elected to represent local people on local issues.
Well, as I've said elsewhere, the Tory councillors in Barnet are from another planet and definitely not on message with Posh Boy and his pals, but do we want the new touchy feely Tories either? A bunch of lightweights. What do they believe in, other than their careers? At least in Barnet we know where we are, with the present nasty clutch of old timers and neo Thatcherites like the deeply vulgar Coleman, and his cold hearted colleagues. The problem lies in the fact that the role of councillor was never intended to carry so much responsibility, and most of them just aren't up to it. If you take political parties out of the equation though, there will be even fewer people willing to take part. I don't know what the answer is, other than some form of performance related scrutiny of councillors (other than four year elections).In the meanwhile, the best option is a change of direction with the frankly deluded bunch of Tories currently stalking each other in the corridors of power sent away for a nice long lie down. Bless.
@Mrs Angry. Aside from being mere vulgar abuse, what precisely is 'neo Thatcherite' about Brian Coleman ? I can think of very little. Just one example, Mrs Thatcher used her maiden speech in the House of Commons to champion openness and access to information in local government whereas, it seems, Brian Coleman would be most content going back to the days where the Council met in secret and papers were not available to the public given recently leaked emails.
Whatever Brian Coleman maybe, being compared to a great woman like Margaret Thatcher is an insult to her.
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