Election Debate on ITV tonight

[koolpc]

Anyone else watch it?

I think that the Lib Dem leader came out as the one with the best answers and i think they should be given a chance to see if they can do a better job with government than the botch up that Labour have done and which the Tories did all those years ago!

[A Ginger Sheep]

recorded it. going to watch it now tho. kind of have to though for my AS politics.

[franneh12]

should of watched it
didnt

although sort of figured whos getting my vote

[waba]

i liked clegg on it.

[koolpc]

Lib Dems look so much more like really trying to solve the UK's problems. Cons and Labs look like the same old same old!

[cje]

Clegg won by a mile. Brown was alright. Cameron bombed. All smoke and mirrors.

[Nelly]

I'm voting liberal this time around, I wonder if this debate will actually change alot of peoples votes.

[koolpc]

I think it will make people sit up and really notice the Lib Dems for the first time.

[A Ginger Sheep]

have always said that I would vote liberal if i lived in England, they are the only party which actually seems genuine. and if nothing else im sure they couldn't do a worse job than the torries and labour. with regards to the debate Clegg won easily, but that was always for happening as he is by far the best debater out of all the party leaders

[ccxo]

Anyone else watch it?

I think that the Lib Dem leader came out as the one with the best answers and i think they should be given a chance to see if they can do a better job with government than the botch up that Labour have done and which the Tories did all those years ago!

Well labour have had 13-14 years which they have manged to ruin the country- as to why you are reffering to the Tories past not really relevent to this election its been over a decade of labour.

LIb dems proably have a shot but tory goverment is likely.

[koolpc]

I refer to the Tories as the cocked things up big time when they were last in government! Do we trust them to have the right policies again? I very much doubt it.

Lets get some new blood in there. Lets see if the Lib Dems can make a difference.

[A Ginger Sheep]

fact is the torries are elitest scum. their policies are in favour of the wealthy. this is after all what the tory party is in existence for. the lib dems however want a fairer society for everyone. also i particularly agree with their plans about the trident missle system. we dont need it. we have to prioritise other things first. everything clegg said last night i was in agreement with in comparison to brown and cameron who still are promoting policies which we dont need. also their rather pathetic bickering between each other summed up for me why the country needs change. out with the old and in with the new basically.

[Charlotte]

fact is the torries are elitest scum. their policies are in favour of the wealthy. this is after all what the tory party is in existence for. the lib dems however want a fairer society for everyone. also i particularly agree with their plans about the trident missle system. we dont need it. we have to prioritise other things first. everything clegg said last night i was in agreement with in comparison to brown and cameron who still are promoting policies which we dont need. also their rather pathetic bickering between each other summed up for me why the country needs change. out with the old and in with the new basically.

Couldnt have said it better myself. Exactly what I thought when watching it. Did you notice how whenever Brown and Cameron spoke they were constantly butting in on each other, yet when Clegg spoke they both shut up.

[waba]

i was rreally impressed with clegg. seemed like his policies were well thought out, properly costed, prioritised, honest. the bixckering between the other two was childish!!!

[cjmUK]

I refer to the Tories as the cocked things up big time when they were last in government! Do we trust them to have the right policies again? I very much doubt it.

Blimey... Although Labour have been screwing it up for 13 years, you're more concerned with the previous Tory administration, the only remnant of which is Ken Clarke, whom the majority of the population regard as a national institution. You can't blame the 1980's on Cameron, any more you can blame Callghans 'Winter of Discontent' on Gordon Brown.

My biggest fear that, although everyone hates Brown and despairs at where 13 years of labour have left us, the ghost of Maggie is going to drive them to UKIP or Lib Dems - thus ensuring a hung parliament with Labour as the biggest block - my prediction is that Gordon Brown will remain PM.

As for last night, Clegg had nothing to lose and everything to gain. He did fairly well but mainly along the lines of not being a Tory or from Labour. He gained a lot through the fact that Brown and Cameron regard each other (rightly) as the key threats. All he had to do was be seen to be different.

Cameron did OK - he was in the most difficult position to start with - he didn't screw up but nor did he land too many killer punches. I agree with many who think he had too much make-up on - not his fault perhaps, but it made him look odd - especially next to an ashen Gordon Brown. Scored points when he pointed out no matter how much Brown agreed with Nick, Clegg didn't seem to agree with Brown.

Brown faired the worst - but then again he was expected to, and the fact that he didn't completely implode goes in his favour. I expected him to suffer from the accusation that he's had 13 years to make his impact already, which he did - but the lingering legacy from last night will be 'I agree with Nick' which will ultimately be his downfall. Pundits are expecting 'I agree with Nick' T-Shirts to be on the streets by the end of the day.

I don't think anything will be decided in these events - you won't win an election on TV, though it's possible that you could lose one perhaps.

EDIT: Mr Khan puts it all into perspective (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/extra/video/p007cy08)...

[ccxo]

The tv debates are nice to see but at the end of the day a single vote is not a vote its just a percentage.

Most people live in safe seats where half the vote useually is wasted on the lossing parties, parties only need to focus on the key areas mainly cities to win a election a fraction of the population.

http://www.voterpower.org.uk/

Check out that site and have a look at you're voting area, theres a nice bit on the side about fair voting once you're on youre area.

If it was a fair voting system where the total number of votes would decide the winner, all parties would be working alot harder to swing votes in their favour.

As for trident- why not make a new thread for it as its a interesting issue to debate.

[koolpc]

Cameron and Brown both came across as complete plonkers.

I for one will definitely be voting for the Lib Dems. Change is what this country needs. Out with the old, stuck in the mud parties and in with a new, fresh ideas party.

VOTE LIB DEMS!! lol :thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:

Not labour :wars: Tories

[waba]

thanks for that link ccxo, i got this result

The average UK voter has 6.25x more voting power than voters in Croydon South. (thats me in croydon south...)

BOOOOOOOOO :( :(

[A Ginger Sheep]

your slagging Gordon brown but imo he did a good job for the position he was in. neither Clegg or Cameron can be criticised for their governance because they haven't been pm while Brown has so therefore I think he did pretty decent for himself. also another thing is to consider is how terrible the torries' economic policies are. they talk about spending more money which is not there as they will not say where money will be brought from to pay for everything they want. Brown on the other hand is very experienced when it comes to economics while Clegg and the Lib Dems clearly have very well thought out economic policies and are very clear about them. imo the election will result in a hung parliament with Labour and Lib Dems in government together.

[waba]

i agree wi pcnoob - its usual that people criticise the incumbent government - the grass is always greener, eh. looking at tories economic strategy, it doesnt seem that much better...where is their money going to come from? and seeing how meaningless my vote is, according to that website... :S

48% of votes discarded
47.99% of those who voted in Croydon South in 2005 did not vote for the winning candidate. These votes count for nothing in the First Past the Post system.

this is for my region :( whats the point eh?

"If the UK had a proportional voting system:

We would no longer have safe seats
The power of votes would be much more equal
All areas of the UK would have equal power to decide the outcome of the election
Politicians would not be able to win an election by tailoring all their policies to a narrow section of the population"

[system7]

Never mind personalities. Does anyone actually believe we can get out of this economic mess with tax, borrow and spend policies? :huh:

Ireland is flat broke and cutting public sector pay savagely, against a backdrop of falling tax revenues:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/5121018/Ireland-raises-taxes-in-austerity-budget-and-unveils-agency-to-buy-toxic-assets.html

Greece has had the IMF in today since it is broke and unable to borrow from the Eurozone or the market. In fact Germany is considering dropping out of the Euro:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/edmundconway/7590939/Greeces-debt-the-horror-story-has-only-one-ending.html

Britain has only avoided this fate by devaluing the pound by 25% in the last year. In fact the Government is borrowing 13% of GDP per year currently. Tax revenues have fallen 10%, and 10% of tax revenues currently go on servicing our national debt at potentially increasing rates:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/budget/7521426/Budget-2010-Interest-bill-on-UK-government-debt-set-to-soar.html

Lean times ahead, my friends. The party is over. Youthful ideals will go out of the window. :mad:

[ccxo]

your slagging Gordon brown but imo he did a good job for the position he was in. neither Clegg or Cameron can be criticised for their governance because they haven't been pm while Brown has so therefore I think he did pretty decent for himself. also another thing is to consider is how terrible the torries' economic policies are. they talk about spending more money which is not there as they will not say where money will be brought from to pay for everything they want. Brown on the other hand is very experienced when it comes to economics while Clegg and the Lib Dems clearly have very well thought out economic policies and are very clear about them. imo the election will result in a hung parliament with Labour and Lib Dems in government together.

It is browns economic policys over the last 13 years that have resulted in us going into the recession so cant see his economic policy's being that great.

Economies need money poured into them when coming out of a recession to get buisness moving and banks lending again- Japan did the right followed by the usa by putting more money in then was needed to bail the banks out.
If the goverment had any brains when they had the banks at there knees they could have reformed the banking strucutre to prevent the idiotic lending system that occured under browns economic policies, instead labour let them off and there back doing what they want.

If people vote for labour then its a wasted vote- a party that has been in power for 13 years has gone backwards and is basically on the brink of collpapsing for a bid for leadership.

[cjmUK]

neither Clegg or Cameron can be criticised for their governance because they haven't been pm while Brown has so therefore I think he did pretty decent for himself.

It's Browns experience as Chancellor and then PM that we hold against him. Neither Cameron or Clegg are tainted by the last 13 years of woe.


... also another thing is to consider is how terrible the torries' economic policies are. they talk about spending more money which is not there as they will not say where money will be brought from to pay for everything they want.

Clearly the Tories and the Lib Dems caint give as accurate spending figures as Labour because Labour have refused to conduct the previous Government Spending Review (presumably because the Government finances are so perilous).

However, I think you have got your policies wrong - it is Labour and the Lib Dems that are promising more spending. At least the Lib Dems are honest about the taxes they intend to raise. Apart from the 1% NI 'Jobs Tax' Brown has been silent about how he intends to spend what he says *and* cut the deficit.


Brown on the other hand is very experienced when it comes to economics...

If you recall, before the recession, the talk of the economists was of 'Browns Black Hole' - the gap in the countries coffers that Brown had secretly built-up. The issue was coming to a head and then we had the banking crisis - suddenly the spiralling debt was due to an international economic phenomenon and not poor old Gordon's fault - not only that, he saved the world (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/3701712/Gordon-Brown-mocked-over-save-the-world-slip-up-in-Commons.html), in the process.

Likewise, the less said about Brown's acumen elsewhere the better - like when he defied the Bank of England and sold our gold (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1654931.ece) at historic low prices - China reputedly made £1bn over this deal...

I'm afraid my nan knows more about economics than Gordon Brown. Even Alistair Darling does be he gets bullied to toe Gordon's party line.

I don't mind you throwing some credit the Lib Dems way - more than Nick Clegg, the economic (and increasingly political) heavyweight is Dr Vince Cable. The only positive to a hung parliament is the possibility of getting Cable into No 11 and released from his party's shackles.

[koolpc]

Labour and the Tories are both proven in in taking this country down. Both proven in making a mess of this countries finances etc.

Liberal Dems get my vote. Lets give them a chance to see if they can put this country back on the map!

[Martini1991]

Labour and the Tories are both proven in in taking this country down. Both proven in making a mess of this countries finances etc.

Liberal Dems get my vote. Lets give them a chance to see if they can put this country back on the map!
You mean globe? :D

[system7]

I suppose most of us mistrust Labour because they always tax us more on the assumption they can spend our cash more wisely than we can. That and the old class war stuff. :mad:

And with the Conservatives, there always seem to be a hard core of rich and unpleasant reptiles in the Monday Club pulling the strings. What John Major called "The ********"... :huh:

So do the Liberal Democrats stand a chance? After all, it's been nearly 90 years since LLoyd George was Prime Minister. Well yes they do. I'd say it's too close to call. :eek:


A ComRes poll for the Sunday Mirror and Independent on Sunday puts the Conservatives on 31, the Lib Dems on 29 and Labour on 27. ICM poll for the Sunday Telegraph puts the Conservatives on 34, Labour on 29 and the Lib Dems on 27.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8626154.stm