Leaders Debate on ITV
Well done, the debate was a success. Seems to be a consensus that Clegg, Cameron and Brown was the order of success, yet in reality there was no outright winner and no outright loser and two more debates to go. That Nick Clegg could speak confidently and naturally, if not a bit fast, seems to have been a surprise factor for many. David Cameron and Gordon Brown made no significant inroads into each other.
Gordon Brown made a bit of a hit with his comment saying the Conservatives would cut police budgets more than Labour which seemed to surprise everyone, including David Cameron. David Cameron came back strongly with a story about a very violent crime and the culprit getting a short prison sentence. Gordon Brown has the handicap that he’s said he’ll do things before and somehow they never appear to be quite what was said as well as 13yrs of baggage. David Cameron has to show he is more than not being Gordon Brown.
Nick Clegg spoke of the increase in tax threshold being a new idea, that they will look for an alternative to a Trident replacement, opposed immigration limits and his seat in Sheffield was mentioned several times perhaps to distract from his public school background. Wasn’t particularly pushed as the other two were aimed at each other.
The next debate will no doubt take lessons from this and Nick Clegg might find the ride a bit bumpier. Perhaps Gordon Brown will stop the smile that looks so patronising, David Cameron won’t stand with that distant horizon look, maybe Nick Clegg will appear less anxious about getting his points over. A better method of signalling who is to speak might help, at one point it appeared that David Cameron was left out of the debate. Someone has suggested the audience should be allowed to applaud – please no. Is there anything worse than the Question Time applause battles with someone so eager to get the first clap. Yet sometimes it can be a good feature and how to capture the good without the bad is difficult.