The TV Debate

[Brendan]

And upon reflection it must be bloody tricky getting by on ?50 a year, leave alone less.

[mockney piers]

"I bet Mockers always voted lib Dem"

Ha ha, you know me too well (in national elections at any rate).

I liked the comment on HIGNFY last night

"40% of lib dem supporters say they are prepared to vote tactically, the rest will do what they've always done, waste their vote"

Sounds about right and I'll be wasting it again this year.

I'm not dogmatic it's just that the other parties may occasionally say sensible things, I was shocked to hear Cameron talking about helping drug addicts go to addiction clinics rather than the usual bollocks about being tough on crime, but as a whole only the liberals make sense* more often than not.

I wont do my usual thing about New Labour but suggest anyone thinking of voting for them read "The Rise of Political Lying". It didn't tell mem anything I didn't know, but the sheer weight of it in a short read is utterly damning.

*Though amused to read the manifesto promise to allow illegal immigrants who have been here for ten years to have residency. Err, how does that work?

[peckhamboy]

Personally, I felt that Brown came across as rather clumsy and blinkered by ideology and hatred of DC. DC came across as nervous and slightly lightweight and failed to land any real punches. Clegg was the most polished but that was partly because the other two left him to get on with it. My big problem with Brown (apart from the jaw thing that makes me feel physically sick) is his insistence that scrapping NI is "taking money out of the economy" - in his strange view of the world, he seems to think that the public sector and the economy are the same thing. I imagine his perfect world would be one where everybody is employed by the state and money just keeps going round. Plus he seems to think that anyone earning more than ?20k is fair game for extra taxes. Earning that in London you'd barely be able to pay your rent after he's taken his cut.

Incidentally, i thought Hague on Jonathan Dimbleby was by far the best performer on the night from any party.

[woofmarkthedog]

I....

Really thought Dave C's hair looked better than normal. You know when the stylist sprays lacquer into the brush & then brushes it through the hair, to give it lift & hold

Conversely, he needed a slightly lighter tone in regard of his concealer & foundation

His lipstick was spot on though

Trust me....

I sooo know these things

W**F

[Moos]

I thought Brown's continual deferring to Clegg ("and I know Nick agrees with me about this") made him look weak. He should at least pretend he believes Labour can win alone.

[mockney piers]

It did didn't it. Likewise his talk of political reform on the start of electioneering. Yeah, that's a vote winner!

political debate had to take second place to Outnumbered though, best programme on telly at the moment!

[SeanMacGabhann]

someone tweeted during the debate ?This is the worst Kraftwerk gig ever?

Brilliant

[Mick Mac]

mockney piers Wrote:

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> It did didn't it. Likewise his talk of political

> reform on the start of electioneering. Yeah,

> that's a vote winner!

>

> political debate had to take second place to

> Outnumbered though, best programme on telly at the

> moment!

Shame on you MP - we were waiting for your informed opinion and you was watching some other roobish.....

[dulwichmum]

I am uninspired by the lot of them. David Cameron reminds me, more and more, of That Stupid Boy from Dad's Army. He is a lightweight. Shame on he and Clegg trying to make social capital of their family/life experience. Cameron could just as easily have discussed yachting around the Maldives in his father-in-law's yacht. He doesn't speak to me. I bet he goes home at night and has his nanny tuck him in. All Clegg could do was prattle on about his respect for the nurses and the armed forces and the carers, all "unsung heroes" - smarmy git. His wife is still not sure that she will allow him to take public office and if he ever comes home late, I imagine that she will happily box his ears.

Gordon was boring and bland, but he was better than the other two, he was dignified.

Cameron's references to his life experience made me cringe. "You are at an interview here sweetie, get over yourself".

I have decided that I should have entered this damn election. I want to stamp out Jonnie's (Boden) Army. There are far too many "hotchpotch" dresses, "fun" skirts and "flippy" dresses on the streets at the moment. The population is clearly depressed and have lost their way. We need some glamour in this election. Lets get together and spend our way out of this damn recession. I have my husband's credit card and I am not afraid to use it.

I will not be content until the front door of No 10 is painted Elephant's Breath (eggshell - Farrow and Ball), I shall have plantation shutter installed and bay trees at the front. Let us damp dust this economy (or pay some nice subservient person to do it for us - manual work was never a strong point). Let us install a ducking stool and a set of stocks in Dulwich Park and dish out punishments to women who wear fake uggs and Crocs. Let us give free vino to all parents and allow working mothers every Friday afternoon off work so that they can drink wine and try on make-up at The Mother Ship - Peter Jones!

Let us close every branch of Lidl, Aldi, Netto and Iceland and replace them with lovely branches of Waitrose.

I have no problem with Cath Kidston; why should I care what kind of pinny that the help wears? I draw the line at ladies not making the effort and letting themselves go, wearing their husband's fleeces and Fitflops while they schlep up Lordship Lane. If this country is in a mess, lets give the men something nice to look at!

Let us replace child benefit and family tax credit with beauticians' gift vouchers.

Come, join me, vote for The Fabulous Party.

Nice policies for nice people (stamps foot).

LET US PUT THE GREAT BACK IN BRITAIN!

[Narnia]

Can I vote for Jim Hacker? Where is he?

[Huguenot]

Islington?

New Conservative?

[Narnia]

Excellent........I'll move.

[SteveT]

Narnia wrote:- Can I vote for Jim Hacker? Where is he?

Dead, pity the rest of the lack lustre lot didn't join him!

Clegg by a country mile, mainly because he hasn't had the opportunity to dirty his paws.

The three have in common one thing, it's their first time to be elected to office.

A poor selection, is this really the best we can do?

[Brendan]

I?m actually starting to worry that if the Liberals start getting some power they are going to just become devious and corrupt to the level of the rest and I?m going to have to withdraw my support.

And whether my support has always been more because of my own tendency to support the underdog or just be down right subversive rather than one based on political ideology.

Oh I?m so confused. I don?t like it when people start agreeing with me on things.

Freaks me out man.

[Narnia]

I know he's dead but he was entertaining to say the least SteveT.

[pebs]

peckhamboy you are absolutely bang on with your analysis. I think DC tried not to get sucked into the depths of a rabid GB who was always overrunning the time/cluncking fist etc - so he could appear to take the moral high ground. However the down side of this was that it did make him look a bit timid.

[Mick Mac]

Narnia Wrote:

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> Can I vote for Jim Hacker? Where is he?

in the rough...?

[ruffers]

In East Dulwich we only get 0.116 of a vote it would appear..

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

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

According to that site, it's not worth me voting at all.

[SteveT]

It is most discouraging knowing that whoever gets in even by a landslide, nothing will change the establishment.

In my opinion we need another 'Hercules' or someone as capable, to divert the river through that parliamentary stable.

[Santerme]

Having returned from three weeks in the States and being subjected to loony tunes like Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh and the gorgeous yet obtuse (for a Stanford girl)Gretchen Carlson....I walk into a Presidential style debate.

All of the players looked quite second rate and Brown just oozed incompetance, Cameron was bland, Clegg used the old talk to the camera (people) ploy, but actually sounded half awake compared to the other two.

It was all a bit of a farrago, not very British and frankly a waste of time, so first and last one for me.

And personally, I am beyond the point of caring who wins anyway.

The last events I can think of that made major changes to the UK, were the advent of the Welfare State, joining the EEC (as was) and Thatcher selling off councils housing and curbing the unions.....what's happened since of fundamental importance...wars aside?

[dulwichmum]

SteveT Wrote:

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> A poor selection, is this really the best we can

> do?

I remember the sense of expectation when Labour got after the too long reign of the Cons, and it seemed to lift the entire country. This line up simply does nothing to inspire me.

[Marmora Man]

I remember the sense of expectation when Labour got after the too long reign of the Cons, and it seemed to lift the entire country

But then look what happened. High expectations, low delivery.

I'm looking for economic competence and a reduction in obsessive state control and interference. Oh - and an end to ver increasing tax burden.

[Huguenot]

I don't want to seem picky, but I do take umbrage at the idea there is an 'ever increasing tax burden'.

As a share of the economy, the tax bill has rise from 37.1% to 39.1% in the last 15 years, so it has gone up. Agreed. Not an awful lot though. Certainly not 'an ever increasing tax burden'. Technically maybe, but not as implied.

However, under the Tories we had buckets under leaking roofs in schools, and people dying in hospital corridors.

There's a perfectly reasonable case to say that Tory taxation policy is so poor it buggers up public services, whereas recent tax policy is funding these services more appropriately.

Why don't Tories just come clean? They're rich, and they don't want to support public services because they go private to stay away from the proles.

[capt_birdseye]

100!