Saturday 17-06-03 Leaders' Question Time

Well, I think that was an unedifying experience. Neither May nor Corbyn will have attracted new voters. May didn't seem to make an emotional attachment with the audience, and whereas Corbyn was more engaged he took a hammering on the nuclear question.

May told a nurse that there was "no magic money tree", which seems to be the new Tory catchphrase, either replacing or complementing "strong & stable". The Tories have been in government for seven years, so they should have shaped the economy by now so that there is extra money to at least keep nurses on a steady wage. And we wake up to Fallon's promise not to raise taxes, which is a blow to low earners and those who rely on the state to top up their meagre earnings.

If we don't have enough money to provide the level of public services which we have come to expect, then I think the only option is to raise taxes. Our continental cousins pay higher tax rates, and they invest a higher percentage of their GDP in public services - maybe it is time we took a closer look at that. I for one am surprised that "social care" and "health care" are two different services, and in my opinion they should be combined. I would also be prepared to pay more tax over my lifetime to avoid a "death tax" or a "dementia tax".

Corbyn had one line that cut through, when he was talking about terrorism and using nuclear weapons, and that was that sometimes you do have to talk to people you don't like, in order to bring about peace. He did look uncomfortable by the end of the session, but that may have been the lights and the heat of the studio.

On a related note, the protest song "Liar Liar" has reached number four in the UK charts, so it will be in the top ten next Thursday, the day of the General Election.

Saturday 15-04-04 Leaders' Debate

So I watched the Leaders' Debate on Thursday night. It wasn't very illuminating. No particular leader punched through as a clear leader.
The Welsh leader spoke to her Welsh audience; I don't think she had a "national" message aimed at including England and Scotland.
The Scottish leader, Nicola Sturgeon, did okay, at least she tried to aim her message at the whole of the UK and not just Scotland.
Natalie Bennett did okay for the Greens, I think she was debating at a slower, more low-energy level of debate. Which suited her, and I think suited a lot of the viewers.
TW said that Nick Clegg did okay, but as damaged goods, the Lib Dems are a losing proposition.
In my view, Miliband looked out of sorts, and Cameron (as current PM, let's not forget) did not impress.
So I think this debate was a showcase for the "minor" parties; and as others have argued. the major parties are sitting in a winning position and can only lose from these types of debates.

And I've not mentioned UKIP; their discourse is on a completely different level which is a foreign language to me. But I would say that Farage's comments on "heath tourism" and AIDS are worth viewing if you want to see a black & white view on things.

All in all, as I said, there was no breakthrough winner in the debate on Thursday night. I guess we will need to wait for more to come over the coming weeks if there is to be a voting groundswell in any particular direction... It'll be interesting to watch the next few weeks, however things turn out...