No Knock-Out in UK Political Debate

The second debate among the putative Prime Ministers in the UK was last night on Sky News. It was a far cry from the first debate on ITV; after all, this debate wasn't an historic first, and it focused mainly on foreign policy, which rarely shifts votes. None of the three landed a decisive blow, but good policy punches landed here and there. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and Conservative leader David Cameron more or less tied for the win, and Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown was much better than last week.

The viewership for this debate was well off the almost 9.5 million for the first debate. Overall, about 4 million watched (2.1 million on Sky, 1.3 on BBC News, and another 300,000 on a BBC rebroadcast, plus an unknown number on the Internet). As a result, this round is likely to have far less effect on voter opinion. It is worth noting that viewership was also down because two English soccer clubs were playing in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Europa League at the same time (if anyone cares, Hamburg 1 - Liverpool 0; Atletico Madrid 0 - Fulham 0).

The crux of this debate was the fact that Mr. Clegg couldn't be new twice. As a result, both Mr. Cameron and Mr. Brown came after the Liberal Democrats' policies more intensely. Mr. Clegg's party is pro-Europe, anti-nuclear power, and wants to scrap the Trident nuclear sub system in favor of an unnamed smaller, cheaper alternative. The other participants could have really beaten Mr. Clegg up on these, but they delivered only glancing blows. This meant that Mr. Clegg solidified his standing as their equal.

The one moment of genuine heat came when Mr. Cameron accused Labour of putting out pamphlets designed to scare the elder away from voting Conservative. According to Mr. Cameron, the pamphlets claim that, under the Tories, old age pensioners would lose their free television licenses, pension credits, winter fuel allowances and free bus passes. Mr. Brown denied authorizing any such pamphlet but pointed out that the Tory manifesto left out a promise on keeping free eye tests and free prescriptions. Mr. Cameron snapped, "Well let me do it right now. We'll keep them." Apparently, only half the debate was supposed to be about foreign issues, the rest about old people riding the bus for free and not paying for eye exams.

Also yesterday, the Scottish and Welsh nationalists heard officially from the BBC, the host of next week's final debate, that they would not be allowed to participate. The BBC maintains that they will be included in Scottish and Welsh debates and that their exclusion stems from the fact that they are not going to produce the next PM; in truth, the BBC didn't want to have to invite the racist British National Party. Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party, said, "Today's decision shows that the BBC has given up all pretence of being a national broadcaster for Scotland. Fairness and impartiality have been thrown out of the window in what amounts to blatant discrimination against both parties and both countries." Plaid Cymru (the Welsh nationalists) Director of Elections, Helen Mary Jones, echoed those sentiments, "Having shown complete disregard for Plaid and the democratic process of our nation the BBC can no longer claim to be a national broadcaster for Wales." Their inclusion could have done for the SNP and Plaid what the inclusion of Mr. Clegg has done for the Liberal Democrats. Expect more complaints but no legal action -- the SNP says it doesn't have the £70,000 needed to sue the Beeb.

All of this debate talk, though, is not quite as important as the UK GDP figure that come out a couple of hours ago. In the first quarter, the British economy grew an anemic 0.2%, actually decelerating from a revised 0.4% in the previous quarter. This number is what every politico wanted. Labour will argue that the voters must protect this fledgling growth by keeping Mr. Brown. The other two parties will argue that Labour is presiding over a possible double-dip recession and that it's Mr. Brown's fault.

And today is St. George's Day, the patron saint of England. St. George's cross is flying at Number 10 Downing Street today, not the Union Jack. And for those Little Englanders reading this, St. George was from Lebanon.

© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

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