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Press Clegg-bashing not helping Cameron. Debate should be on policy
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22 April 2010
As the Tories encourage the papers to savage Nick Clegg any which way they can, it is worth remembering that they have been doing much the same to Gordon Brown for months, backed by one of the biggest and most personal poster campaigns in history. Has it helped David Cameron? Not much. His and his party's ratings have been diving south, and not just since last week's TV debate.
I am not convinced that having the Mail, Telegraph and Murdoch titles do their worst against Clegg will have the impact they would imagine. It is part of the old politics that Clegg is seeking to exploit. Newspapers have shouted so loudly for so long that people don't hear them so much any more. Also, Cameron has tried to shed the 'nasty party' image. This is reminding people what they and their politics are all about. Indeed if I were him, I might think about coming out to condemn some of the more stringent attacks and call for a proper media debate on policy.
It is right for the other parties to go for the Lib Dems, just as the Lib Dems are right to go for us and the Tories. Arguments are what elections are about. But I really believe the debate should be focused on policy. It is far more effective than the stuff being churned out through the papers. The problem is - and this benefits Clegg - it is drowning out the space where the policy debate should be.
I saw Newsnight's Kirsty Wark this morning, who said that at least tonight's debate will show up clear differences in foreign policy. Indeed it will. But then the question is where does the media take the debate thereafter - to more polls, process, hung Parliament-ology, policy again drowned out.
Almost a week from the first debate, it is incredible the extent to which policy has been so absent from the debate. There has not really even been a discussion of the future of the electoral system, a change to which would be one of the biggest changes this country could ever make. Whether that would be the right thing or the wrong thing, it is almost as though we are sleepwalking towards it without any real debate as to what it means.
That's why I think the line for all the parties should not be about process and so forth, but simply saying to the British people -- at this time, you are the boss, you are the decision-makers, and the best thing you can do is make a decision to decide, one way or the other, who you want as your PM and your government.
Kirsty was chairing an event where Michael Portillo and I were speaking and I was surprised to hear Michael say that he thought if we ended up with a scenario where the price of a Cameron Premiership propped up by the Lib Dems was a commitment to PR, the Tories would back that. I was genuinely shocked by that. Because it basically means the Tories giving up on ever forming a majority government again.
Perhaps they have. On the basis of one TV debate? These really are strange times.
As I left the event to head for Bristol, someone who had been at the event said something really interesting ... 'Looks like Brown can't win, Cameron can't win, Clegg can't win ... but someone has to form a government. So what happens now?'
Good question. We may know a little more after tonight. It is a real shame, and actually something of a scandal, that the public service broadcasters are not taking the debate live, despite being offered it by Sky. When I said that to the audience at the event with Michael Portillo, people seemed rather shocked and disgruntled. I have been involved in a lot of elections, but none quite like this, and none being followed quite so closely.
It is why there should be more not less access to the debates for the public, and more not less policy debate in the press. The shrill shrieking of the Cameron-supporting papers helps nobody, least of all DC.
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The traducements of Gordon Brown have gone on as long as he has posed a threat to the billionaires and other people who fear Labour’s finest the most. It is comical how hacks like Littlejohn are aped on every tory troll’s blog: they pose as libertarians, but permit only their own liberties with the truth to prevail.
While I agree that policy is perhaps the largest weakness of our opponents, character, integrity and experience may also be areas in which these PR men fail.
It is time to promote Labour, Brown and our other leaders’ strengths in those departments, and to emphasize Labour’s Achievements. Our record is second to none in Europe in terms of Growth, management of the WW Recession, and increased welfare and provision of opportunities for Britons.
This strategy is so transparent to almost be ironic.
It didn’t work against GB and it certainly won’t work against Clegg. If anything it rather backs up his point about the ‘old’ politics. Silly, silly people.
However, the lack of access to this debate (the BBC are showing it in a graveyard slot late on Friday on BBC2) will be a test to just how long Clegg-mania can sustain itself over the next week until the big BBC debate next week. We’ll be getting this one as soundbites only via the bulletins.
New slogan for the Lib Dems: “Vote Clegg, Get err……”
Your dog is very long odds to win tonight’s debate. Maybe you should concentrate on salvaging something from the corpse rather than worrying about what everyone else is doing?
Hi Alastair
Absolutely right but then Cameron has made so many mistakes why should he stop now.
He left the Ashcroft question unanswered for 4 years, he changed his mind over the economy more than he changed his hair style and his pushing for the leaders debates could prove the end of the Tory Party. Where does one stop.
Now the chair of the Tory Party says that the Tory press has a right to ask questions. Is that what the headlines in that same press were this morning.
One can draw ones own conclusions from that statement, by the Tory chair, as to whether the party find the attacks distasteful.
Good Luck
David
Methinks the Clegg-bashing is helping Clegg, not Cameron or Brown. Agree it is scandalous that PSBs are not taking tonight’s debate live. We own them, so they owe us.
Understand you are in your man’s corner tonight, so you may wish to pass on the following suggestion:
Sealing Our Deal
If you truly wish to seal our deal for our societies, i strongly suggest that you publicly announce your recognition and acknowledgement that the sovereignty of our Head of State should symbolise not the Crown in Parliament, but the naturally just, individual and several sovereignty of we, the people over all bar judicial and legislative authorities. This at the same time with your publicly announced commitment to the immediate statutory provision of the ways and means to exercise that responsibility of ours fully – thro’ a suite of measures such as statutory Citizens’ Petitions, Initiatives & Bills, Deliberative Conventions and Preferenda (non-binding) & Referenda (binding) – which shall enable we the people, individually and/or severally, to raise any matter of concern, at any time, with any public, private or voluntary body and invoke statutory, and correspondingly graduated responses which shall be democratically resolved, primarily by consensual processes.
Why? To give voice to and vote on our ideas, proposals and preferences, because if you truly believe we are all in this greed mongered, power crazed twin democratic and financially induced economic eye watering levels of deficit and debt together, the biggest debt we owe each other, the past and future generations is to do as we would be done by, inter alia through the freely self-determined governance at all levels best suited to our needs in serving our societies – including the decentralisation of the state and the drawing down of openly transparent authority, responsibility, accountability and resources to achieve the greatest practical degree of autonomy – so that we can realise what societies really mean: what we owe one another. If anything is too big to fail – as the UK Plc to all intents and purposes has, and a Big Society imposed by the State might – it’s too bloody big.
Fully sealing any deal with the people means fully closing the gap to put our governance not only within our reach, but within our grasp rather than what we can plainly see are grasping, self-serving political parties, their paymasters and fellow travellers who helped themselves instead of helping us to help each other.
If you the politicians were to put your trust in us, we the people might vote for and in due course trust you after you represented us faithfully on such matters we determine are not those we can discuss, deliberate and decide for ourselves.
If politician’s were to recognise and acknowledge the peoples’ sovereignty and – by definition – join us, they then should be able to act in our name without fear or favour, subject only to their maintaining the highest standards of public service during the assured short hold tenancy of their contract of faithful representation according to conscience. Trust us and we might begin to trust you too in due course. Help us to help each other fully and we might help you to do so.
Be party to the solution, not party to the problem of the exclusive British political system. Rule us in and we-democracy should be a win-win outcome all round. Together we can make it so.
Aye Ours
I know a lot of former Labour voters in current Labour seats who are intending to vote Lib Dem. They see the flaws in Lib Dem policies, and see through Cleggmania, but they feel Clegg represents hope, in contrast to Brown and Cameron. This applies specially to younger people who identify more with the anti-Trident, anti-war, pro European and generally more liberal outlook.
I hope that tonight GB will try to grab their imagination by giving an Obamaesque type vision of Britain’s place in the world. He could actually make the other leaders look rather small.
I agree about the policy vacuum. We seem to be in a world where the polls merely reflect the amount of coverage politicians get, be it good or bad.
Michael Portillo is right.
The Conservatives will do all in their power – with their wealthy backers’ full approval – to get into government.
If this means buying off the LibDems if Parliament is hung then that is what will happen.
That’s what happened in 2004 in Birmingham – and look at the state of that coalition now!
e.g. profound silence over the serious case review into the starving to death of Khyra Ishaq – why aren’t the LibDems in Birmingham screaming to let the public know which senior officers and politicians were responsible?
The BBC is showing the debate on News 24 live tonight. I can understand it not going on BBC1 or 2 as there will be plenty of people who don’t want to watch it. I am one of those people as I can’t stand looking at David Cameron for that long. I will be very interested in the results, though. Anyone with freeview will be able to watch, and that’s quite a few people.
On watching the debate:
If you can’t watch the debate on your TV then listen to it on BBC Radio 4!
I don’t have a TV so I listened to the first one on Radio 4 and I think it’s far better because you can really hear what they are saying much better. You can hear if they are nervous much more clearly for example.
On Clegg in the debate:
I predict Clegg is going to say “I love the UK”. I think there will be a competition for patriotism in this debate. Clegg will say, “I love the UK and that is why I am disgusted by what the Conservatives are doing to us in the EU”.
Best to get Brown to say “I love the UK” before Clegg! 🙂
On Conservative party opinion poll decline:
As Alastair has mentioned the Conservative party opinion poll decline actually started at the launch of their manifesto. It didn’t start in the first Prime Ministerial TV debate. This is often missed by people.
On Michael Portillo:
I don’t think what Michael Portillo says reflects anything about anything.
I absolutely agree. Every word. The papers reaction to Clegg is panicky and unconvincing. What it is also obscuring is that there is a whiff of arrogance to Clegg’s demands for PR and his behaviour generally. It’s this petulance and self righteousness which is unappealing. Clegg’s become like the class nerd who suddenly learns judo and becomes the school bully. And it is a really worrying development that PR may be introduced under these circumstances without the proper debate because all attention will be focused on the economy post-election and a radical, destructive change to our system of government will be passed through without consideration. If this is what Clegg means by change, he is defining change in the most self-serving political way imaginable. PR means muddle and horse trading and more politics as normal not less. Speaking personally if Brown came firmly against PR I’d vote for him in a heartbeat. And regarding Portillo’s remarks that is defeatism of the highest order or the spite of a somebody once spurned. My god were is the fire in these people’s bellies – if you believe in your policies you should be out there fighting and arguing for them. Throwing our adversial system down the river over one bloody TV debate. PR is throwing babies out with bathwater.
Talking about media handling of the election campaign, did you see the way Paxman laid into Adonis and Darling the other night re the flight ban and the economy? He was almost screaming at them with curled lips and a look that suggested that they were less than a dollop of excrement.
Compare and contrast with last night’s kid glove.
treatment of Kenneth Clarke.
Absolutely disgraceful! Paxman really needs to be reminded of the BBC rules on impartiality and not showing his own opinions..
I fear that the ability of ‘policy’ to influence voting intention is on the wane. And TV debates, as much as they have enlivened this election, will only add more speed to this trend. Complex policy issues are likely to be lost on an audience when their first and possibly only exposure to them is in a TV debate.
I fear the audience will absorb only as much detail as their pre-debate bias will allow.
I believe presentation is estimated to be 20% what you say, 80% the way it’s said. So despite making his big day suit look cheap Clegg’s enthusiastic teacher (‘Hey call me Nick, kids’) is likely to carry the debate again.
Of course the most depressing thing about this is that Labour’s policies are a country mile ahead of the other two.
Here is a thought…Labour and Conservatives form a coalition Government. OK, please stop laughing for a minute. In a time of economic emergency it may be necessary to set aside differences and work together … we did it in the war. Also, they wouldn’t need to concede PR to the Lib Dems – a policy that neither Labour or the Tories should support. Well it was an interesting thought experiment…
The Murdoch Empire is not fit to hold such a debate. So much for “Foreign Policy” -I assumed it was for the whole programme -not just a “teaser”. Why the smear on Clegg r.e the Daily Telegraph? What was James Murdoch doing marching into the offices on The Independent yesterday? We’ve supped with The Devil and are paying the price -also -missed the chance on eletoral reform and votes at 16. It’s not just the left of Labour that can be called “Self Indulgent”. The centre and right now stand accused.
Only a progressive alliance can work for grass roots ppl now.
I saw only the last half of the debate tonight but it seemed that there was a great deal repeated from the first one which made it more dull than it should have been. Surely Sky could have selected more varied questions? Dull repetition is hardly likely to make more people vote. Perhaps Sky think that will improve DC`s chances. DC`s face when he doesn`t like what`s being said is excruciating. How can someone who spends half the time looking like he`s trying to suppress wet wind become PM?
Well that’s me and 40,000 others on the dole if Clegg gets his way and cancels the Typhoon aircraft. There are over 700 SME’s in the NW of England that depend on the aerospace industry and the canceling of this project will cripple many of them and be a serious blow to them and the other major contractors.