Third Party Knocks Labor Down to Third Place
A volcanic eruption isn’t the only event causing chaos in the UK.
Long an election season staple in the U.S., the UK saw it’s first prime ministerial debate last week. It was also the first time that the leader of a British third party was given the same exposure as a Labor or Conservative leader. Just being included was a big victory for Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, and 9.4 million Britons tuning in was a bonus.
By all accounts it was a lackluster debate, but Nick Clegg was declared the clear winner (click here for a video recap), and the Liberal Democrats have managed to turn this into a huge poll gain. Labor has now dropped to third place.
Clegg did well enough that both Gordon Brown and David Cameron were moved to praise him. The First Post stated:
Nick Clegg wins by a mile, as Brown appears to gang up with Lib Dem leader against David Cameron.
Others were not so thrilled with Clegg, but see why he won:
So how did the candidates fare? Well, Nick Clegg was judged the winner by the commentariat, and opinion polls. I don’t disagree — his anti-politics, “let’s be honest here” shtick worked well — but Clegg still left me cold.
All three parties are literally neck and neck in the polls, though speculation has turned to whether or not the Liberal Democrats can hold on to the gains. Labor and the Conservatives have focused their rhetoric on the Liberal Democrats, and Cameron has even begun to speak of “the dangers” of a hung parliament.
Clegg’s art of high rhetoric matches Obama’s. Therefore, IF the Brits want a clone of Obama I say – go for it, push him into power.
Those who are too addled to see the similarities between them, and what his election already portends for an ‘unwell’ Britain, would do well to sit up, pay attention and heed my warning.
I Clegg debate performance was great … but his party manifesto is essentially ”Labour on Steroids”
To all the Americans who hate Great Britain, please make donation to the Liberal Democrats so they can deliver the Labour march of GB towards ruin
Looking at the platforms …er… manifestos of the three major parties, is there really any more than minor differences between them? (The Conservatives seem to have bought wholly into the “climate change” farce, for example.)
Finally someone who saw the farce !
The best platform so far is the UKIP one which doesn’t act has the socialist party #780 … but there is a lot of whining that they are ”racist”, but I don’t know enough to make a judgement on that point
They have a flat tax, school voucher, and denounce the climate change madness
For “conservatives” their best party to vote for is UKIP, except if they have the chance to vote for the excellent Douglas Carswell MP (who co-wrote The Plan). But yes, there is little that is conservative about the modern day Tory manifesto. Cameron’s public admiration for Saul Linsky does not help and his “Big Society” idea smacks of Lyndon Johnson.
Cameron tried to tap into the Obama vibe, but it seems its Clegg who is truly channelling it.
Playing the devil’s advocate, Andrew, and I base it upon the wild conclusions that come from select quotes being pulled out of what was said, could this be the case: Government opening the door for more non government involvement in the life of Great Britain.
For, over on Daniel hannan’s blog, there was a 10 minute video piece of Michael Gove being interviewed, and it would be the ultimate in perfidy for Gove to go on like that, whilst Cameron, et al., would do the opposite.
Oh egads, in the latest polling the L-Ds are up to a 3 % lead.
When was the last time in British politics that a party went from government to third party status?
In 1993, in Canada, the governing Tories fell from government to 5th party status, because only 2 Tories were elected. The eventual leader, and the former Mayor of Saint John, New Brunswick.
Cameron, et al., still have time to right things, but as long as they dither in energetically communicating “The Plan”, they only have themselves to blame for what is shaping up as a Dewey moment in 1948 in US politics. People were so sure that Dewey would win that the famous Chicago newspaper headline, “Dewey Wins!” wound up in the history books.
Why are domocracies so easily deceived by articulate, photogenic, idiots?
Wishful thinking, ahem, by immature voters – and we’re not speaking of chronologic ages here.
I think Cameron could pull it out if he announced an “in or out” referendum on Europe. Before he bailed on the referendum promise on the “Lisbon Treaty” they were up by 20. Now they are barely managing enough to have more seats than anyone else.
Anyone who still can’t clearly see that all that “nonsense” about manipulation, engineering of consent, Hegelian dialectic, false choices between red and blue (choose neither you idiots!) – that all of it is TRUE-
-deserve the leaders they “elect”.