Policy Research Media Morhamburn

Anyone who watched the leaders’ debate last night will be pleasantly surprised. All the hype and anticipation surrounding the momentous event created all the hallmarks of potential disappointment however apart from the underwhelming stage set the event itself was engaging and interesting.

Gordon Brown performed better than expected (my favourite was his one liner about how the Tories had managed to find a picture of him where he was smiling) but expectations were pretty low to start with and on the whole the performance was below par for a Prime Minster; David Cameron was disappointing, he looked uncomfortable to say the least, perhaps he was disadvantaged by his positioning being squeezed in the middle; but the surprise star of the evening was the Lib Dem’s Nick Clegg.

Clegg’s natural, human touch left the other two flailing in the distance. He stared directly into the camera, addressing the audience at home in a reassuring and personal manner, he made people feel that he was talking to them and them alone. Nice touch. Clegg also proved himself superior to his opponents in demonstrating that he recognised the public mood – one that was crying out for a vision and strong leadership as well as, potentially most importantly, honesty. His approach to the issue of care for the elderly was markedly impressive and refreshing – yes he didn’t have the perfect answer and acknowledged as much, however, more importantly he made me believe that he had the ability to find one – and that’s what the public want and in the words of X factor judges he nailed it.

However he has set the tone for round 2 of the leaders’ debate and the gloves will definitely be off. Labour and Conservative strategists will be devoting a significant proportion of their energies to scrutinising Lib Dem policies. If Nick Clegg is PM material (as much of the media spectrum is billing him) then this next debate will underline this.    

Next week sees the turn of the Scottish Leaders debate and I would imagine all are fervently studying up. The coming days will be spent dissecting last night’s events and more importantly the public reaction. Clegg lagged on law and order and government; Cameron hit mud over Iraq, Europe and America; and the Prime Minister fell short on the armed forces, taxation, health and law and order. The parties in Scotland will now be digesting this and prioritising their key battle fields with care.

Undoubtedly though those who seek to gain most from the debate will be Mundell and Carmichael – the debate is theirs to win; for Murphy and Robertson they have the more gargantuan task. What happens next week will illustrate which party is closest to recognising the public mood and able to respond to this leaving that party in a very strong position for May 6.  

[The views expressed by Morhamburn people in their blogs are theirs and theirs alone. they do not represent the thoughts of the company as a whole or our clients. If you have a comment to make on any blog, please email info@morhamburn.com and we’ll put the printable ones up on the website]