UK Election 2010

[faceless]

That can't have been an error!

[modern]

Did you hear the vox pop on George's show last night? People in Brighton happy to vote Tory even though they don't know who their leader is.

Despairing...

[luke]

yeah that was crazy, how can you not know who david cameron is?! he's always in the news.

is it brighton that the greens are looking likely to win? that'll be good to get a green in the house of commons. i think its caroline lucas, she's always come over well to me when i've seen her.

[Colston]

[luke]

more on people not knowing what they're voting for;

According to a new ComRes poll, which confirms recent trends, the Tories are down to a five point lead. But the most interesting part of the poll is this: only 28% of voters say they know what the Tories stand for, and approve of it; 37% of voters intend to vote for the Tories. 9% of voters will back the Tories either without knowing what they stand for, or while disapproving of what they stand for.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/feb/26/new-poll-tory-lead-five-points

Broadcasters reveal details of leaders' election debates
Three live face-to-face debates between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will take place in mid-evening weekday slots in front of studio audiences on BBC, ITV and Sky News



Broadcasters and the three main political parties have struck a deal that will pave the way for leadership debates to take place for the first time during a British election campaign, it was confirmed tonight.

The news quashes speculation that the Tories were having second thoughts about the events going ahead and it means that the debates are now a certainty.

Three live face-to-face debates between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will take place in mid-evening weekday slots in front of studio audiences on BBC, ITV and Sky News.

Members of the audience will be able to put questions to the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders directly and viewers will be invited to submit their own questions by email in advance of the programmes, said the three broadcasters in a joint statement.

Each programme will have a pre-determined theme for half of its airtime, with the remaining time open to questions on any election issue.

Cameron has been calling for debates for some time. In the past prime ministers have generally been reluctant to debate with opposition leaders and Brown only agreed to the debates taking place last autumn.

Since then the three parties have been locked in intense talks with the broadcasters about the format. At one point there was speculation that the parties would fail to reach an agreement and, before the Tory opinion poll lead narrowed, some Conservatives argued that Cameron had nothing to gain from debating with Brown.

But this afternoon it was announced that a 76-point deal has been struck.

The broadcasters drew lots to determine the order of the debates and the allocation of themes, while representatives of the parties drew lots to determine the order of speaking. Clegg will open the first debate, Brown the second, and Cameron the third.

According to a strict set of rules thrashed out in negotiations between the broadcasters and parties, each leader will make an opening statement on the programme's theme before taking questions. Each leader will answer all questions and be given time to react to opponents' answers and make further points of their own. A period of free debate may follow.

The leaders will have no prior notice of questions and all statements, answers and rebuttals will be subject to time restrictions – usually one minute, but with a longer 90-second closing statement at the end of each programme.

The first debate, screened on ITV1 and moderated by Alastair Stewart, will be filmed in the north-west of England and look at the theme of domestic affairs.

The second debate will be screened on Sky News and moderated by Adam Boulton. Its themed section will be on international affairs and it will come from the south-west of England.

The final debate will be screened on BBC1, moderated by David Dimbleby, and will focus on the theme of economic affairs. The programme will be based in the Midlands.

The exact dates of the programmes will depend on the length of the campaign, and will be announced by the broadcasters once the prime minister has formally called the general election. There will be no commercial breaks during the programmes.

The broadcasters have agreed to give each leader equal treatment during the programmes. The primary role of the moderator will not be to press politicians for answers, but to ensure fairness within the agreed rules.

The broadcasters have jointly appointed the market research company ICM to recruit an audience with a broad cross-section of views.

A Labour spokeswoman said: "We welcome the conclusion of the talks and relish the opportunity provided by the debates.

"Our democracy has been badly bruised by the expenses scandal and the British public are crying out for serious, substantive debate about Britain's future.

"People want detail on policy, not platitudes on posters and these debates will help us elevate the choice facing the country."

Questions for the leaders' debate will be chosen by an editorial panel of senior journalists, including the moderator, within each broadcasting company. Questions may be submitted for consideration up to and including the day of the live transmission.

A spokesperson for the joint Broadcasting Panel said: "We warmly welcome the agreement by the party leaders to take part in these innovative programmes.

"We were delighted by the positive atmosphere in all our dealings with the parties over the last few months, and the agreement we are jointly announcing today represents a major step forward in the way election campaigns can reach the entire population."

Each broadcaster will make its own arrangements about separate and additional debates taking place in Scotland and Wales and the coverage of other parties in the election.

The BBC announced it will hold separate party leader election debates in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and will now talk to the relevant parties about the details of these broadcasts.

In addition to these debates, the BBC will offer guaranteed opportunities for leaders of smaller parties to air their views in response to the debates, including:

• News at Ten on BBC1 and Newsnight on BBC2 to include contributions from other parties, including Ukip, the Greens and the British National party immediately after the BBC debate, with special arrangements for viewers in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to hear the views of parties who only stand candidates in these areas, such as the SNP, Plaid Cymru, DUP and Sinn Féin.

• Other BBC outlets that report on the debate during the evening, as well as the following morning's Today programme on Radio 4, to include contributions from the other parties.

• BBC Online, which will stream the prime ministerial debate live, to carry video clips of the reactions of all the above parties, as well as those in Northern Ireland.

• Good Morning Scotland, Good Morning Wales and Good Morning Ulster to carry full reaction to the UK-wide debate, including from those main parties which only stand candidates in those parts of the UK.

A BBC News spokesman said: "We believe the national debates, and these additional specific and guaranteed opportunities to air views about the UK-wide debate, will ensure due impartiality is achieved in line with the BBC's election guidelines."

from http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/mar/02/details-leaders-election-debates

[pirtybirdy]

I know what you mean about people not knowing what they are actually voting for. That's what happened in our presidential election. Hopefully for the UK election, folks will actually pay attention to what the candidates really stand for. Once they are in, it's virtually too late.

[SpursFan1902]

It's funny, this is exactly what we are talking about in my Florida Politics class. People voting without bothering to learn about candidates. I am not so sure that it was any bigger an issue in the last presidential election than in any other. It is always an issue. People are doing their "civic duty" to go out and vote but don't do any of the homework first. Once a candidate is in, it is virtually too late and as we saw with W, people did not do their homework not once but twice and we were stuck with 8 years of mangled vocabulary.

[luke]

do not misunderestimate the people

i miss bush's funny talk, the best we get with obama is him reading the wrong speech off the teleprompter

i think the main problem with the election here, and in america, is there's so little difference between the parties.

[SpursFan1902]

Youi only miss it, Luke, because he wasn't running YOUR country!!

[luke]

harry potter and craig murray join the liberal democrats

[Colston]

[luke]

this is quite a good idea from the lib dems



Lib Dems target 'Labservatives' with guerilla advertising campaign
Fake joint advertising push for two main parties comes complete with campaign website and speech from 'Gorvid Camerown'



The Liberal Democrats have today launched a guerilla marketing campaign for a phony political party called the Labservatives, accusing Labour and the Conservatives of offering the same failed politics.

Kicking off with a series of election billboards for the Labservatives, the Lib Dem campaign uses the strapline "For more of the same" and a purple colour scheme, mixing Labour red and Tory blue. Similarly the party logo is a hybrid of the scribbled tree used by the Conservatives and the Labour rose.

After last night's Ask the Chancellors TV debate, in which Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable's performance has won plaudits, the campaign aims to position the Lib Dems as the "only real alternative" ahead of the general election, which is expected to be called on Tuesday for 6 May.

"We've had 65 years to get it right," runs one billboard in reference to the unbroken chain of Labour and Tory governments. "So what's another five?"

The campaign, by marketing agency Iris, also draws heavily on social media with a full Labservative.com campaign website with features including a video speech from a hybrid party leader, Gorvid Camerown.

There will also be press ads with straplines such as "Familiarity breeds consent".

The website also features a video from Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, called Know Your Enemy.

"The political system that they have stitched up is now sunk in corruption and sleaze," he says. "In this election you'll hear the two of them trot out the same old slogans and recycle the same old election promises that they've already broken countless times. But the only thing you can really guarantee is that if they get back in nothing will really change at all."

Shaun McIlrath, executive creative director at Iris, said that the strategy had taken a leaf from Barack Obama's presidential campaign in the US which "showed that political advertising needn't be a series of dumbed down platitudes and promises".

"It shouldn't be about patronising an already cynical audience," he added. "The electorate know that Labour and Conservative have become almost interchangeable. This campaign points out that truth in an entertaining and engaging way."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/mar/30/lib-dems-labservatives-guerilla-advertising

[faceless]

that's a pretty cool idea for sure - though it strikes me as more like a comedy scene rather than politics. Like something Harry Enfield might have done.

Here's something I just found:


www.britainandcuba.org

[modern]

Thanks for the link Faceless, duly filled in...

[faceless]

From the comments: "There are some highly educated football hooligans at Cardiff"