uk leaders' debate2

I’d only listened to about half of the first debate on the radio, so last night was my first proper opportunity to assess our aspiring future leaders. I have to say that I was very impressed by the overall quality of the debate and by all three politicians (although I did think Sky TV’s Adam Boulton came across as a somewhat inept moderator/chairman). There’s one thing being able to present a prepared argument, but coming up with “instant” and effective responses is a real skill to be admired and I felt that all three leaders scored highly on this. I purposely scribbled down my gut reactions to the debate while the helicopters were still in the sky (we live less than a mile away from where last night’s debate took place) and before seeing or hearing the media’s “take” on the evening: Cameron was good – but didn’t across as well as I thought he would; I rather feared that the knives would really be out for Clegg (and they were to a degree) – but actually felt he had an excellent evening; the big surprise for me was Brown – I thought he came over as the “experienced statesman” and that he spoke with real authority. Last time, one of the Polls indicated Clegg as being the most impressive at 51%, with Cameron on 29% and Brown on 19% (and another 43%, 26% and 20% respectively).

I suspect that the Polls after last night’s debate will be somewhat closer.