General Election Debates

[Lumine]

General Election Debate:

January 19th, 2012

1. Rules:

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2.- Main Questions:

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Now, a question for each candidate:

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[DKrol]

First Minister Arlene Foster at the BBC Leaders Debate

Opening Statement:

Thank you for having me here tonight.

I’m here tonight to explain who the DUP are and why we’re the best choice for the voters of Northern Ireland. The Democratic Unionist Party is the party of tomorrow. We have the policies to lead Northern Ireland into the 21st Century, while both our Nationalists and Unionist opponents look to drag us back into the 20th Century. We want to create a Northern Ireland with a strong and stable health system, a secure pension system, a fair and just tax code, and an economic situation that unlocks the potential of each and every individual while maintaining both our loyalty to the United Kingdom and our cultural and historic ties with the Republic of Ireland. Unlike our Nationalist counterparts in Sinn Fien, DUP MPs actually take our seats in Parliament, because we believe the only way to enact our vision for the nation is to do so from within the establishment. I hope to explain this vision to you over the course of tonight’s debate.

Economic Question:

As First Minister, I’ve been working day in and day out in Stormont to right the economic ship of Northern Ireland. We’ve found a solution what works for Northern Ireland and that can work for the country. It’s about finding the balance between austerity and massive public spending while also remembering the basic function of government is to help people. We need to continue to provide the important services that the government provides - the triple lock on pensions, the NHS, senior bus cards, the winter fuel allowance - while also ensuring the government is only taking as much tax as it needs to get by, allowing the people as much freedom to save or invest as they see fit. That's how we get the economy rolling again, by empowering the individual citizens and families to drive the economy, to kick start the economic engines. When individuals show their confidence in the markets, the investors will follow.

EU Question:

The Democratic Unionist Party has always been a Eurosceptic, British nationalist party. I do not believe that the laws of the United Kingdom should be subject to the whims and desires of unelected bureaucrats in Brussels - especially Northern Ireland, which only gets 1 MEP to represent the entire nation in the European Parliament, which we all know has minimal impact on the decisions of the Commission and their army of bureaucrats. I would like to see the United Kingdom leave the European Union with all haste but, more importantly, I would like to see a referendum held on the issue within the next five years. While I want to see us out of the EU, if the majority of the British people votes to keep us in, then that’s fine - I just want to inject the EU with a good shot of democracy.

NHS Question:

It’s right in our Manifesto - the DUP wants to expand health care services, both in Northern Ireland and across the country. We want to make sure that anyone who wants to see a doctor, who needs to see a doctor, can see a doctor. It’s not just about being able to see a doctor, it’s about being able to see a doctor in a reasonable amount of time. It’s also about receiving a high quality of care. We need to make sure that the people in our hospitals are the highest quality of staff that we can find. To accomplish this, Westminster will have to look at how we’ve done in Stormont - investing more than half a billion pounds into Health, opening new, state of the art care facilities, hiring more nurses, midwives, and consultants, and continuing our commitment to the people to provide top notch care.

DUP Question:

The UUP was a fine party - I was a member of the UUP until 2004. I say that the UUP was a fine party, because it was a good, strong Unionist party in the 1970s and 1980s. It’s been on a downhill spiral since David Trimble took over as leader in 1995. The UUP, for a long time, has been the Northern Irish arm of the Torie Party. The TUV has never been a terribly strong party - it’s always been far too focused on the battles of the past, just like Sinn Fein. They oppose the St. Andrew’s Agreement, which brought the PSNI into existence and secured a strong, devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. The DUP is the only Unionist Party - the only Party at all - to be gaining ground in Northern Ireland, in Stormont and in Westminster. We’re the only party with a bold, forward looking agenda for the next hundred years, instead of an agenda that looks to rehash the battles of the last hundred years. Voting for the UUP is like voting for the Tories and Mrs. May. Voting for the TUV is like voting to bring back to days of direct rule from Westminster and rolling back the decades of hard work towards devolution. Voting for the DUP is voting for a strong and stable government in Stormont and a proud and patriotic voice for Northern Ireland in Westminster.

[Barnes]

Good evening. It is a privilege to be able to stand on this stage this evening as the Leader of the Conservative Party and speak to you, the voter, directly.  I have been in Parliament now for fifteen years.  For all of that time, I have tried to work for a Britain which I passionately love and believe in: a Britain were no one is constrained by class, or income, race, religion, or sexual orientation.  But rather, a Britain where every man, woman, and child can live in hope and optimism about their future and their country's future, where they can feel free to pursue their own goals in life without the burden of poverty, extreme inequality, or the excesses of the state limiting their horizons.

"The biggest issue at the moment for the public is that of the economy and its current state. The past few years have seen a heated debate on the best means to achieve a full recovery, ranging from massive increases in spending to austerity proposals for the UK. Which is the correct road for you?"

The single greatest priority of the government of the United Kingdom should be to address the economic crisis which we find ourselves in.  This month, unemployment increased to over 2.6 million, a nearly twenty year high, and there are no signs of it abating in the near future.  For young people, particularly outside of London, these numbers are even more harrowing and catastrophic. Wages have stagnated, living standards are teetering on the brink of decline, and our public services are being placed under greater and greater strain with dwindling assistance. 

At the same time, our national debt now accounts for 70% of our GDP, double what is was just some five years ago.  In an attempt to fix their recession, Labour have delivered us a debt crisis of growing concern.  Labour's incompetence in spending has severely constrained the government's ability to address the economy, with the weight of their debt hanging over every decision and program like an albatross.

Our plan is two-fold and it will deliver a new sense of optimism for this country.  We will invest immediately and heavily in the areas which need direct help. 

Our plan is to double the amount of spending committed to technical job training and to provide quality apprenticeships to those youth not attending university.  We must return a sense of worth and dignity to people who seek a qualification as they form the backbone of our economy which works and builds for us every day.  With regards to universities, we have pledged to abolish all tuition fees for students coming from low and lower middle income families.  It is fundamentally wrong that a student who is academically gifted should be denied the ability at a university because of their family's income status. 

As I have said, the Conservative Party believes fundamentally in the importance and needs of local communities and we will work to develop business partnerships in towns and villages to rejuvenate the local economy and offer hope to people whom Labour have so callously left behind. We also plan to immediately introduce a tax cut for middle class families to rescue them from the growing tax burden Labour has seen fit to deal them over the course of a recession.

The second aspect of our plan must be to tackle Labour's debt head on.  You need to look no further than the crisis in Greece to understand why this pathway is unsustainable and self-defeating for a country.  Our first budget will introduce six billion pounds of spending reductions in areas where Labour have overspent or misspent, not delivering the right kind of help to the people who desperately need it.

"The issue of the European Union has raised quite a few eyebrows, particularly because of a complicated situation arising on EU countries such as Spain and Greece. Do you feel the relationship between the EU and the UK ought to be different? If so, how?"

First and foremost, we must have an EU which each and every day works in the interests and needs of Europe.  For a Conservative government, this would mean an EU totally committed to delivering the optimal free trade agreements to bring international investment and opportunities to this country.  We must cut through the Brussels red tape and oppressive bureaucracy to promote growth and security; those are my priorities in Europe.

There have been questions over what good is the EU to Britain, and I think those are legitimate feelings raised from legitimate concerns.  Through our membership in the EU and, in particular, the Common Market, we have access to the greatest single trading bloc in the history of the world, our students can travel throughout the continent to find an education or pursue careers, and London has become the economic center of the world, with every nation and every major corporation looking to us for leadership.  The EU delivers millions of pounds of economic investment each year into our most depressed areas, funding which we could not wholly substitute on our own, and many of our public services are staffed through exchanges with EU citizens.

People have a right to question the value and purpose of any institution, and the EU should be no different.  I have pledged there will be no further transfer of national sovereignty to Brussels and we will veto any agreement which does not work in the interests of our economy and our country.

"Opinion polls consistently show that the NHS is one of the issues that brings greater concern to the voters, particularly due to its present state and its future. What would your respective party do with the NHS?"

The NHS is in a true state of profound crisis, as we watch hospitals close, waiting lists grow, and doctors and nurses abandon their life calling in despair.  This strikes to the very values and character of a government, and just like so many other things, how can Labour possibly be proud of their record here?

We will move to radically decentralize power within the NHS to communities and local governments to allow people greater individual decision making over their own health by cutting out Whitehall red tape and placing patients at the forefront.  Labour's petri dish experimenting with target-led culture will be scrapped.   

We will allow patients to choose any healthcare provider that meets all NHS standards and complies with all NHS price schedules.  We will target the poorest areas of this county directly with the most public health spending, because there is a direct correlation between income and quality of individual health.

We will grant doctors and nurses greater decision-making powers within the management of hospitals and we will allow for the creation of independent locally monitored NHS Boards to supervise the quality and cost of service.  Our policies for the NHS seek to expand freedom and quality in every area by placing greater control over your health with you while backing up the system with funding in the areas which most need it.

"Some questions have been raised on the Conservative manifesto by usual supporters regarding both your pledges on tuition fees as well as the lack of the promise of a referendum on the EU. Why is that Conservative policy now?"

To some of you, it might seem strange for a Conservative to say things like this, but it doesn't to me.  Conservatism, at its heart, believes in the strength and the value of families, communities, and society.  It believe in the rights of people to live and grow together, unfettered by limitations and restrictions placed upon them by governments or groups.  We do not look for a selfish Britain where greed and self-interest hollow out communities and rob us of our values; nor do we believe in a Britain where individual achievement is sacrificed to a cold and distant state.  We want to protect and strengthen our communities and our country by working directly for the people as a whole.

We are not obsessed with the single issue of a referendum because we have a real chance of forming a government in this country and we understand the real issues of governing.  The EU is an enormous part of our economy and legal system and affects each of us every day in nearly every way.  Our government will be concentrated every day on delivering real improvements to your daily lives and not banging on about Europe simply to hear the sound of our own voice.  We have a real, legitimate plan for government, and not simply a pup of an idea to sell to you.

[Blair]

I'm going to give you a spoiler before this debate starts. You're going to hear a lot of hot air tonight. You're going to hear lots of other leaders promising the world, and you're going to hear them pretending that they've spend their entire lives caring about you. But as you know, the very  politicians have never been more out touch. They couldn't see the financial crash, until they saw people lining up outside Northern Rock wondering if there savings were gone, they didn't see the political revolution that came last year when we voted to finally make every vote count, and they still can't see that we need a honest, adult approach to fixing the economic mess that this country is in.

After the last election, I went into Coalition with Gordon Brown, in order to provide the stability for the government, and ensure that your savings, your pensions and your income didn't collapse into the pit of another recession. I had a lot of disagreements with Gordon, but I knew that he was a public servant, who was committed to this country. I simply cannot say the same about John McDonnell. That's why I'm standing on my own vision of a fairer, more equal and more prosperous Britain. A country where we're prepared to have a tough conversation about our debt, about our schools and about our hospitals. A country where politicians stand up and simply say what they think- and here's what I think- 'Britain deserves a new type of politics'. And with the new voting system it's possible- so remember,  every vote for the liberal democrats, is a vote for a new type of politics.

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I believe that we need to be honest about the state of the economy; people are sick of politicians trying to offer easy answers. Our manifesto outlined our fair plan for the Economy, including a tax on bankers bonuses and  the breaking up of the big banks, to ensure we end the unfair, and rigged system that the Tories introduced in the 1980s, and Labour were only too happy to continue.

We also need to be honest about the deficit, and the debt. Both are simply too high. We'd cut back on vanity projects such as the Hinkley Point Nuclear power station, we'd cut back on the scandal of NHS executives earning 6 figure salaries whilst patients lack beds, and we'd carry out a pound for pound audit of all public spending in Britain. We know that the times will be tough, but only the Liberal Democrats can provide the tough, honest solutions to help fix our economy.

Once again, the tired old parties simply don't have the solutions, or the energy to fix our economy. Labour are lead by someone who was sacked by Ken Livingstone for trying to bankrupt London in the 1980s, and the Tories haven't even set a date for when they want to balance the books.

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I believe that people in this country want a relationship with Europe that is based around the common good- fighting international crime, making sure that the international companies like Amazon and Apple pay their taxes, and making sure that we can trade openly and freely. 

I believe that Britain needs to become the great reforming power we once were in Europe; we help create the Single Market, we ensured that Britain got a rebate and we welcomed the old Soviet nations into Europe. When it works well, the EU can bring tremendous benefits for Britain.

For this reason I'd want to build up a true coalition for reform in Europe; reform built around Economic prosperity, social justice and political reform. We need to make sure the EU spends less time talking about an  and more time talking about jobs, and investment.

I'm a pro-European, and I know that Britain is stronger, richer and more prosperous in the EU- and because of this, I know that it needs to change.

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The NHS is a great British institution. We've all seen the work it does; whether it's treating your parents when they get old, your kids when they get ill or even when you just go for a checkup. The truth is that for too long the same old parties, have offered the same old tired solutions to the NHS. Labour simply threw money at consultants, and costly PFI schemes, whilst the Tories have tried to run away from their record in the 1990's, when under there the NHS almost collapsed.

The Liberal Democrats want to offer a fresh, fair approach to the NHS. We'd end the scandal of NHS executives and middle managers earning 6 figure salaries, whilst nurses have their pay frozen; and we'd cut bureaucracy rather than beds. We'd also put a focus on mental health care, and ensure that everyone can be seen by a qualified mental health professional within 3 months of being referred. We'd want to see efforts to make people healthier- by banning smoking in cars, by promoting health education and by increasing taxes on cigarettes.

There's also a serious problem with ensuring that we have enough high quality doctors, and nurses to work in our hospitals- for this reason we'd continue the nursing bursary and defer tuition fee payment for junior doctors. I'd also support a fast-track scheme for doctors from other countries to come here, and contribute to making our NHS even greater.

Finally we need a cross-party solution to fixing the crisis of social care- if we ignore this issue, as both Labour and the Conservatives have, then the NHS will be forced to take the Burden of caring for our elderly population. The NHS is a great British institution, and it requires a great British Plan- the liberal democrats can provide this.

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I'm proud that the Liberal Democrats provided Britain with a stable government when it needed it the most- back in 2010 the markets were showing that we needed a period of stability to ensure that we could protect, and reform the Economy.

People want politicians to be honest, and the honest difference is the Liberal Democrats will put the country first, whilst the Labour Party has indulged itself by putting the party first by electing John McDonnell. The last time John tried to run London's economy in the 1980's he was sacked by Ken Livingstone for cooking the books, and nearly bankrupting the Economy- I simply couldn't stand by and watch that happen.

So I say to people who have voted for Labour in the past, the Liberal Democrats have fresh, fair plan for Britain that won't bankrupt the economy. Unlike Labour, we've got a plan to fight for social justice, whilst ensuring that we have a strong economy, that can protect your jobs, your home and your family. Under the new voting system, there's no need to vote for one of the old parties to stop another old party- now, every single vote for the Liberal Democrats will count towards building a fairer society.

[Donerail]

Opening statement
Good evening. It is a pleasure to be able to speak with you all tonight, though I expect my remarks will, well, mostly pertain to a specific set of voters. I have served as leader of Sinn Féin since 1983, and in that time I believe our record of delivering for the people of the north truly sets us apart from all other political parties. Through years of struggle and negotiations, we have led the north and its people forward, and have made a positive difference in the lives of the Irish people. Sinn Féin promises trusted, experienced leadership in the continuing struggle to make an Ireland that is more tolerant, more equal, and more united. Your vote for Sinn Féin in this election strengthens our hand, in Dublin, in Stormont, and in our negotiations with the British government. Your vote for Sinn Féin is nothing less than an endorsement of our strategy for positive change. We hope we can earn your vote.

Austerity
Sinn Féin as a party is committed to opposing austerity, which only compounds the hardship already facing many families and small businesses in a time of economic uncertainty. We support investing in job creation and in public services, not a vicious, unsustainable agenda of austerity that threatens the most vulnerable in our society. Austerity has deepened the recession, particularly in the North, where a legacy of conflict has caused decades of underinvestment in a relatively small private sector, and where we are still dealing with the costs of continued partition. We are committed to ending austerity through an immediate negotiation with the incoming British government aimed at returning economic powers to the North, to allow our people to decide the course of our recovery.

You just heard the DUP’s Arlene Foster claim her party stands for protecting public services, stands against austerity—nothing could be further from the truth. She cites her work in Stormont, but in truth Stormont has very little ability to curb even the worst excesses of austerity. The people of the North do not control their own economic future: taxes raised here are not necessarily spent here, and our government does not have the power to decide how they are spent. There is only one party on this stage tonight that believes the future of our society should be in the hands of a government elected by—and accountable to—our citizens, and that is Sinn Féin. Austerity, imposed on us from London, is the price we are forced to pay for the union. The price of unionism is economic stagnation, inequality, and the continued misery of austerity. That is a price we cannot—will not—pay.

European Union
As Ms. Foster mentioned, our part of Ireland has one member of the European Parliament. Bairbre de Brún is a member of Sinn Féin, and I believe she has done a tremendous job advancing our priorities in the European Union. I do believe the EU can sometimes overstep the bounds of national sovereignty and attempt to take on tasks that are better left to national, regional, or local authorities, especially when it comes to our fishing and farming communities, but this is not a reason to back away from the EU entirely. Through critical but positive engagement, the EU can be used to advance causes like workers’ rights, and we have already seen the positive benefits of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. The implementation of that agreement is why, in more and more communities across the Six Counties, you can see bilingual signage and public sector services available in the Irish language. That is a positive result of our engagement with the European Union, and although I would like to see their rules on agriculture and fisheries modified, I believe we are better served through continued engagement than through withdrawal.

In particular, I am concerned about Ms. Foster’s suggestion of a referendum to leave the European Union. She proposes a referendum on the issue, decided by the “majority of the British people.” She has unintentionally revealed why Sinn Féin opposes a referendum: because the needs of Irish people will not be part of the discussion. I do not believe, with an economy as interlinked and interdependent with the south as our economy is in the north, that leaving the European Union could be anything but devastating. My worst nightmare is a scenario where this referendum is resoundingly defeated in our part of Ireland, but because of the votes of a majority of the British people, a decision is made that is detrimental to the livelihoods of the people we are supposed to represent. If there is any referendum on EU membership, there must be a separate and binding referendum here, so that British needs are not put before the needs of the people of the Six Counties.

NHS
The HSC is a fine institution and Sinn Féin is proud to support our public health system. Bairbre de Brún’s ‘Investing for Health’ policy in 2002, when she was Health Minister, laid much of the groundwork for today’s positive investments in the HSC.  We do believe it can improve, in particular how it deals with mental health and social inequality. We support the full implementation of the Bamford Review, which raised several concerns about the state of mental healthcare through the HSC that have not fully been addressed. We also support the expansion of HSC programs to include community-based drug and alcohol treatment services, available in every community in the Six Counties. Inequalities in health, and in access to healthcare, are among the most devastating in our society.

Abstentionism
Sinn Féin’s MPs are elected to represent the needs of the people who elected them, which is a process that involves more than simply sitting in the House of Commons. We believe that we have been able to accomplish more in our direct negotiations with the British government than other parties have been able to accomplish in Westminster, and we invite anyone to put our record—including the Good Friday Agreement, the St Andrews Agreement, the Hillsborough Agreement, and all the other steps in the peace process—up against anything any other party has accomplished in decades spent sitting on the backbenches. Sinn Féin’s MPs do not take their seats, but that does not mean they are unable to seek the best deal for all our people.

[Mike Thick]

McDonnell at the Debate

Opening Statement:
It's great to be with you all tonight, and I'm glad to have the chance to speak directly to Britons about why our plan is the clear choice to help bring our country back. I'll start off the night by noting that, if you were to look at the Conservative and Liberal Democrats' manifestos separately, it would be pretty damned tough to tell which is which. Austerity, tax cuts for the rich, you name it -- both of them deride Labour for irresponsibility while offering voters this mushy, establishmentarian, moderate hero platform. We have presented the people of this nation, you, with a clear program that will utilize massive Governmental investment in infrastructure to create jobs, spur production, and revitalize working-class communities across the Commonwealth while revitalizing our nation's transportation and internet services in rural communities. We have told the people of Britain how we will strengthen the NHS, reducing wait times and improving care options. And we have shown that we will reconcile Britain's minimum wage with the living wage, so that no one has to work full-time while living in poverty. So, to those struggling, I say this: help is on the way. Thank you.

1. Spending
I have made this clear through the entire campaign, and indeed, through my entire career. When the Government invests in its people, by building new roads and bridges and wind turbines and ports and cell towers, those people have money in their pockets, and they use that money to purchase goods from businesses, and that money goes to pay employees, and soon enough the increases in revenue from the economic growth pay for the additional money you spent. When you cut taxes for the wealthy, as my opponents have proposed, they just sit on that wealth, and it doesn't create jobs. In addition, the spending taken out of the public sphere by their austerity proposals would be catastrophic -- when money vanishes from the public sphere, or goes to the rich, it doesn't benefit the economy, and it doesn't benefit the people. So, yes, I am proposing Governmental intervention to boost economic output via increased spending on our people.

2. The EU
The European union, obviously, has some flaws. However, they do an excellent job of facilitating international trade, fighting crime, and presenting a unified geopolitical front so that we can fight for our common interests on the international trade. While, yes, some members are having financial difficulties, I think that whatever sacrifice we might make by giving them a chance to get their house in order is more than worth lower prices of goods and better representation around the globe.

I would also add that, whatever some might think, Euroscepticism isn't enough of a governing philosophy to run a country.

3. The NHS
Contrary to Mr. Clegg's claims that we "don't have the courage" to fix the NHS, we have put forward a bold vision for Britain's health program. We will invest in our country's health by hiring new staff, which (in addition to creating new jobs) will reduce wait times and allow for more personal care at NHS facilities. We have also pledged to expand patient options for in-home and private care, so that the people of Britain have a greater say in how they are cared for.

4. Labour
The people have spoken, and most of them wanted change in Labour's platform, but some didn't. What's more important to me than grudges or spats I may have had in the past, though, is my desire to present a unified front for left-wing policies in contrast to the slippery austerity proposed by the Tories and LibDems, and I hope that my fellow Labourites feel the same way.

In any case, my views are of the present -- the proposals I have made to change Britain, regardless of what happened forty years ago, are the proposals that Britain's working class needs to survive and thrive, and they are the proposals that I hope all Labourites can cast ballots for in this election. However, I'm not the type to shut people out, and I can promise that we'll all have seats at the table when I form a proper Government.

[CMB222]

Caroline Lucas at Leader's Debate

Opening Statement:

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Economy:

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European Union:

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NHS:

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Green Party:

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[Classic Conservative]

NUTTALL ANSWERS THE PEOPLE

Opening Statement
Good Evening to our moderators for this evening, my fellow candidates and I wish a very good evening to the British public. My name is Paul Nuttall, I'm the son of a nurse and a factory worker who worked hard and became a teacher. In 2002, I saw that my country, my community and my world was falling apart due to those men and women in Westminster who come and preach to us about, us giving them our votes and then they will help us. I saw that those promises made by John McDonnell's Labour and Theresa May's Conservatives were just lies. For decades they have promised to fix our NHS, to clamp down on the immigration crisis, to solve our high unemployment and put the British people first in Brussels. In reality though, they have broken every one of those promises and made it worse. Instead of fixing our NHS, wait times are up and we have a massive shortage of good physicians and surgeons. Instead of clamping down on uncontrolled immigration, we will let 176,000 low skilled people come in our country and take jobs that could be used by our youth which is has a twenty-five percent unemployment rate. Instead of putting us first in Brussels they have put Poland, Germany, France and Sweden first and we have lost our sovereignty, our jobs and our way of life. For the past century, we the British people, have elected the same bureaucrats, the same politicans and the same parties that have caused this great national dilemma. My party, UKIP, however wants to put an end to this madness that has ravaged us for far too long. And I look forward to laying out our optimistic British agenda to Her majesty's people.

Our Economy
When our nation, entered the original Europe in 1973, our nation had a thriving economy. We had booming industrial and fishing industries and our cities were developing into ports of our global community. We controlled 70% of Europe's fishing industry and we had over seven million good paying factory jobs in our nation. Compare to today since our entrance into Europe. We only control 10% of the fishing industry and we only have two and a half million manufacturing jobs today. This is a result of the austerity politics of the Tories, the raising of taxes on all peoples by Labour and our entrance into the European Union. We don't put our economic policy into whether it supports austerity or taxing the living daylights out of people. We call our policy, Britain First. Our manufacturing industry has barely recovered in recent years thanks to low-skilled jobs on assembly row but in reality those jobs haven't benefited Leah for Cardiff they've benefitted Dorota from Białystok. Our policy will put the British people first in many ways. We call for a Buy British and Hire British policy. For too long our buisness tycoons have gotten away with cheap labor from Bucharest and Warsaw under our policy one must be a legal resident of our nation to get any job in this nation. This will help our unemployment crisis by making sure our people get put first. We also call for major tax reform which will cut taxes for small companies and cut taxes for those in the middle and working class as well as those in poverty. We will also call for a ten percent, one time repatriation tax to bring British capital back from Zurich and into to Birmingham. We will also withdraw from the disastrous Common Fisheries Policy, which limits the ability to catch fish which has stifled our fishing communities. These policies in Europe that Labour and the Tories have implemented show that what they say about the working class isn't true, they're really out to screw you over every five years. In reality they just want to help each other in Westminster while they leave us to fight for the scraps.

The European Union
The European Union has failed Britain. It has failed our people, our economy and it has taken away who we are as a nation. It has taken away our democracy, our rule of law, our ability to make our own trade deals and instead it has given those powers to a bunch of fat cats in Brussels who nobody can name nor have we even heard of them. UKIP in our manifesto is calling for a referendum to leave the European Union. We are the only major party running who is even running on that. The Tories aren't running on that instead they want to help Europe even more. The Liberal Democrats are the biggest lovers of Angela Merkel outside of Germany and Labour has stood on the sidelines and abandoned the working class in favor of sweet deals from Brussels to benefit immigrants in West London. As I stated earlier, since our entrance we have declined by over five million manufacturing jobs, we have lost sixty percent of European fishing, we have lost our right to make our own decisions and laws and we basically are our own Scottish Parliament. In fact the Scottish Parliament probably has more rights than the Parliament. We have seen a plethora of factories leave our nation for Poland and China and what jobs we have been able to keep have gone to the hordes of low skilled immigrant from Eastern Europe. I can distinctly remember our good friends in the, Trio of Doom and Glome, shout about how if we don't enter the Eurozone we will be hurt financially and nobody will love us. It turns out that Trio was wrong then and they will be wrong again when we leave. They keep scaremongering us about why we shouldn't leave while in fact they were the ones who got us into this mess and they won't ever get us out of it.

Our NHS
We have left our healthcare with the same people who have messed up everything else in our country for the past half century. For decade the main parties have claimed that they will help our NHS and revitalize it. In fact it has gotten worse with less doctors and higher wait times. Over 40,000 people this month will not get a referral within 18 weeks. And 13,000 will wait over 26 weeks. 193,000 people wait over a month for a surgery. In such a wealthy nation as ours, this is a shame. I'm sure that our friends in the main parties will say that we are fixing it, in reality they will never fix it. They will make it worse. They have claimed that they will fix it, for the past half century. Our plan is simple, we will start out with a council of world class doctors, nurses, surgeons and normal people from all stages of income and age. This council will be led by the Government and we will ask for suggestions on how to fix our NHS and what we can do to solve our shortage of doctors. We will take those suggestions and once we leave the EU, we will make our own laws again. We will invest in a campaign to get our children of tomorrow to enter the medical profession like our STEM campaign of today. With an expanding population, we need more doctors not fewer to meet our needs.

UKIP
Let me start out with this. UKIP rejects and abhors any and all types of hatred or prejudice because of race, color, religion and creed. For many years, Catholics like my family endured the same prejudice in our nation that Jews, Buddhists and Muslims receive. I say to all UKIP members that believe this to find a home in the National Front not UKIP. There are some fringes in UKIP that are extremely hostile towards certain groups but the vast vast vast majority of UKIP are not like this and we are reaching out to minority communities as well. We visited our Jewish friends in London and Manchester where we confirmed our support for Israel and we will visit other communities as well. UKIP, however supports strict immigration quotas. We don't support this because we want to keep the Muslims out, no we support this because we have our own problems in this nation, we can't take more people in till we solve these problems. We have a twenty-five percent youth unemployment we can't take in 176,000 people every year. These people aren't Albert Einstein, the majority of them are lower skilled workers from a Eastern Europe and North Africa. When we solve our own problems at home we will gladly take in many more people but right now we have our own problems and in our manifesto, We Put Britian and Her People First.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Opening statement: I am happy to have a chance to be present tonight. We believe strongly in Scotland's ability to craft for itself a bright future. The SNP stands for a strong Scotland that makes a splash on the world stage, that is a trendsetter of progress. This was reflected by our manifesto. It presented a bright future for Scotland. A universal basic income, so that every Scot can get to where they want to world. Tuition increases tied to inflation to allow young people, the great assets of the country, to go about with their lives without debt crushing their dreams. An all-Scottish space program to ensure world recognition of the ingenuity of the Scottish people. We are the only party selling a hopeful, realistic version of Scotland's future.

Spending: I think that Scotland's oil has enormous potential to fund projects that are benefit all of Scotland. The SNP will use proceeds from Scotland's oil to fund a massive increase of the amount of wind turbines off Scotland's coasts. Wind energy resources are plentiful in Scotland, and the installation of them would produce plenty of temporary jobs, putting still more money in the hands of Scots.

EU: I believe that an Independent Scotland should break from England and chart its own course. It should seek EU membership but also seek close economic ties with other Northern European nations, like Denmark. We must build friendships with countries around the globe, like Taiwan. The EU would help Scotland tremendously. We would seek instant EU membership and adopt the euro immediately, dumping the pound and embracing our friends in Europe.

NHS: We will use Scotland's oil wealth to guarantee good care and ensure that no one is left untreated. No one will be left behind in the future Scottish Health Service, and everyone will be treated with dignity. If you want to keep your doctor, then you can keep him or her. All will be well.

Space Program: We believed the pledge to be necessary because we think the Scots are capable people, amazing people, and they can get to the Moon if they really put their hearts and minds to it. I believe in Scotland. I think it can deliver. Great nations are capable of landing men on the moon; Scotland is most definitely a great nation. It is so great of a nation it can achieve this feat all by itself. I can only wish Nick Clegg believed in Scotland as much as I do. Jack Kennedy, a former president of the United States, set forth an ambitious pledge to land Americans on the moon back in the early 60s, and his successors were able to succeed in that goal. Technology has advanced in the five centuries since then and there is no reason why Scotland can't do the same in an even quicker timeframe.

[DKrol]

...

Abstentionism
Sinn Féin’s MPs are elected to represent the needs of the people who elected them, which is a process that involves more than simply sitting in the House of Commons. We believe that we have been able to accomplish more in our direct negotiations with the British government than other parties have been able to accomplish in Westminster, and we invite anyone to put our record—including the Good Friday Agreement, the St Andrews Agreement, the Hillsborough Agreement, and all the other steps in the peace process—up against anything any other party has accomplished in decades spent sitting on the backbenches. Sinn Féin’s MPs do not take their seats, but that does not mean they are unable to seek the best deal for all our people.

Arlene Foster Rebutting Gerry Adams

For Mr. Adams to stand there and make the claim that Sinn Fein is solely responsible for the end of the Troubles and the many important steps in the peace process is a bold lie, clearly devised to mislead the voters. Neither Sinn Fein nor any single party or individual can rightly claim the Belfast Agreement, the St. Andrews Agreement, or the Hillsborough Agreement as their achievement. Each step along the way has been a joint effort between Unionists and Nationalists, between Sinn Fein, or the SDLP, and the UUP, or the DUP, or the TUV, between Belfast, Dublin, and London. The peace between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has been hard fought by all sides and for anyone to claim the peace as their victory, frankly, is a disrespect to the delicate peace that has been crafted.

[Lumine]

Post Debate Analysis:

And in the aftermath of the debate, let us look at the post-debate polling:

Who won the debate?

POLL 1: ALL LEADERS:

Clegg: 29%
Foster: 20%
Nuttall: 15%
May: 14%
Adams: 10%
Lucas: 5%
McDonnell: 5%
Salmond: 2%

POLL 2: NATIONAL PARTIES:

Clegg: 36%
Nuttall: 24%
May: 21%
McDonnell: 10%
Lucas: 9%

Analysis (OOC): Quite a fun debate! A lot of high quality answers, which I'm sure must have taken quite a lot of work from all of you, so my sincere congratulations for putting on a great (if not that dramatic) show. To clarify, the marking is not necessarily as lopsided as it may look on some cases, partly because of how absurd would be for half the field to be said in 15% or so. Perceptions matter greatly, to the benefit and detriment of those who came in the first spots and those who came in last.

Still, our first and second place winners are Nick Clegg and Arlene Foster. Both put on impressive and appealing performances, reassuring their bases or defending their respective records while deflecting some of the attacks that came in their way. The effects will be felt in national and Northern Ireland polling, of that I'm sure. Close to them was Paul Nuttall, who also put on a good show despite a questionable remark about Scotland. Still, neither Nuttall nor UKIP faced any attacks, allowing him to gather points despite his party being less visible than the "big three".

A few comments on places:

Nick Clegg: A very good performance, differentiating the Lib Dems from their former coalition partner while taking effective stances on the issues. While Clegg lost some points due to Labour landing hits on him, he absolutely plunged the knife into the Prime Minister. Expect clips of “John McDonnell cooked the books in London” to be played over and over on TV.

Arlene Foster: Quite a good performance too, barely below Clegg (think of Nicola Sturgeon being perceived as having won the 2015 debate). Foster played to her base with a solid performance (if a weak opening), standing up for the record of the DUP and putting it on the radar.

Paul Nuttall: Nuttall is a curious case. While he made a bad impression on the NHS and had a questionable remark about the Scottish Parliament nobody called him out on it, so both his strong opening and EU answers and his blows on the major parties were not challenged. He probably would have scored a bit less had he been attacked.

Theresa May: May is both an interesting and a mixed case. On the bright side, she excelled when answering on the economy and continues to make an appealing case to the centre, but answers such as her stance on the EU or the new branding she’s giving to the Conservatives make some voters move to UKIP. She also took several blows on the fear of austerity, which lowered her score (otherwise May would have probably been second or third).

Gerry Adams: An effective performance by Mr. Adams, who did a good job of countering the DUP and effectively looking like Foster’s counterpart. Still, his final answers were seen as less effective as time went by, and he took blows from Foster on Sinn Fein’s abstentionism which were not countered effectively.

Caroline Lucas: I was a bit torn on how to grade Lucas’s performance. Her responses weren’t particularly powerful or compelling beyond repeating the Green manifesto, but she had a good closure and did some damage on Labour. All in all, the Greens benefited a lot from not being attacked, which allowed them to make their case.

John McDonnell: Poor Prime Minister. Pundits will agree Mr. McDonnell put on a brave and consistent effort at the debate and landed effective hits against Clegg and May, but he was just buried under attacks that negated any momentum for his side. Nuttall and May did damage on their own, but it was Clegg who truly drew blood and that will cost Labour.

Alex Salmond: The SNP wasn’t effective during the debate, and it showed. Starting from a decent opening their responses went from mixed to bad, and the continued defence of the Scottish space program seemed really out of place. Compared to the Lib Dems or even the Greens, the SNP seemed rather unappealing.

[Lumine]

General Election Debate:

February 1st, 2012

1. Rules:

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2.- Main Questions:

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Now, a question for each candidate:

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[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Note: As CC is out of town, he will be unable to debate. Nigel Farage will be standing in for Paul Nuttall.

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[DKrol]

First Minister Arlene Foster at the second BBC Leaders Debate

Opening Statement:

Thank you for having me here tonight.

If you were to listen to Sinn Fein and Mr. Adams, you'd be lead to believe that Northern Ireland is some small rocky patch of grass off the coast of Great Britain. You'd be lead to believe that we're abused, neglected, and sidelined by the English, Welsh, and Scots. You'd be lead to believe that we're the lesser partners in this great country of nations. All of those statements are just not true. While our relationship has, at times, been less equal than would be ideal, I am completely confident that we are finally approaching the apex of the relationship between the Northern Irish and our countrymen - where we finally come to realize we are all brothers, sisters, countrymen, patriots, and loyal British citizens. This is the message of the DUP, and it is one of hope, promise, and vision for a brighter tomorrow.

Immigration Question:

Immigration is an issue of particular concern to those of us who live in Northern Ireland, as we're the only people in this country who actually share a border with another nation - the Republic of Ireland. Straddling that border is critically important to both who we are as a nation and our economic situation. More than 30,000 people cross that border in both directions every day for work alone. The border is critically important to our economy, as are the people who cross that border. We recognize the positive impact that immigrants, even if they're only crossing over for a day's work, have on our nation. We could not exist without our partners to the South. A relationship like that between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland can and must be worked out between the EU and the UK to develop a strategy that allows both sides to maximize the benefits of immigration - the free flow of ideas, the limitless commerce, and the expansion of culture - while minimizing the negative consequences - racial tensions, overcrowding, and the loss of national identity. I think that this can be done rather easily, by looking towards Northern Ireland. There are no border crossings between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, there are no security guards and car searches, and sniffer dogs. We recognize that we may be Northern Irish citizens or Republic of Ireland citizens, but we also recognize our shared ancestry first and foremost. The EU and the UK may have our differences, but we must remember we are Europeans first. We have centuries of shared history with the French, and the German, and the Poles; it would do us well, when talking of immigration, to not forget that.

Education Question:

We fully support the strengthening of grammar schools across the UK, as we have done in Northern Ireland. Grammar schools provide strong bases for further education and learning and set students up to succeed in ways that less rigorous schools do. The DUP have fought to protect the use of grammar schools in Northern Ireland since the Assembly was restored in 2007, despite many attempts by Sinn Fein over the years to do away with the tradition of excellent education for our students. Giving our students the best education we can give them - which grammar schools provide - should not be a controversial proposal. We should be looking for ways to open new grammar schools and get new students enrolled in grammar schools, not discussing closing them down or ending their use entirely, as Sinn Fein has proposed over the years.

Leadership Question:

Unlike some of the other individuals on this stage, I have a record as the First Minister of Northern Ireland to reflect on. Since the DUP has been in power in the Northern Irish Executive, we've made massive steps towards bettering the lives of the Northern Irish. We've provided expanded police services, to keep our streets safe. We've secured the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland, to keep Northern Irish law in Northern Irish hands. We've worked with Unionists and Nationalists to create the Hillsborough Castle Agreement, to cement our devolved powers. We've taken massive steps to heal the wounds of the 20th Century and bring the Emerald Isle into the 21st Century. The people of Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom can only expect more the same progress if the DUP is bolstered with a great mandate in Westminster.

DUP Question:

The DUP holds traditional moral stances on matters like homosexual unions and abortion. Look, it is not my place to judge or to decide or to care about what people get up to in their own bedrooms. It's not. What I care about, what the DUP cares about, is when people go about trying to change the definitions of basic words. Marriage. Marriage is a union between a man and a women, just as it has been for millennia. The DUP will not support, and we have not supported, any move to change the definition of the word marriage. On the issue of abortion, we have a very clear position on the termination of life. It will not occur in Northern Ireland. Abortion is the murder of the lives of children. We do not allow men to march down the street with knives in their hands, stabbing and murdering people out doing their shopping; we will not allow men to end the lives of children inside of their mother's wombs. These are not controversial, radical policies. These are the policies and positions at one time maintained by every political party, every individual, across the country. We've stuck true to our word and our position over the decades because these positions are based on morality, basic human decency, and standard understanding of the English language. We're working to uphold the moral compass of the country. If that's not popular with some, well, we shall not bend that moral compass to fit the whims and desires of the current social movement.

[Blair]

It’s less than two weeks now until you go to voting booth, and decide who you’ll trust to run our country. It’s clear the next government will have two tasks; the first is to sort out the mess in our economy, and the second is too sort out the mess in our politics. You simply cannot do one without the other, and the Liberal Democrats are the only part with a plan to fix our broken economy, and clean up our crooked political system.

Both Labour and the Conservatives have not been open, and honest about how they’d tackle both the economic, and political mess in this country. Labour haven’t even mentioned the deficit or the debt, and the Tories have not been open about where there £6 billion in cuts is going to come from. The Liberal Democrats have been open in saying that we’d put a tax on bankers bonuses, we’d have a national audit of every pound that is spend, and we’d balance the books by 2022.
 
However you can’t expect politicians to fix the economy if they don’t clear up the mess in our politics. I want to ban donations over £10,000, I want to stop special interests being able to pump billions into both parties. I want to give power back to you, by devolving power and spending to Metro Mayors.

People want politicians who give them the simple honest truth- and here it is; Britain needs a new, bold government that puts fairness at the heart of every decision. Remember in this election that every single vote can count; so please, vote for fairness, vote for your future and vote Liberal Democrat.

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The Liberal Democrats have always been clear; we believe that Britain is great because of the contribution of immigrants. Whether it’s the nurses in our hospitals, the teachers in our schools, or troops who defended our shores it’s clear that Britain is stronger, and more prosperous because of the contribution for immigrants.

However people simply don’t trust politicians when we open our mouth to talk about immigration; for too long we’ve appeared distant, and have tried to avoid discussing the issue. I won’t let that happen; and I’ll be honest about my plan for dealing with immigration.

I'd want to introduce fairness into Britain's immigration system. In some cases this would mean changing unfair laws and limits; such as ensuring that Afghan translators who have put their lives, and their families on the line to help Britain have the option to come here if they’re safety is under threat. We’d also want to ensure that international students have continued access to Britain to study, train and live; whilst allowing British students the same.

However we also know that this fairness needs to run both ways; and that we must take actions to ensure that we manage migration in a sustainable way. This means putting exit, and entry checks for everyone; so that we can track everyone who enters and leaves this country. It means fining, business owners who employ illegal immigrants, and it means ensuring that people must pay in before receiving generous benefits. I know that some people may think these measures are too tough, some might think they’re not tough enough but we need to be honest in saying that Britain is best when it’s a both fair and tolerant to all. That would be the driving theme of my governments approach to immigration.

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The biggest injustice in Britain is one that has plagued this country for generations; and one that I have seen in my own city of Sheffield. Kids born in the affluent parts of the city are not only likely to be healthier, but are likely to live almost 14 years longer than kids in the poorest parts, simply because of where they’re born. It’s simply unacceptable in Britain that are children’s lives can be decided before they’ve even reached their fifth birthday. We need to end this postcode lottery in Britain. This is where any discussion of education needs to begin.

As a minimum I’ve pledged to protect education and health funding to ensure that every child gets the fair start. The coalition also increased front-line spending on sure start centres, and I’m proud of that. But I want to do so much more. I want to ensure that every child gets free school meals; so that kids are not going to lessons starving. We also want to introduce a pupil premium funding scheme to give extra funding to schools with larger amounts of kids from low income backgrounds to ensure that every child can reach their potential. Only the Liberal Democrats have a fair plan to ensure that we can remove these grotesque barriers that have blighted Britain.

But I want to make one final point; education isn’t something that ends at 18.The Lib Dems ensured that there would be no rise in tuition fees in the coalition and I’ve made a clear pledge that the liberal democrats will vote against any rise in fees. I also want to ensure that people who don’t go to university get a fair deal; which is why I’ve promised job training or apprenticeships for every young person.

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I want to be the next prime minister of this great country because I believe that Britain needs a fair deal, and that Britain needs someone who can transform our politics, and our economy. Some people on this stage have been talking a lot about my upbringing, and about my family. So I’ll give you a spoiler; yes my I’m the son of the banker, and yes I was lucky to have a generous upbringing. But there’s something so much more important that you deserve to know.

My parents taught me that throughout your whole life, the values of fairness, tolerance and compassion should run drive you ever day. My parents would never let me forgot that my Grandma was a refugee from Russia, and that we only had opportunities we had because of the compassion that Britain showed my family. As Prime Minister I want the public to know that these values will inspire my work every day.

But voters also want a prime minister who they know has fought for the values. I did this when I helped lead the campaign to allow Gurkhas to stay in the UK, and I spend the whole of the last summer leading the campaign to make voting fair, and to make every vote count. Both Labour, and the tories opposed this campaign simply because because the old system benefitted them.

The public know they can rely on me, and the Liberal Democrats to always put this nation first; I did this when I went into coalition in 2010 to provide stability, and security to our nations finances, and I left the coalition when the Labour party indulged itself, and gave the keys to number 10 to a man who is simply unfit to be prime minister.

So that’s my pledge to you; if you want a prime minister with a proven record of leading, and standing up to injustice, if you want a prime minister who has fought to make your vote count in every election, and if you want a prime minister who’ll finally get a fair deal for your family, then send this this grandson of refugees, and son of a banker to whip the banks into shape, clear our debt and our deficit and finally give you the fair deal that you deserve.

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Well I think that Labour looked at the campaign we were running, and the energy, and ideas we were bringing to politics and they knew they'd need to attack us.

The first attack that we were stealing Labours ideas was a load of rubbish, and frankly there’s nothing to steal from that manifesto. It looks like it was written on the backseat of the car the morning before it was launched. There was nothing in the manifesto about gay rights, nothing about the environment, nothing about sorting out the banks and nothing about students. They’ve offered nothing to people who’ve always voted Labour, they’ve taken their voters for granted and now they’re stunned that someone has had the audacity to call them out over it.

The crucial difference between our party, and Labour and the Tories, is that whilst they want to horde power we want to give power back. This means giving all workers a £2,000 tax cut, it means ending the discrimination of stop and search, it means scaling back government surveillance and it means allowing marriage equality.

Politics should be about offering the public a clear vision; and promising to always put the interests of this great country first. I did this when I became Home Secretary; where we protected education and health funding, but of course we should have gone further in cutting the deficit which is I’ve pledged to balance the books by 2022. Politics is also about being honest with the public; I left the coalition because Labour simply couldn't offer the country a credible choice of Prime Minister.
I know I’ve been attacked for walking away from the coalition but it was the Labour Party that walked away from reality.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Foreign Secretary Owen Smith stands in for Prime Minister McDonnell at the second leaders' debate

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At the present moment immigration is listed as one of the biggest concerns for the electorate, which most voters taking a seemingly negative view of the present system. How will your party address the issue of immigration, and what is our overall view on the issue?

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There has been some significant debate on the past years regarding education, and how to best reform it to serve the needs of every child. Where do you stand on education, and which policies do you plan to promote?

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While every party has its team, a heavy burden of responsibility falls on the party leader, particularly if he or she becomes Prime Minister. Why should the voters rely on you personally as the next Prime Minister, or as a regional leader?

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One issue that has come up recently in the press is that of your views on the IRA and the situation in Northern Ireland, which has included some questionable comments in the past. What can you say about your views on the matter?

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[Mike Thick]

*John McDonnell rushes out from backstage in a sweat-soaked Black Sabbath t-shirt and basketball shorts, looking either stressed beyond belief or hopped up on... something.*

Thanks to Owen for standing in -- I've had an absolutely insane few days, and I'll probably post about it in Update once it's all over.

*A stunning red light flashes, and the Prime Ministers is gone in a puff of sulfurous steam.*

[Barnes]

Mrs May at the second, and final, Leaders' Debate.

In just a week, we will all head to the polls to perform one of our fundamental rights as citizens: to choose the Government for the next five years.  When you or I step into the polling booth, there will be no more speeches, press coverage, or debates, and, finally, you will have your say.

Will you choose a Britain which is more dynamic, more outwards looking, and more committed to tackling the economic crisis?  Will you choose a Britain which invests in all of our communities and in people, not red tape?  Will you choose a Britain which values and respects hard work, and rewards success, instead of running it away with crushing taxes and debt?

These decisions, and so many more, will come down to you on February 9.  My party has presented a bold and ambitious plan which will turn the page on the last few years and put Britain back on its feet again.  A Conservative vote will restore strong, stable government and deliver leadership which works each and every day for you and your best interests.

You can choose this path, or you can choose more of the same: more of Mr McDonnell and Labour battling with Mr Clegg day in and day out, scoring cheap political points and forgetting about the people who elected them.  I think Britain deserves a better standard than that, and with your vote, we can make that happen.

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It is quite clear that Labour has totally lost control over the immigration system, and the Liberal Democrats has totally lost the plot.  We must ensure, first and foremost, that the immigration system into this country is secure, productive, and sustainable.  Immigration has undoubtedly enriched and strengthened this nation, but the annual intake of economic migrants is unacceptably high and we will reduce it.

It is wrong and totally disingenuous for politicians to compare the need and suffering of refugees with economic migrants; the former are fleeing for their very lives, and the later are moving for a change of career.  A Conservative Government will always preside over a generous aid and refugee program, but we must establish controls over the annual intake of economic migrants.

We propose an establishment of an annual cap limiting immigration to the tens of thousands.  As the state of our economy and stress on our public services can change rapidly, we will allow for maximum flexibility in this target to ensure that the migration intake is always under control and accountable.  And in order to make sure than all economic migrants can further help to enrich our society, we will place restrictions on unskilled and unqualified workers from settling here.

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The education system is the cornerstone and guarantor of Britain's success in the future.  Our entire plan is based around expanding choice, freedom, and opportunity for students and families to allow for the best possible education suited to a child's needs and desires.

We will return greater control over curriculum and instruction to local authorities and schools in a way which formally involves teachers, parents, and students in the development of an effective program of learning.

We will put a halt to wasteful, needless bureaucracy in the system and take a handle on Labour's spending spree.  Instead of throwing wads of money into every new quango Labour falls in love with, we will invest increased funding where it actualy counts: schools and students; especially those in disadvantaged areas which need the promise of a good education the most. 

It is our firm belief that we must stabilize and reassure university funding, and part of that comes through tuition fees; but we cannot allow student debt and the burden which that will cause to become a deterrent for any qualified student seeking a university education.

We will eliminate all tuition charges for low and lower middle income students, we will eliminate all tuition charges for the families of members of the armed forces, and we will place a freeze on tuition increases for a year.  Mr Clegg has attacked us for creating different levels of education, let him say that to an eighteen year old girl who would be the first in her family to go to university, to move out of their council home, to prove her talents and capabilities.  Should she really have to choose to not go to university because Mr Clegg wants her to share in the equality of student debt?  Where is the fairness in that?

When Mr Clegg talks about "protecting education funding while Home Secretary" let's see how that stacks up against performance standards continuing to decline, school buildings and facilities falling into disrepair, and youth unemployment at disgracefully high levels.  All Mr Clegg did was protect Labour's own mistakes and incompetence; we need a government which will serve the interest of students, and not lock in the same mistakes of the past.

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I became well known for a very peculiar reason for someone who is now a party leader: I called my party the "nasty party" back when we were failing to correct our mistakes and learn from the past.  I have fought every day that I have been a Conservative MP to rid my party of that image and, since being elected leader, to present a vision of fair, hopeful, inclusive conservatism.  I lead the charge on this, and many times came up against the same old guard: the Eton boys who for too long dominated my party and our country's politics.  Like many other women before me, I did not allow myself to be undermined or belittled, and I persevered.

As Prime Minister, I will fight in the same way for our incredible country at home and on the world stage, and the stakes will be much higher.  Every day, I will wake up knowing how many people are out of work, how many of our soldiers are stationed overseas, how many children go hungry for a meal, and know that I must fight for all of them.  As a party leader and as Prime Minister, a person has great power and great authority, a voice that is always heard, and the ability to enact meaningful action. 

It would be my duty and my mission to work for you every single day, to give you a voice, and to give you results.

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I have always believed that politics is not a game, it is not a vanity project for public figures to surround themselves in attention and praise.  Politics is, fundamentally, about getting the job done, and doing it well. 

I am a private person, I will admit it, and, to be quite frank, appearing at these debates, or a campaign rally, or in the House of Commons, is intimidating and can be nerve-wracking.  I am not afraid to admit it, because I can deal with it.  I want to be in public life to help people, to help our country; not to help my own image or reputation. 

I am not going to make myself something that I am not; the woman you see is really the woman that you get.  And that is a woman who cares about the issues and problems before us, who cares enough to do all of the research, develop real solutions, and have the fortitude to see them through. 

That is who I am, and why I hope to be your next Prime Minister.

[Lumine]

Post Debate Analysis:

And in the aftermath of the debate, let us look at the post-debate polling:

Who won the debate?

POLL 1: ALL LEADERS:

May: 27%
Clegg: 23%
Foster: 21%
Farage: 17%
Smith: 12%

POLL 2: NATIONAL PARTIES:

May: 37%
Clegg: 28%
Farage: 21%
Smith: 14%

Analysis (OOC): An interesting sequel, at times more subdued, at times more intense than the first battle. All of the five participants put a lot of effort and it showed, so congratulations again! Our first and second place go to Theresa May and Nick Clegg, who put on effective performances despite being under attack (Clegg particularly suffered on marking due to Labour trying to place a knife firmly behind his back). Arlene Foster also did well and got close to second, but it was generally felt that her second performance had too much expectatives to overcome.

A few comments on places:

Theresa May: Kudos to May for showing humanity while at the same time portraying herself as "Prime-Ministerial". Quite the dignified performance, unironically considered to be "strong and stable" even if some answers proved a bit disappointing. A strong delivery on immigration will do wonders to contain the UKIP surge.

Nick Clegg: Again, quite a show. Clegg continues to show he has what it takes, but the fact that he is having to constantly fend off attacks means he tends to suffer from "death by a thousand cuts". Having said that, he knocked it out of the park on the "why should you be PM" question, and he reassured voters despite the latest scandals.

Arlene Foster: Another solid showing by Arlene Foster, who has more than a few Tories wishing the DUP was running in England. Mrs. Foster continues to make herself known to the British public while at the same time softening their usual portrayal, which might do wonders for her party if she gets in a position to support a future government.

Nigel Farage: A nice Farage performance, it started very well on immigration and then started to fall a bit. His response defending Nuttall on the NHS did not look good. Still, Farage avoided any attacks (even from the Conservatives), cemented the growing base of UKIP and did his career a boost by proving he can be an effective leader again should Mr. Nuttall be unavailable.

Owen Smith: I enjoy this side of Smith, I really do. The fiery populist tone resonates well with the electorate, and Smith excelled on education to a point in which his stock continues to rise as a potential future leader. Having said that, his calls to "end austerity" lead a bewildered audience (and an irate Gordon Brown) to marvel at what only seems like Labour disunity (the Tories haven't been in government since 97'). That and he got buried under attacks by May/Clegg.