Should I Be Pushing For More Tests...
Body & Soul0 min ago
Farage V Clegg
Looks like Farage won on points.
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by Farriercm. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
The Daily Telegraph take on it...
// In the next 24 hours there’s going to be a lot of spin, a lot of attempts at expectation management, a lot of attempts to get behind the headlines. But Nick Clegg beat Nigel Farage and beat him comfortably.
Tonight we saw the worst of Nigel Farage and the best of Nick Clegg.
Clegg, after a shaky first question, was relaxed, confident and well briefed. He also used his props to good effect, pointing out Ukip had issued a leaflet claiming 29 million Bulgarians and Romanians could potentially emigrate here, when there weren’t even that many in Romania and Bulgaria.
Farage, in contrast, showed he is one-paced. His confident style , became hectoring. When pressed he became, tetchy, then shouty, then sweaty. And finally just aggressive and rude.
Worse, he began to lose his thread. Lots of people are picking up on his absurd claim that the EU was responsible for the Russian invasion of the Crimea. His statement that he would basically oppose gay marriage until Britain renounced the Human Rights Act was spiteful. Worst of all was the self-pleading that surrounded his attempt to explain his decision to employ his wife as his EU assistant.
The instant polls showed Farage the victor, as they were always destined to. Cheap populism is superficially popular.
But once again Nigel Farage showed the nasty side of his politics, if not his character. And come 2015, it will cost him. //
// In the next 24 hours there’s going to be a lot of spin, a lot of attempts at expectation management, a lot of attempts to get behind the headlines. But Nick Clegg beat Nigel Farage and beat him comfortably.
Tonight we saw the worst of Nigel Farage and the best of Nick Clegg.
Clegg, after a shaky first question, was relaxed, confident and well briefed. He also used his props to good effect, pointing out Ukip had issued a leaflet claiming 29 million Bulgarians and Romanians could potentially emigrate here, when there weren’t even that many in Romania and Bulgaria.
Farage, in contrast, showed he is one-paced. His confident style , became hectoring. When pressed he became, tetchy, then shouty, then sweaty. And finally just aggressive and rude.
Worse, he began to lose his thread. Lots of people are picking up on his absurd claim that the EU was responsible for the Russian invasion of the Crimea. His statement that he would basically oppose gay marriage until Britain renounced the Human Rights Act was spiteful. Worst of all was the self-pleading that surrounded his attempt to explain his decision to employ his wife as his EU assistant.
The instant polls showed Farage the victor, as they were always destined to. Cheap populism is superficially popular.
But once again Nigel Farage showed the nasty side of his politics, if not his character. And come 2015, it will cost him. //
More Telegraph verdicts
// No minds will have been changed. The Faragistes who see their champion as the battler against faceless, bloodless, heartless power-brokers will be happy. But Nick won. As he should have. Easily." //
- Mary Riddell, columnist and political interviewer for the Daily Telegraph
// Nick Clegg kept calm and stuck to the facts. And it became clear facts are Nigel Farage’s enemy. He became increasingly angry and bombastic.
By the end Clegg was engaging easily and effectively with his audience. Nigel Farage appeared to be cracking jokes to amuse only himself.
His explanation of his reason for employing his wife was especially embarrassing. Fortunately, by that point, few people in the audience appeared to be listening to him." //
- Dan Hodges, former Labour Party and GMB trade union official.
// Overall, Clegg came across as more in command of the detail (possibly because he’d been briefed by the civil service beforehand) and for that reason I think he edged it. My hunch is that neutrals will have found Clegg more persuasive, not least because he seemed to be trying to reach out to them and gave the impression of being more reasonable. Farage will certainly have pleased his supporters, but not much more than that." //
- Toby Young, Columnist.
http://
I did not see or hear the debate. From what I read, it will not have changed anyones minds. The Euroskeptics thought Farage won, the Europhiles thought Clegg did.
// No minds will have been changed. The Faragistes who see their champion as the battler against faceless, bloodless, heartless power-brokers will be happy. But Nick won. As he should have. Easily." //
- Mary Riddell, columnist and political interviewer for the Daily Telegraph
// Nick Clegg kept calm and stuck to the facts. And it became clear facts are Nigel Farage’s enemy. He became increasingly angry and bombastic.
By the end Clegg was engaging easily and effectively with his audience. Nigel Farage appeared to be cracking jokes to amuse only himself.
His explanation of his reason for employing his wife was especially embarrassing. Fortunately, by that point, few people in the audience appeared to be listening to him." //
- Dan Hodges, former Labour Party and GMB trade union official.
// Overall, Clegg came across as more in command of the detail (possibly because he’d been briefed by the civil service beforehand) and for that reason I think he edged it. My hunch is that neutrals will have found Clegg more persuasive, not least because he seemed to be trying to reach out to them and gave the impression of being more reasonable. Farage will certainly have pleased his supporters, but not much more than that." //
- Toby Young, Columnist.
http://
I did not see or hear the debate. From what I read, it will not have changed anyones minds. The Euroskeptics thought Farage won, the Europhiles thought Clegg did.
Much as I dislike Farage, I can't imagine Clegg wiping the floor with him, or anybody else for that matter. He has every appearance of being part of some 5th form debating society, rather than a high-ranking politician.
By the way, if Farage is leader of his Party, why was he not debating with dave ? Regulars will know that I am not dave's biggest fan either, but he would have been a much better match for Farage, than his Butler !
By the way, if Farage is leader of his Party, why was he not debating with dave ? Regulars will know that I am not dave's biggest fan either, but he would have been a much better match for Farage, than his Butler !
Mikey, I didn’t find him bombastic, irritating and unpleasant. He relayed his points in a reasonable manner and he stuck to his allotted times. Are you sure your criticism emanates solely from the 15 minutes you watched or could it have arisen from your dislike of UKIP?
ps. Dave said he didn’t have time to debate Farage. He’s too busy running the country.
ps. Dave said he didn’t have time to debate Farage. He’s too busy running the country.
Perhaps we should agree to disagree naomi !
I am not sure what has been achieved in this debate. The LibDem support has plummeted since the 2010 Election, and Farage would seem to have come out of the debate ahead of the Coalition government. So if the Prime Minister thinks that its not important enough to defend his Government's record, then maybe UKIP really will start to make progress. dave should have been there in my opinion.
I am not sure what has been achieved in this debate. The LibDem support has plummeted since the 2010 Election, and Farage would seem to have come out of the debate ahead of the Coalition government. So if the Prime Minister thinks that its not important enough to defend his Government's record, then maybe UKIP really will start to make progress. dave should have been there in my opinion.
