David Cameron.

[Abdulmajid]

Isn't he a nice traditional English" chap?

I hope he is our next Prime Minister.

Do you?

[Ethel]

David Cameron is from a Scottish family :)

[Rollo]

Brown is indeed a Scot. Whether he is either "nice" or "traditional", or both, is questionable.

Cameron has a "traditional" Scottish name!

What anybody being "English", "Scottish", "nice" or "traditional" has to do with them being Prime Minister is a bit of a mystery.

[Quinlad]

You can hardly get more English than this, can you?

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/02_1/Cam eronEton_600x539.jpg

Look at what he's wearing. Of course he should lead us. He's better than us commoners.

[Ethel]

Being an Etonian is not a sign of Englishness.

Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal (he was a king for a few hours after he killed his father, and before he killed himself) and the Americans Thomas Lynch and Thomas Nelson studied at Eton, for example

[Quizmonster]

In my opinion, AM, only people who believe in the curative properties of snake-oil are likely to agree with you!

[Oneeyedvic]

The composition of snake oil medicines varies markedly between products.

Snake oil sold in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1989 was found to contain:

* 75% unidentified carrier material, including camphor
* 25% oil from Chinese water snakes, itself consisting of:
o 20% eicosapentaenic acid (EPA) - an omega 3 derivative
o 48% myristic acid (14:0)
o 10% stearic acid (18:0)
o 14% oleic acid (18:1ω9)
o 7% linoleic acid (18:2ω6) plus arachidonic acid (20:4ω6)

Given Dr. Richard Kunin's 1989 analysis[4], it appears that the Chinese snake oil made from Chinese water snakes is very high in EPA. This substance is known to be a pain reliever, as EPAs are absorbed through the skin and are the parent of the series 3 prostaglandins which inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory series 2 prostaglandins, and the Chinese snake oil products may contain up to 4% of it. Snake oil does not have the dubious reputation in China that it has in the US and elsewhere in the Western world, and it is used widely in traditional Chinese medicine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_oil

So around 1 billion Chinese will agree with WardMinter?

[Kromovaracun]

To be honest, I find it a little depressing that people actually have preferences based solely on whether the candidate is a 'nice English chap'.

On Cameron, I don't trust him. I've heard him described as 'Blair in a blue suit' and that sounds pretty accurate for me. He's only now being looked on favourably because he's had the good fortune to stand opposite a lethargic and deeply unpopular government.

Cameron does, however, have some good people around him in the shadow cabinet (Hague being a good example) so they do have that plus. So I guess it would all depend on Cameron's leadership style.

Next election is really a selection between two bad candidates (I'd say Brown is better-intentioned than Cameron but it's kind of outweighed by his weak govt and his inability to rise to the premiership).

[Quinlad]

Brown has a couple of decent people in his cabinet too (I can think of two or three). Some with genuinely strong ideas. Sadly, they're too fearful of political suicide to go for the leadership.

You're right though. Brown v Cameron isn't exactly as clash of the leadership titans is it?

[Gromit]

http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/jan2008/ta king_aim.html

[Quizmonster]

Maybe so, Vic, but the Chinese don't have a vote here and they believe rhino-horn is an aphrodisiac. Consequently, I'll stick with the dubious reputation snake-oil has in the western world, according to your link. Cheers

[Lucy Thomas]

I think anyone would be an improvement on the clown currently occupying the position.

[Richard1966]

no no no no no