Why Is Cameron Dragging His Feet?

[youngmafbog]

http://news.sky.com/story/1251419/pm-accused-of-dragging-feet-on-tv-debates

Now the precident has been set it will have to happen so why no just agree? Or does he think it may be BoJo that will have to do it not him ?

And this really caught my eye:
"There have been some questions over who should be allowed to participate in the debates with a suggestions that UKIP leader Nigel Farage should be invited to join in.

However, Mr Cameron has ruled this out, saying the showdowns should only be for those with a reasonable prospect of becoming prime minister."

Well that's Clegg out too then !

[Ken4155]

Fair point, well put.

[ToraToraTora]

Personally I hate this, follow the US, tendency in these debates they serve no actual purpose but if they are going ahead then Cameron should get his thumb out of his arris and sign up PDQ. For the general election they should have the 2 main parties only. For the Euro elections they should include UKIP and the Libdems.

[scooping]

As leader of the third largest party in the house of commons don't think it unreasonable for Clegg to be in any debate when it comes to the general election. UKIP, with no MPs, the Greens, with one MP...no.

[youngmafbog]

Sounds an excellent compromise TTT. The three of them would attempt to bully Farage and that, I suspect, would show all three for what they are: Eurocrats.

I agree with your sentiments on the US style trend, but now it has been done I cant see we can go back.

[sp1814]

I've waited for years to agree wholeheartedly with a ToraToraTora post, and now the day has come.

Could not have put it better myself.

[Gromit]

At the last election TV debates Clegg was a revelation to many and certainly caused a LibDem bounce. Brown was predictably awful and put off many voters. And Cameron disn't do enough and the election left the Conservatives short of a workable majority. The TV debates had a great influence on the election result, probably not for the better.

I also agree with Tora on this.

[ToraToraTora]

I think most agree that last time Clegg gave an unexpectedly good performance but did these debates have any effect on the election? I doubt it. However the genie is out of the bottle now!

[Gromit]

I thought it would be interesting to see the predictions a year before the 2010 election. This bit stood out...

//  Meanwhile the Lib Dems are expected to see their strong gains of 2005 all but disappear due to the fact that many of the Lib Dem marginal seats are against the Conservatives rather than Labour, and given the strong swing to the Tories the Lib Dem's blood bath could even be worse than that for Labour with potentially as many as half of Lib Dem seats being lost. //

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article11034.html

That obviously didn't happen. But that was before the tv debates.

[Farriercm]

Mr Cameron says showdowns should only be for those with a reasonable prospect of becoming a PM - If he means the next election , that explains why he is not keen to take Part.

[youngmafbog]

Too late Farrier, already said it in the OP !!

[Gromit]

Another way off prediction a year before the last election...


Daily Telegraph August 2009

// The Conservatives would win a 96-seat Commons majority at the next general election, according to the latest poll. //

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/6128933/Tories-would-win-96-seat-majority-at-next-election.html