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Why are the aircarriers all moaning about having to pay out for passengers stranded abroad? They are aware that carrying passengers under euro regulation carrying a risk, why are they not insured agaist the risk? they are all very keen to sell there customers insurance.

Given these three can't agree on the basics at this stage it doesn't give you confidence that a coalition government will work does it?

question for the panel

Should the electoral commission put the option "None of the above" on the ballot paper?

Nick Clegg was very good. He was the only one who showed new ideas. A different approach to the problems we have now. The other two just poured out the same things that they have been doing for the last few years. I would like to see what the Liberal Democrats could do as our government. Nick Clegg was fired up and enthusiastic about our world and i liked that. As to the nuclear issue he was the only one who wanted to look at different ideas and the others just wanted to shut him up. I found that Mr Brown and Mr Cameron were very patronising to Mr Clegg and treated him as if he was a child and i am pleased that Mr Clegg did not get angry with them because i would have!!!

A couple of thoughts: Why do the commentators waste their time talking to the likes of Paddy Ashdown, Liam Fox and Alistir Campbell? We dont learn anything from them do we? I know exactly what they are going to say before they open their mouths.
I am puzzled; I thought I was Tory but I have done 3 seperate online quizzes on who I should vote for and have come out as Lib Dem on one, Labour on another and UKIP on the third!
What was all that about the leaflets from labour?
A couple of stupid questions raised: What are they doing personally for climate change? The question re the pope? We only have 90 minutes and we voters need to know what they are offering. Please only ask questions that hold value.

I work for a local job agency and have been working for my local council for 3 years constant, can some pls tell me why there is no jobs at my local council, because 3 years in a job must consitute a vacancy. if the goverment are wishing to cut costs i guess us agency workers are the first to go even though some of us have worked for longer than the office staff

yawn.

Another 2 Torys tonight, now there is a surprise!!
Noreen

It hasn't been 13 years of failure under Labour though has it? Fair enough there has been a recession for 2 years, but before that 11 years of success. If not, how did they win in 2001 and 2005 so easily?

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Could someone please ask the man from Plaid Cymru why their policy is to strangle badgers in a futile attempt to quell bovine TB?

I will not be visiting Wales for any tourist purposes until the Welsh Assembly reverses its obtuse and wrong-headed decision to cull badgers in Pembrokeshire on the grounds that it will somehow control Bovine TB, which it won’t.

It won’t work because badgers are not the only wild creatures in which a reservoir of bovine TB exists in the natural population. If you are going to cull the badgers, what about the ferrets and the deer. Plus, if you disturb the habitat of the badgers in one area, by an attempt to cull them, you run the risk of dispersing potentially infected animals to other areas. Plus, by depleting the natural population in the area of the cull, you run a risk of other badgers from other areas moving in, as they discover more resources and less competition for those resources. The effects of any cull can therefore only ever be temporary, unless you were prepared to perpetually kill all badgers forever for the foreseeable future. And extend that to other animals as well, because as I have said above, badgers are not the only creatures that carry m. bovis in the wild.

The ISG has advised that substantial reductions in TB can be achieved by improving cattle-based control methods, including electric fencing around farm buildings, better controls on cattle movement through zoning or herd attestation, strategic use of gamma-interferon blood tests in both routine and pre-movement testing, quarantine of purchased cattle, and shorter testing intervals, to name but a few. The Welsh Assembly should be telling the farming lobby to put its own house in order.

Furthermore, as the author of two or three travel books and a participant in many online discussion forums concerning travel, tourism and animal welfare, I shall be using every power at my disposal to influence other people along similar lines, to protest against the disgraceful way in which the Welsh Assembly has bowed down before the farming lobby, damaging Welsh tourism – possibly irrevocably – in the process.

why is it that not one of the political leaders answered the question in the popes vist of why should it come out of taxes when the church is rich enough to pay for his visit.

How dare any member of the Labour party talk about about pensions when there Leader as Chancellor destroyed the private pensions with his 5 billion raid initially then the each succesive year while protecting labour core voters in the public sector and their very safe pension!

Agree with Ming - only the Lib Dems have policy to address toxic banking system.
Will anyone, at any point in this election coverage tackle the West Lothian Question? The surge in Lib Dem support makes it more likely that Labour will win the election whilst being 3rd in the popular vote. Most of their seats will be in Scotland. What moral right will they have to dictate policy in England? How will the parties address this issue?

"Last of the summer Wine" Cleggy Foggy (Cameron) Compo (Brown)

Most politicians have been milking their expenses

Methinks Ming Campbell protests too much

Usual bias from QT even during an election, it does not auger well for the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ hosting of next weeks debate with Tory Dimbleby moderating.

The extra panel member Ann Leslie is a totally biased participant, who to her credit admitted to being a Tory on the programme. This just creates imbalance on the panel. Surely the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ could have identified a neutral or another party rep or just dispensed with the extra person?

I posted contribution regarding Lib Dems receiving donations from a convicted fraudster 3 weeks ago and the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ moderated it off, now this panel are discussing it and David asks if it was morally right not to pay it back.

Ann Leslie - we have read your newspaper, and come to the conclusion that it's garbage, actually.

What a dreadful speaker Ann Leslie is. Whay is she there, she's adding nothing to the debate and is actually damaging the tory cause!

"Last of the summer Wine" Cleggy Foggy (Cameron) Compo (Brown)

Re expenses - a lot more of the MPs should have been prosecuted

That Daily Mail woman is a disgrace, all she does is diss others

When is the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ going to stop inviting that poisoned, twisted, condescending gutter-snipe Ann Leslie onto Question Time? Probably because the producers want a bit of friction, but frankly I'm sick of hearing her spout her bile.

Can someone please explain to David Dimbleby that he is supposed to be chairing the debate NOT taking part in it. He's taking up time debating points himself when he should be directing the discussion among the Politicians we actually tuned in to hear.

Woah! Ann Leslie is getting a pasting from this audience tonight. Shows what people really think of the Daily Mail....

Hung Parliament...sic minority government? No big deal. You get your best government when the powermogers can't lord it over the majority who didn't vote for them.

Why didn't Clegg mention that he is going to give the profit from his second home to the tax-payer?? That would have been a knock-out blow!

The problem with the political system in the UK is not about individuals. It is all about the parties hijacking parliament and devaluing democracy.

i expect, despite the facxt that many are politicians, a better level and standard of language and debate from this programme. I would also suggest no more Daily Mail journalists!

We should have proportional representation

Anyone else think that Ann Leslie has more than just looks in common with Cruella De Ville?

How can that peddler of tory bile criticise the integrity of others? The only thing thicker than her skin is the people that believe the drivel she spews.

Yes, can't bear Daily Mail woman, who could she possible represent?

Whatever happened to equal representations in the parliament? This was raised by various government but has never taken up.

Why does David not ak Yvette Cooper how much she and her husband Ed Balls have been claiming on expenses. where they live and what are their oficial homes for expenses purposes?

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Was it just me or did SKY NEWS constantly spend their time on close-ups for David Cameron in an attempt to cancel the Clegg effect? We also saw Adam Bolton throwing in a deliberate attack on Clegg.
Since James Murdoch (the Chairman of SKY) is a vocal supporter of Cameron and the Conservative party media policy was effectively written by the Murdoch family anything could be possible.
This week he even burst into the Independent newspaper to complain to the editor about their coverage of the election - a bit rich from a Murdoch.

Hung parliament?

Haig trots out the old tory mantra. " Hung parliaments are weak government". We need strong government he says. Dictatorship by one or other of tory or labour, he means. Controlled by the party whips.

David Dimbleby seems rather too keen on interrogating William Hague, while Yvette Cooper seems to be getting off lightly despite being the representative of the incumbent Government.

Fantastic to see the arrogant bully tactics employed by Ann Leslie so swiftly and matter of factly dealt with by Yvette Cooper. Impressive. Another young, intelligent new breed of MP ready to take on archaic narrowminded journalism.

MP's should be responsible for their actions including the expenses scandal. It appears that there are two tier systems, the general public and the politician. How are we supposed to trust any party with this in mind?

Take a look at Canada where for the past several years a hung parlimant has been a way of life. Economic downturn with that situation? I don't think so. Take a look at our economy and recent GDP growth.

A minoriy keeps those right wing American wannabe Conservatives at bay.

God help us if they had a majority.

You could give National Health and social services a fond goodbye here.

18 Max I'm afraid you've been led up the garden path....the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is a sanctuary for marxists which is why all the tories whinge on endlessly about it. Dave "Bullingdon" Dimbleby and Andrew Neil are in fact communist double agents working for North Korea.

I'm afraid in this country we have to rely on our esteemed newspapers, like the Telegraph, Daily Mail, and The Sun for objective reporting....

Richard Fisher wrote:

Woah! Ann Leslie is getting a pasting from this audience tonight. Shows what people really think of the Daily Mail....

Mock the Week had it on the button with their "advertising slogans that didn't quite make the cut"

"The Daily Mail - openly racist so YOU don't need to be!"

Why shouldn't Ann Leslie express her opinions strongly? She probably has more experience of international and comparative politics than anyone else on the panel.

Why would anyone trust Mingie Campbell? Ask Charles Kennedy
Noreen

I would like to suggest that the gentleman who just said 'taking money away from those who had earned it and giving it to the state is as good as burning it' never be sent an ambulance.

Yvette Cooper just boasted how inflation stayed low under Labour - just after Ming Campbell noted the unsustainable increases in house prices. Some link with Gordon Brown taking housing out of the inflation measure?

Michael Hague is yesterdays man

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ has done some good work with its documentaries in Afghanistan, uncovering vital fundamental problems rooted in local communities like child prostitution and sexual discriminatino against women. How will whichever party that comes into power tackle this problem and make sure the lives lost are not in vain?


Emeka - Student (University of Plymouth)

Listen to Yvette Cooper or any Labour MP they dont want a hung parliament yet they say in the debates they want electoral reform, the Lib dems have been conned into supporting Labour on the Alternative Vote thinking its going to help them. In fact Labour came up with this party having to have greater than 50% of the vote, this is becuase it suits them because as in their heartland they have more than 271 seats with more than 50% of the vote.
This guaranteed advantage would see them just needing 55 seats to be in power forever, they would get this from the hundreds of Tory seats wher they are first and have greater than 40% and Labour are 2nd, the Tory from first place would then be ousted by Labours 2nd position due to adding the Lib Dems 2nd choice of Labour.

As I say, they dont want a hung parliaamnet AV would keep them in forever. Tories only have 31 seats over 50% Lib Dems have none whatt doy you think? Don't trust AV

I am a teacher and continually I am told we must teach the pupls to learn ot work together in groups as a team - much of this has come from the govenrment - what does it say about the people leading our country if they can not do what they are asking our children to do! A hung parliament is what is needed if politicians are going to learn that no one party is entirely right on all policies as much of the time they disagree not because of anything more than they feel they must.
A hung parliament may encourage a better standard of behaviour.

No matter who gets into power thre are going to be severe cuts.

It's a matter of who gets into power as to how the cuts will be spread.

Conservatives............working people

Labour..............the rich

Lib Dems............my guess is as good as yours.

Thank goodness my parents emigrated......

If you have to have a journalist please avoid right wing Tories. She hasn't a clue how the majority of the country view events.

There has been more insight into the political parties during David Dimbleby's excellent Question Time than the three party debate itself. Ming Campbell's failure to say whether it was right or wrong to keep the two and a half million pounds from a fraudster put paid to the clean image of the Liberal Democrats. If someone purchases a car in good faith but is then told the car was stolen, they usually have to give it back and lose the money they paid. Should not the same apply to the Liberal Democrats? Elfyn Llwyd on Question time came across as a man with integrity unlike the three main party leaders tonight. However, I would disagree with the polls'verdict and say that Gordon Brown led the debate with Cameron coming last. Cameron seemed to have a permanent frown which gave away his unease.

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ has done some good work with its documentaries in Afghanistan, uncovering vital fundamental problems rooted in local communities like child prostitution and sexual discriminatino against women. How will whichever party that comes into power tackle these problem to ensure the lives lost are not in vain?

Emeka - Student (University of Plymouth)

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ has done some good work with its documentaries in Afghanistan, uncovering vital fundamental problems rooted in local communities like child prostitution and sexual discriminatino against women. How will whichever party that comes into power tackle these problem to ensure the lives lost are not in vain??

Emeka - Student (University of Plymouth)

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ has done some good work with its documentaries in Afghanistan, uncovering vital fundamental problems rooted in local communities like child prostitution and sexual discriminatino against women. How will whichever party that comes into power tackle these problem to ensure the lives lost are not in vain???

Emeka - Student (University of Plymouth)

I feel like I'm in a time warp. Yvette Cooper seems to be advocating a form of neo-Keynesianism. The latter post-war period has already shown the inevitable result of this is increasing unemployment and inflation. Only the private sector generates economic growth. The public sector can only ever redistribute the proceeds of that growth.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

I am fed up of Mr Brown saying he is the person to deliver more jobs for young people. You have already failed myself and many others, you are most definately not the person!

Ann Leslie from the Daily Mail that well known bastion of Climate Change Scepticism was clearly not going to say anything positive about Green Jobs.
The Green wash from David Cameron is little better with many from his party hostile to environmental issues. Take Nigel Lawson who has set up the Global Warming Policy Foundation, one of those right wing think tanks whose Orwellian double speak name suggests one thing but does the opposite. This is the real face of the Conservative Party

#37 and 62 Removed for breaking house rules!!!

Excuse me but what house rules were broken?

Ann Leslie's example using the free democrats (i.e. Liberals) in Germany to demonstrate possible shortcomings of a hung parliament - effectively accusing them of being Nazis promoting former allies (Croatia) was the worst case of racism against Germans I have come across in a long time!
Coalitions in Germany have been extremely successful in the past twenty years - e.g. resulting in Germany being an outrider in green issues in Europe or in a joint, conscientious decision not to join the war in Irak. Most importantly -in its current form of proportional representation and the 5% clause- it has enabled decision making based on a broad representation of views in parliament and government in post war Germany to the current day.

Just one point.. Woking (near London), 'London' (I believe that's near London) and Greenwich (which is in.. London).. any chance of a programme north of the Watford Gap.. or even anywhere near it??? Pretty poor London bias ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, especially at election time.. London audiences are quite different from much of the country and don't reflect very accurately the views of the rest of the nation.. remember them?

The current voting system worked when we were, by and large, clearly divided into working class/upper class brackets and tended to live and work in one area and class our whole lives. The old Labour/Conservative choice isn't enough anymore because society isn't as simple as that anymore. Neither are right for a modern Britain. It's time we had a voting system which balanced the need for constituency representation with the need for proportional representation. It can't be right that a party could potentially win a significant proportion of votes and yet be so poorly represented in Parliament. Whether you like the Lib Dems or not Nick Clegg is right: this election proves it's time for a change.

There are 195 nations / countries on the planet earth. What do you think why GB and the USA are the prime target of terrorism?

Credit crunch yes and how much cost the war? and who pays for it?
Why it's cost never mentioned in political debates?

Why G Brown did not dismiss immediatly on the spot all his guilty MPs with fake expense claims?

Lisa makes a few good points, but you cant get away from the fact that in a true proportional representation system, every body gets what nobody wants. i.e. the candidate who nobody chose as their 1st choice, can end up winning because they were more peoples 2nd choice.

During tonights leader's debate Nic Clegg genuinely responded to all the questions posed to him by the panel, including the other leader's challenges too! But David Cameron and Gordon Brown largely avoided any fair and constructive comments on the innovative and fresh ideas that Nic presented.
Surely it's wise to have a thorough debate on Trident before going ahead with that huge cost, after all the Generals are against Trident too?

It also must make sense to arrange for future immigrants to be more evenly spread throughout our land, so as to even out the pressure and cost to communities, in housing and services etc especially in London and the south east.

The Liberals manifesto pledge for workers on low pay not to be taxed on earnings less than £10,000 must be a fair policy to bring in.

Personnally I felt that Ming Campbell was treated unfairly on Question Time tonight; David Dimbleby did'nt allow him to respond to the Trident outburst by William Hague, when it would had been fairer to do so.

Harry Stone

40. At 11:28pm on 22 Apr 2010, niten_ryu wrote:

"David Dimbleby seems rather too keen on interrogating William Hague, while Yvette Cooper seems to be getting off lightly despite being the representative of the incumbent Government."

Wrong. Hague wasn't interrogated by Dimbleby at all.
He was however during his recent interview with Paxo regarding a certain Belizean Billionaire.Hague repeatedly stated that he had no reason to believe that Ashcroft had not fulfilled his commitment to become UK domiciled. This was in response to the question repeated by Paxo half a dozen times: WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK HIM?? Speaks volumes doesn't it?

Well, as I have said several times, if the Lib-Dems are now as popular as they think they are then they need to take on the Labour Party and smash Labour into third place. Then the Lib-Dims won't ever need to talk about PR ever again and Labour won't ever be in a position to destroy this country as they have done so since 1997.
Go on Mr Clegg....go for Gordons throat and rip it out, Liberal Democrats could become the Official Opposition.

I wrote an official complaint about the Tory bias on question time which should have been answered but was ignored.Several posts again tonight have mentioned the two Tories plus the chairman DD who is a Bullingdon man.He as usual interrupts non Conservatives more than his Tory friends(this time it was poor old Ming)Could someone please tell him that if he wants to act like Paxman he should go onto newsnight
Re debate Clegg clear winner last week but all similar tonight.Clegg on his weakest ground re Nuclear Deterrent and Immigration(as regards public)but Dave might struggle next week on economy.
Lets hope that Mr Dimbleby doesnt interrupt speakers in this like he normally does now in question time debates.
These televised debates have certainly sparked more interest in election.

All to play for with three parties instead of usual two.Exciting.

Lisa, Since when, in the past goodness knows how many years I care to remember, do we have a dstinction based on two classes of society in this country??

Does Ann Leslie sum up the true persona of the tories hiding behind Cameron's 'nice' mask?... reminds me of that old sci-fi series 'V'.
I vote for 'NO GOVERNMENT'... oh, I can't - well, that's democracy for you!

If I were Ming Campbell, I wouldn't be so keen to draw attention to his party's part in the mismanagement of the country from 74-79. I'm sure he remembers the Winter of Discontent very clearly, as I do and I'm considerably younger than him. Maybe inflation did fall, but the then chancellor still had to go, cap in hand, to the IMF to bail us out during that term in office.

I took great pleasure in seeing Yvette Cooper being eviscerated by that audience member over her ridiculous claim that not raising £6 billion in tax is removing these funds from the economy. As another member of the audience pointed out, we are tired of being regarded as fools.

I found it interesting that after last nights debate Sir Paddy Ashdown clearly stated that in the event of a hung parliament the Lib Dems would support the party that had achieved the highest puplic vote. On this basis, particularly as the Lib Dems firmly belive in PR, if like the last General Election more people in England vote Conservative than Labour (60,000 more at the last election) then the Lib Dems on this principle would have to support the Conservatives.

Ann Leslie should not have been on Question Time. There are plenty of articulate columnists that can argue and make good points and she is not one of them. Who thought it was a good idea to invite her on? What a waste of airtime.

Dimbleby acted bizarrely and unprofessionally by attacking Menzies Campbell so aggressively regarding accusations against the Lib Dems in the Telegraph (an openly Conservative paper) whilst not similarly attacking Hague or Cooper during the programme, or waving around their manifestos claiming that he wasn't impressed by them.

David once again appeared to have his own opinions about things and impose that on the broadcast. He seemed personally upset by what he accused the Lib Dems of doing. He is not a neutral ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ host. The message board was full on a previous week, but his support of Piers Morgan in their battle against the only woman on the panel that week was even more appalling. He supported Morgan in rudely shouting her down and then patronised her outrageously when she tried to reply. I'm so disappointed, having liked him for many years. ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ - he has to go or he has to change.