No clear winner in second UK TV debate
Source: Agencies |
April 24, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BRITAIN'S election remained wide open yesterday after the three main party leaders were unable to land a knockout punch on their rivals during a combative live televised debate.
Frontrunner David Cameron of the center-right opposition Conservatives and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the Labour Party were under pressure to deliver big performances to stem the challenge of the lesser known Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg in the run-up to next month's poll.
The leader of Britain's centrist third party had seen a surge in popularity after an assured performance in the first debate last week.
Instant opinion polls were split on who had won Thursday night's debate, with two saying Cameron was ahead and three saying Clegg had taken the honors again.
"I thought it was a score draw," said Justin Fisher, professor of political science at Brunel University.
Broader polls of party support, which have been dominated by Cameron during the past two years, now indicate a "hung parliament" after May 6 with no party winning an overall majority -- a rarity in British politics normally dominated by Labour or Conservatives. Clegg could hold the balance of power under such an outcome, with markets wary of political deadlock complicating efforts to cut a record budget deficit.
Attention switched yesterday to the economy after a preliminary estimate of gross domestic product showed quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.2 percent in the first three months of this year, matching the rate seen in the last quarter of 2009.
Labour, in power for 13 years, argues that spending cuts to trim the budget deficit must be delayed until recovery is assured, a view shared by the Lib Dems. The Tories want to start cutting sooner.
Frontrunner David Cameron of the center-right opposition Conservatives and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the Labour Party were under pressure to deliver big performances to stem the challenge of the lesser known Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg in the run-up to next month's poll.
The leader of Britain's centrist third party had seen a surge in popularity after an assured performance in the first debate last week.
Instant opinion polls were split on who had won Thursday night's debate, with two saying Cameron was ahead and three saying Clegg had taken the honors again.
"I thought it was a score draw," said Justin Fisher, professor of political science at Brunel University.
Broader polls of party support, which have been dominated by Cameron during the past two years, now indicate a "hung parliament" after May 6 with no party winning an overall majority -- a rarity in British politics normally dominated by Labour or Conservatives. Clegg could hold the balance of power under such an outcome, with markets wary of political deadlock complicating efforts to cut a record budget deficit.
Attention switched yesterday to the economy after a preliminary estimate of gross domestic product showed quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.2 percent in the first three months of this year, matching the rate seen in the last quarter of 2009.
Labour, in power for 13 years, argues that spending cuts to trim the budget deficit must be delayed until recovery is assured, a view shared by the Lib Dems. The Tories want to start cutting sooner.
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