BY BRAD JAMES
The first of the debate season has been launched, presented on Channel 4 and Sky News by Jeremy Paxman and Kay Burley. First up in the firing line was David Cameron, who was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman.
When quizzed about jobs and employment, Cameron was swift in appraising his party’s efforts to curb unemployment but skimmed the issue of an increase in food bank usage that was a direct result of his austerity measures and cuts to welfare, although he pledged a commitment to raising the minimum wage. Furthermore, the Prime Minister was insistent that economic growth has been achieved, and that the country has emerged stronger as a result. He has so far remained firm on his pledge not to raise taxes, especially VAT, and was unshakeable that he had stuck true to what his party promised to do, which was to increase jobs and cut the deficit. Paxman pressed firm on narrowing down those areas where he thought the cuts were needed.
Cameron insists he remains free of any regrets on the government’s campaign of war in Libya and has been adamant that he fought for Britain’s interests in Europe, retorting that we would have been facing a deficit exceeding Greece’s.
The programme was then opened up for the Prime Minister to answer questions put to him by the members of the public who comprised the studio audience.
First, David Cameron was asked about Ed Miliband’s qualities. He answered: ”We both serve the country and have the best intentions”. Despite the heated rhetoric in Parliament, they both claim to have the best intentions when it comes to the nation.
When asked about care for the elderly and a possible Elderly Minister. Cameron responded: ”Treating retired people with dignity and security is vital and pensioner benefits will continue for everyone”. Though whether there should be a dedicated older people position in the Cabinet, he says he will consider it but the elderly are covered by all aspects that is included in the Cabinet Office as it stands.
ON CUTS TO SERVICES/POLICE SERVICES
Next he was asked what cuts to services there would be in the event of a majority Tory government. The PM said: A big deficit means less jobs, higher taxes. They have reduced the deficit by half and finding £1 out of every £100 the government spends will be saved and put aside for a safety net, should there be times of crisis. He vows for a second time that our deficit was forecast to be higher than that of Greece, and then added that his government averted that disaster by saving £20 billion through ‘being a bit smarter.’
A veteran police officer then asked Cameron about his cuts to police services. David Cameron answered: Although police jobs have been cut 20%, crime too has reduced by 20%. Which has worked with a mixture of getting police from behind desks and onto the street. Placing civilians in some jobs police once did was also effective. Citing Lincolnshire as an example of their crime fall and implementation of modern technology to roll out across the UK.
ON JOB ROLES AND AID FOR THE DISABLED
On job roles and aid for the disabled. The Prime Minister responded: 140,000 more disabled people have jobs, though gap between disabled and able bodied people needs reducing. Additionally, the attitude of some employers needs to be changed. His government have established a Better Care Fund, bringing health social care together more so as a result.
ON THE EU
When quizzed about opting out of the EU. He said: ”The UK is at its best when out there and working with others as part of NATO, G20 and so on. Some good aspects of the EU exist, although there are too many aspects that resemble a state rather than a trade organization. He is keen and believes he can obtain a new deal, but firmly believes we need a restructuring and a say again, which we haven’t had since 1975. How he intends to achieve this, he did not specify.The problem about the EU is that it has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is about free trade between the European nations and also freedom of movement. British nationals can work and live in any of the European States for as long as they want. Nationals of other European Countries can also work and live here as long as they want. However, we the British people generally feel that there needs to be more control on numbers of our European counterparts moving into this country. Immigration has always been a strong political subject, mainly because of the government’s failure to keep it under control, often loosing track on the numbers of those coming into the country, let alone those settling in. However, Cameron did not get drawn into the topic.
ON THE NHS PROVIDED BY PRIVATE COMPANIES
In response to questions about NHS services; he responded ”if independent services can provide free good NHS care, they should. Though he wants to ensure that this always remains free for families throughout the nation. He made mention of services like MacMillan Nurses and Hospices and said if they can offer great care then they should. He argued that the government had redistributed £12.7 billion into the NHS, putting money into more doctors and nurses.
When finally questioned about what he would redo as PM,. David Cameron responded: Less noise at PMQs. But his onus was always to get the economy growing, cut the deficit and raise jobs. He wishes the Help to Buy scheme had gained more ground, but has learned how so much depends on a strong economy and he remained steadfast on this throughout his time in the broadcast.
Ed Miliband:
Following the grilling of the Prime Minister, it was now the turn of the Leader of the Opposition on the public barbecue. This time however, the process would be reversed , with Ed Miliband answering questions from the audience to begin with.
First, an audience member wanted to challenge Mr. Miliband’s gloominess. Are things really so bad? He asked. Ed Miliband responded: We can do a lot better than 700,000 people on zero hours contracts. Both Ed and the PM admitted they couldn’t live on zero hours. Further aspects of poverty meant that if sometimes he seemed down, it was due to that.
Strong cynicism about the labor party was subsequently expressed by a woman who was once working class but is now a high earner. She said ”sometimes Labour’s derision of people such as her, left her uncomfortable. She asked, ”how can I vote Labour as a demonized high tax payer? Ed Miliband answered: The very richest (top 1%) should be pay more, just like every one, even Middle England, are finding it tough, he explained. Tuition fees, are hurting Middle England. He described himself as a democratic socialist and said wealth creation was important for a nation, a working nation is a successful nation, with an NHS to rely on. As well as public services and people who can freely spend more with less worry and financial burden.
On projections for the budget deficit by 2020 Miliband stated that £75 billion would be inherited, which would be cut with fair taxes and spending reductions.
ON THE EU
When it comes to his stance on denying the British people freedom a say on whether to stay in the EU or not,. Miliband replied assertively on his view that EU is very important to Britain in his opinion. He insisted that Pledges to rescue the NHS and cut spending is more vital to him and he believes leaving the EU would be disaster. Whether he is right or wrong on his assessment of the importance of the EU, most important and a possibly a deciding factor might be whether the British public agree with him or not. Fighting terrorism, climate change, jobs and trade are all vital aspects of our membership, he argued and said a referendum is unlikely to happen if he became PM. However, he criticized David Cameron for failing on the tens of thousands rather than the hundreds of thousands pledge. He insisted our country benefits from diversity but was i agreement with most of the country that it needs to be controlled. One measure, he suggests, would be for a law that prevents new arrivals from receiving benefits for two years if they come to the UK. He thinks low skilled immigration can be lowered with controls on benefits and making sure agencies don’t advertise with the express intention of undercutting wage
EQUALITY OF TREATMENT
Miliband across as a man who believes in an egalitarian society characterized by fairness. Are we a country that work for the richest, or is everyone going to get a fair shot, he asks? Democratic Socialism means a country should work for working people.
He differentiates himself from Nick Clegg by making reference to his decision to cut tuition fees to £6,000 in 2011. He also crucially highlights the widely valued importance of Trust in politics, basically implying he is more trust worthy than Nick Clegg. He wishes to be the first PM to under promise and over deliver, not the other way around. On his view of David Cameron’s best qualities? Ed answered: 1. Equal marriage. It was the right thing to do for the country and 2. His commitment on overseas development, taking a risk in the Conservatives that many of his party didn’t agree with. Gay marriage can be seen as a liberating turning point for this country, this could be seen as hypocritical coming from the prime minister who attends a Catholic Church that preaches against it. After all this is a man who only recently was endorsing Jeremy Clarkson as a talent only to back track within 24 hours and concede that ‘wrong’ things at work may sometimes have consequences. Miliband’s answer might simply be his way of saying that Gay marriage is the most important achievement the Prime Minister has accomplished in office.
This live programme also demonstrated aptly how David Cameron has steered the debates in his favour. This show wasn’t in essence a debate of any sort, it was an interview and a question and answer format. The closest he will come to a debate is in the Question Time special at the end of next month, but he will go to the General Election with the minimal amount of scrutiny regarding his performance, whereas every other leader will have their own subject to relentless scrutiny. It appears to be working, according to initial data, an immediate YouGov poll puts Cameron on top at 51% (out of a poll of 802 people). Out of the two, I’d argue that Ed Miliband came off slightly better. He seemed more impassioned, more driven and even backed Jeremy Paxman into a corner once or twice (something that anyone at the rough end of Paxman’s inimitable interviewing style would be envious of). Yet it refuses to alleviate the culture of uncertainty that piques the spring of the UK, weather-wise, this season can go any way. Election wise promises the same outcome and with no clarity from any leaders so far, where do we go from here?
