On the eve of the third television debate by the leaders of Britain’s three main parties, on the subject of the economy, the Institute for Fiscal Studies published a report on the size of the spending cuts and tax rises needed and criticised the parties for failing to set out how they would achieve them.
On the eve of the third television debate by the leaders of Britain’s three main parties, on the subject of the economy, the Institute for Fiscal Studies published a report on the size of the spending cuts and tax rises needed and criticised the parties for failing to set out how they would achieve them. All the talk was of a hung parliament. The party leaders’ second debate drew a live audience of 4.1 million on three channels; Sky News enjoyed its biggest audience ever. Opinion polls in the days afterwards saw ratings for the Conservatives above 30 per cent, with the Liberal Democrats around 30 per cent and Labour below 30 per cent. The most memorable exchange in the debate had been when Mr Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, said: ‘You know who these two guys remind me of? They remind me of my two young boys squabbling at bath time.’ Mr Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, chipped in: ‘That’s a good line in rehearsal.’ Mr Adam Boulton, the presenter said ‘I think we’re past bath time now. The subject was foreign policy but one question was about the Pope’s visit to Britain next September. All three leaders welcomed it. Mr David Cameron said, ‘I don’t agree with him about contraception. I don’t agree with him about homosexuality.’ ‘I’m not a man of faith, but my wife Miriam is Catholic, my children are being brought up in her faith, so I have a little bit of an insight,’ Mr Clegg said, ‘You can’t keep a lid on sin.’
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