The challenge to Nigel Farage was a politically astute move by Nick Clegg, but it was also a gamble. It was also a necessary risk because the Liberal Democrats are at risk of losing all 12 of their sitting MEPs, and needed a game changer. The first debate probably encouraged the view that he had got this right, but the second one may have just made things that little bit harder for his party.
The media narrative is that he lost the debates and he lost the second one fairly convincingly, despite the open goal of Nigel Farage's admiration for Putin at the start. Like it or not, politics can be affected by how people perceive leaders. Neil Kinnock, Iain Duncan-Smith and Gordon Brown are all clear examples where a leader can disadvantage their party.
Losing to Nigel Farage in a debate on Europe is a desparately poor result. As I cheekily tweeted last night, the biggest winner in the debate was Tim Farron (although of course Tim had to disagree with my analysis!) but what this does mean is that we could try and bring this government down within months, rather than wait for another year of austerity. If you haven't already read it, please look at how a strong Green vote could bring down this government early.
The battleground for the Greens to overtake the Liberal Democrats is the North West region. This is their 3rd safest seat out of the 12 they hold, and it is the seat we were closest to winning in 2009, and our first likely gain in May. If we win a seat in the North West, the Greens will overtake the Liberal Democrats nationally. If you want to help, donate here.
1 comment:
I thought Nick Clegg missed an opportunity to talk about the regulation of workers conditions, handicapped rights and many other social chapter improvements to ordinary peoples lives - the kind of people who vote UKIP i expect!
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