Britain?s first ever brush with US style live television election debate has thrown a surprise winner, Nick Clegg leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats who many had written off before the showdown on the airwaves.
A series of polls put Clegg ahead as his rivals Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the Labour and David Cameron of the conservatives treaded verbal blows in front of a carefully chosen audience. Though Clegg?s Party is unlikely to win outright in the May 6 General Elections but the Liberal Democrats could play a key role in the event of a hung Parliament being thrown up.
Dressed in suits, but clearly appearing nervous as the first of the such debates got underway, but it soon descended into a political free for all as Brown and Cameron lashed at each other over the economy and war in Afghanistan.
There were fierce clashes between Brown and Cameron on the economy, a key issue in the election as Britain recovers from its worst recession since the 1930s. Brown repeatedly accused the Tories of planning to cut $9 billion of public spending by slashing a planned rise in payroll taxes by his Labour party. Cameron hit back ?cut the waist, stop the tax, that is the right answer?. The Liberal Democrat leader distanced himself from the two parties telling the viewers ?don?t let them tell you that the choice is only between the two parties. They have been playing pass-the-parcel with your votes for 65 years?.