On the day that started with my seeing Alistair Campbell, at Leeds Railway station, about to board the train I got off,the first historic live debate took place. Stage managed and controlled as it was, it did show the strengths and weaknesses of the three participants. If Nick Clegg was a Tory, the result of the election would not be in doubt. He was convincing as a person, but the Liberal Manifesto is flawed. David Cameron was not as good as everyone expected , but I think he will come back, more strongly next time. I thought he managed to avoid taking the debate down to the level Gordon Brown did at times,by not rising to the bait that Gordon offered. Gordon Brown trotted out the same old claptrap as he has over the past two years, ignoring questions about the reason why all of a sudden Labour are talking about tackling manifesto promises from 1997. He chose instead to debase the discussion by intriducing snide comments about Lord Ashcroft and clear misrepresentations od current Tory thinking, and by being obsequious towards Nick Clegg and the liberals.

I really think that Gordon is so convinced he will lose the overall majority that he WANTS people to vote liberal.

If this was a boxing match then round 1 was shaded on points by the liberals, with the Tories 2nd and Gordon trailing miserably behind.

Argument of the week was over NI contributions, where labour contradicted themselves by saying they are not adding to the burden this year on business, and are not making public sector savings, yet say they are already doing it.Confused??
The Tories generally carry out their manifesto pledges, Labour just talk about doing things. In my experience of governments over the past 40 years, since I was able to vote, the Tories get things done, Labour completely destroys the economy, whether there is world recession or not.

Roll on May 7th, when all the staged campaigning and nonsense is out of the way.

Should politicians simply talk up the economy, when the truth is that it is still suffering and has a long way to go, before we can truthfully say it is growing?  A General Election is looming large on the horizon, and the points scoring process as started. Labour, via Lord Peter Mandelson, are accusing David Cameron, and the tories of putting down the British economy, when they should be talking it up. In the past this has happened, 1979, for example. A beleagured Prime Minister , James Callagahn claimed inflation was only at 8%, as Labour grappled with the winter of discontent, like a paratrooper trying to take the air out of his parachute on landing and put it back in its pack, or like King Canute trying to order the sea to obey him. However hard he tried the reality showed up. Britain was not prepared for how bad things REALLY were ,as interest rates soared after the election to tackle the parlous state of the economy.

We all know there are very difficult days’ ahead, more difficult than any of us can remember, so I say to all politicians ADMIT the truth, don’t pussy foot about dismissing opposition comments that are the stark ECONOMIC TRUTH. Britain is in a mess, Britain, as it has been proved , was “not best placed to come out of recession quickly”.  Gordon Brown is having to eat his words more and more, he is just not to be believed on anything, as he struggles to save HIS job, and not the country.

FACT: Britain is a member of the EU

FACT: The elected government , albeit not the elected Prime Minister had the mandate of the people to negotiate this treaty

There is the question surrounding the Labour failure to let the UK have a referendum BEFORE this treaty was negotaited. That failure sums up the deceitful lies and mistruths callously spread by Labour just to hang on to power.

William Hague spoke a lot of sense last night on NEWSNIGHT and it is clear , once the media stop sensationalising everything, that the UK is not handing all its power to Brussels.

Most EU countries will not agree to that, Spain in particular. However, it makes perfect sense to me that for the EU, now a large geographical area, needs to have a co-ordinated strategy for trading with the other main blocs, China and the USA. 

Anyone, who thinks the UK could survive outside the EU club, is totally misguided.

The FTSE 100 index rose by 21% in the past two months, which is an all time record. It remains to be seen whether this performance can continue. Indications are that it will continue to do so as confidence returns to business and banking. Yesterday saw the agreement of the 5 major UK banks to limit future bonuses after this year’s round in December.

The banks have taken a lot of stick over bonuses and are being used to deflect responsibility and blame for the government, who failed to control their activities properly for over a decade. One point not mentioned about performance bonuses is that these are negotiated and agreed with the unions as aprt of the pay structure talks, and from my experience in working in a banking sales orientated environment, you did not get a bonus if you did not get your targets.

All companies have some sort of incentive scheme to motivate staff and recognise their contributions to the financial performance of the business.

Labour continue to place a smokescreen on their failings, with a lot of policies dreamed up on the back of a fag packet. I have never seen Gordon Brown as angry as yesterday, when he stormed off after a BBC interview still attached to the microphone. Anyone who saw his thunder filled facial expression, as he glared at the interviewer, will see that he is not a very nice man at all.

Ironically, Lord Mandelson would make a very good leader. Even if you don’t like Labour or their policies, here is a man who is very articulate, and who comes across as being “reasonable”.