They did whinge initially, but their court order got thrown out (or something similar).

Yes but the main parties are not in NI but I definitely think that each of the smaller countries do deserve their own versions.

I think I'm right in saying they've all had their own "local" versions of the Prime Ministerial Debates.

For the SNP, by the way, the clue is in the title. If the SNP were in any way at all in the running to form the government of the UK as a whole, then I'd expect them to be included in such things. As it is, like UKIP, BNP, Green, Monster Raving Looney, et al, they are bit-part players in this game. The only parties with a chance of running the UK are represented in the Prime Ministerial Debates.

I agree the current arrangement is perfectly fine. Maybe Alex Salmond was hoping for a Clegg moment to revitalise the SNP?

[quote]Bank Governor In Stark Election Warning

Whoever wins the election will be out of power for a generation because of the depth of funding cuts needed, the governor of the Bank of England has been quoted as saying.

US economist David Hale, whose consultancy advises some large funds management firms and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, made the comments on Australian television.

Asked about the possible contagion from Greece's sovereign debt crisis, Mr Hale cited the high debt levels of the major developed economies, including the UK, and then went on to comment on the election campaign currently under way.

He said: "I saw the governor of the Bank of England (Mervyn King) last week when I was in London and he told me whoever wins this election will be out of power for a whole generation because of how tough the fiscal austerity will have to be."

A spokesman for the Bank of England refused to comment on the reported remarks, but confirmed Mr King had met Mr Hale early in March in a private meeting at the bank.

The pound fell to a three-week low against the dollar on Wednesday, reflecting a growing concern about the state of British public finances after Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit rating of debt-laden Greece to junk status.

Sterling has also been hurt by opinion polls showing that the May 6 election could deliver a hung parliament.

Talking about the election in the interview Mr Hale said: "Right now the polls suggest it could be a hung parliament, and if a hung parliament... could not produce in June a meaningful budget to reduce their fiscal deficit, I think the risk is very, very high that you will see Britain's credit rating cut from triple A to double A.

"A hung parliament [would] make it very hard to impose the tough fiscal policies Britain will need.

"I'd be very bearish right now on both the British pound and on the British Government bond market."/quote]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Busine ... 2410?f=rss

I wonder how he's defining a generation...

Yes but that is on the Sky website. We all know Ruperts sidings. So who does not expect that Sky will pick news that fits with their side of the argument.

I know what you mean, but I only used that link cos the BBC one didn't appear in my iGoogle list

So, I think we can sum the whole thing like this:

Labour spin doctor: Our man won.
Tory spin doctor: Our man won.
Lib-Dem spin doctor: Our man won.

If they repeat this debate exercise, I think it should be limited to one a week before the poll. Three debates, where the same stuff was just worked over three different ways, is too many.

The BBC ran some polls just after the debate. They showed that Cameron did the best, Clegg was second and Brown was last.

My friend from guernsey played a trick on the libdem campaigners yesterday :

"What do you think of tax havens"
"We will get rid of them and bring them back into the British system"
"Ok, I won't be voting for you then"

ahahah

I'm still surprised I haven't had a single canvaser knocking on the door. I've only had two leaflets through the door, one Tory, one Labour. And I've only seen one stall in town (Tory). None of the parties seems to be making much of an effort where I live.

Had my first, a lib dem guy yesterday. Still no sign of the Tories. They don't seem to care. I've bet that our incumbent will lose his seat to the lib dems…

No visits but tons of leaflets

I've got a Plaid Cymru poster up and I don't live in Wales.

They never come to our house. Even the people we want to have at our house have difficulty finding it, so the chances of getting canvassers or any other cold callers are pretty remote

I have had only the Tories knock on the door, and they must be worried that they will not win it. My ward is so Tory that no other party sends counters to the polling stations or has for decades. The tories have also covered my mat with election pamphlets for weeks.