Lord Duckhunter

Sounds like the Pope to me, perhaps Mr Clegg should take up with his his Wife her "aligning" herself with that extremist.

There policy is for regional immigration, how does that work? Are they to be given passes and told where to live? Are we going to stop and search immigrant looking people to check they're living in the right place? Are they allowed to visit and stay with friends in other Non Immigration regions? What if you're caught living in a non immigration area, can you apply for the amnesty? Whose checking where these people live, do they have to report to the Police station every week? It is not workable. As for an amnesty, if it's easy to check whether someone has been here for 10 years, then it's easy to track them down and throw them out. It appears Lib/Dem policy that if you're a Doc from India wanting to come to the UK, you may get in, but you'll have strict controls on where you work and live ( The BNP would like that one), but if you're a uneducated illigal Somalian ex pirate, you can turn up saying "hi I've been here 10 years", and you can work and live where ever you want. I would expect my 9 year olds mock election to have better thought out policies than that.

Polish president Lech Kaczynski's PIS Party were part of the grouping the Torys sit with. After his recent death tributes poured in from Barack Obama,Angela Merkel who said “Lech Kaczynski has been a real representative for the interests of his country, he loved his country and he fought for Europe. I knew that he dedicated his whole life to Poland’s and Europe’s freedom.” , Gordon Brown said the whole world would be 'saddened'. Nick Clegg paid tribute to the man, as did The Queen. I doubt very much whether the tributes would have been so wholesome and full of praise if he was an "extremist". Or are these leaders just hypocrite's?

The truth about many Lib/Dems policies is they are written not as some sort of prinicple, but to appeal to both sides in any debate. In immigration they can say to Tory leaning floating voters, "we're tough on immigration, people will only be allowed in with certain skills and only into areas of the Country with no immigration at present" to the Left leaning voter they can say "we're pro immigration, we will have an amensty". Same with Trident, they are appealling to the left, by saying they'll scrap it and to the right by saying they'll replace it with a similar system, only cheaper. On tax Cuts they appeal to the right with a massive tax cut for middle England, but appeal to the left by paying for it with a "mansion tax" and saying they'll take the poorest out of tax altogether (although the poorest hardly pay any tax as it is).The Lib/Dems are pulling the wool over the British voters eyes and the policies dont add up. What will they replace Trident with, and how can they know the savings they'll make if they dont know what the replacement is. How can you have a regional immigration in a small country like ours. How are they going to pay for a tax bribe for middle England How can they call for a clean up from top to bottom of Parliament when they refuse to give back Michael Brown's stolen money to the people he stole it off. My Daughters school are doing some work on elections and have candidates standing for a mock one. I would expect those policies will form part of these 9 year olds manifesto's. I dont really expect to see them from a serious British Party.

I thought they all did pretty well. Pretty well for Brown is third but managing to keep his temper and not make a complete chump of himself. Lib/Dems policies dont add up when put under the microscope, but this particular forum is not set up in such a way to expose them completely.The Lib/Dems got rid of Campbell to get someone in who is better media wise, had it been Campbell saying exactly the same things as Clegg, amensty for illigals, regional immigration, not replacing Trident, or using necular power stations, then he'd have been crushed. The Lib/Dems policies only seem reasonable because they are explained by a man who comes across as reasonable. You only have to look at their grassroot activists, they're a bunch of sandal wearing dreamers who are away with the fairies.

When William Hague was asked to comment on Prescott's punch at the time , he replied " I try not to punch the voters",

If Lambert, Fonte, Pardew or Lallana want to go, let them. The only person I'm worried about losing is ML. From what we've seen of him so far, they'll be replaced with people of equal quality.

Where's Rupert?

Even in American Presidental elections the person who gains the popular vote does not necessarily get elected. Electrol reform is needed in this Country, but it's a root and branch reform that's needed not just the voting system. If we have a devolved Scottish Parliament, then we need an English one, with the same devolved areas. We need reform of the House of Lords, it's wrong that Lords can be appointed to Govt, without being elected by anyone.Members of the cabinet should be elected members of Parliament and we should have fixed term Parliaments.

MP's should not be taking donations directly into their private bank accounts whether declared or not.Had it not been declared then it would have been a resignation matter, as it is, it just shows bad judgement.

William Hague went for the leadership too early, the Tories should have held their nose and gone with Clarke after '97. Personally I would have liked to see David Davis lead the party, but would settle for Portillo or Hague. It's a pity that the rabid right of the party didn't do what the Labour left did with Blair and tolerate one of Clarke or Portillo. I guess their principles are to be admired in some way, but it certainly have a negitive efect on the Party nationally. Ken Clarke made some very telling observations about Cable the other morning. He said he'd known him for years and that he agreed with 80% of what Cable said, and had done for years. However, he said he couldn't believe Cable had let himself get signed up to this income tax cut and that it was pressure for the leadership that forced it on him.

My mate lives in the outskirts of Dublin and they have a local off Licence that delivers. He uses it quite a bit as do a lot of his mates.

You've hit the nail on the head. Personally I'd like to see Hague replacing Osborne.

But last week Clegg claimed he'd "spent his whole adult life trying to clean up politics". If you make a claim like that, surely the press are entittled to look into your record. Both other parties are scrutinised, why shouldn't the Lib/Dems be? Surely nobody thinks that having donations paid into your private bank account, is cleaning up politics. I run a Golf Society, and would never dream of mixing up the Societies money with mine.

This wasn't a case of a "scramble" this came to light from the same documents that they obtained to blast open the expenses scandel. A story which they ran about all parties. Therefore to try and make out this is a "smear" is clearly wrong.

Sir Alistair Graham,former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life was on Sky news last night.He said the arrangement appeared to be 'irregular', and he went on to say that if you're going to stand on a platform of "cleaning up the old politics" and gain electrol advantage because of that, you need to be whiter than white. Whether you run a pub football team, a Xmas Club or a golf society, you do not mix your money, with the organisation's money.In my mind, along with his expenses claims, this shows that rather than have spent "all his adult life, trying to clean up politics" he has in fact had his snout firmly in the trough.What a hypocrite.

I've been through 7 elections my working life, and nothing has really changed after every one, including '97. I always found the NHS pretty good, even in the 80's. I've 4 Children ranging from 22 to 9 and I've found their schooling adequate at best and certainly no better than it was pre '97. There wasn't that much change since '97, remember Labour kept the Torys spending policies for 2 years, and in another era Blair would have been a "wet" Tory as it was. They've tinkered around the edges of Lords reform, and banned fox hunting, but other than that (if I lived in Scotland or Wales I might think differently ), here in England nothing much has changed, and nothing will. If you think the Lib/Dems are any different then you're wrong. The rush for the middle ground of British politics is alarming, with no radical thinkers. In the past people would have convictions and beliefs, that they then stuck to. They tried to persuade the public to back these convictions, they tried to change the publics minds through force of arguement. Now they follow the people, they listen to focus groups and follow the popular line. Mrs Thatcher would never had given people the right to buy, would never have beaten the unions, had she listened to focus groups and pollsters. Nick Clegg is a pro European, who beleives in the Euro. Instead of argueing his case and try to sway public opinion, he'll skirt round the issue during the next debate. His policy advisors will give him a line to take and he'll take it. same with Cameron and Brown on a whole load of issues, they'll take the moderate line, so they dont frighten the voters. Where are all the radical thinkers, where are all the opinion shapers and where are the risk takers in British Politics. Until we find them, we wont get real and sustainable change.

Not at all. If you bothered to look you'll see that Clegg has consitantly claimed more than Brown and Cameron, one year claimed over the maximum and had to pay some back,as an Euro MP claimed for first class travel but travelled second class. Personally I dont think that someone who thinks the tax payer should pay for his paper napkins and cake tins is fit to be PM, you might, but I certainly dont think that person is entittled to claim he's spent his "whole adult life, trying to clean up politics". What about the £42,000 Lord Renwick wrongly claimed, does that not count because he's in the Party of "change"

Dont you realise this is down to them having a lot less MP's. The % of MP's on the take from the Lib/Dems is as bad, if not worse than the others, there is just less of them to be caught. Clegg has done a fantastic spin job on the public. He's no outsider, he's been part of the political establishment for years. Lobbyist, to MEP, to MP. What's the saying? "you can fool some of the people, some of the time", and in the next couple of weeks, he'll get found out. As Liam Fox siad on ITV last night, "if Opinion polls can change that much after one debate, they can certainly change again after another 2". If the polls contine to show vote Clegg get Brown, the Lib/Dems will not get to 100 seats.

So you agree that Clegg is as bad as all the others. Perhaps he should stop claiming to be somehow different, and on a mission to clean up politics from the nast Torys and Labour Party.

Spot on. This is what Clegg claimed "I have spent my entire adult life fighting to clean up politics and expenses from top to bottom". He has claimed £1.50 for paper napkins,cushions costing £4.99, a £2.49 cake pan. Last year, he had his expenses docked after exceeding the £23,083 maximum, he claimed £1,657.32 for food,The claims also include two bills for the Liberal Democrat leader’s home phone in Sheffield, one for £105.88 and the other for £121.56. These detailed four calls to Colombia, including two mobile phones, three to Vietnam, including two mobiles, and 21 calls to Belgium, including six mobiles. What about his Home affairs spokesmen and local MP Chris Huhne , a millionaire and one of Parlianments wealthy MP's. Well his claims include semi-skimmed milk (62p), and others for chocolate HobNobs (79p), tea bags (89p) and a bus ticket (£3.20).Does Mr Clegg's clean up from "top to bottom" not include this? What about Sir Menzies Campbell the last Lib/Dem leader Sir Menzies claimed for a lampshade, hooks, a “loo brush”, black-out blinds, cleaning products and soap worth £272.86. He included a new king-size bed, worth £1,024 and bed linen worth £373 as well as £1,515 decorating bill. The designer, a family friend who has been in charge of refurbishing a leading hotel, also submitted a bill for two cupboards, costing £822.50, to be built either side of the bed. Does Clegg's clean up not include this. The double standards of Clegg and the Lib/Dems is breathtaking, they have their snouts in the trough, like the others, but are trying to take the moral high ground. If Clegg's expenses from his time as an MEP come to light, he'll be finished.The one thing worse than an MP with his snout in the trough is a hyppercritical one with his snout firmly in the trough.

Can't you see the hypocrisy of someone claiming "What I've supported all my adult life is a complete clean up of politics and expenses, from top to bottom", claiming £1.50 for paper napkins, as well as having to pay back money because he claimed more than the maximum allowance.

Just come on the news that Clegg, the great whiter than white, clean up politics man claimed expenses for £1.50 paper napkins, a £2.49 cake tin and cushions at £4.99 after a shopping trip to Ikea. Why should we, the taxpayer, pay for Clegg's paper napkins?

The Lib/Dems are up to their neck in it to. Mr Clegg bought a house with a £279,000 mortgage in his Sheffield constituency within six months of being elected in 2005. Over the next four years, he regularly claimed almost the maximum possible in second home expenses - taking his total claims to beyond £90,000. As well as interest payments of £1,018 on the loan, he charged for stamp duty, land registry and legal costs for the purchase totalling £9,244.50. And in the next few months, he fitted a £2,600 kitchen and had almost £6,000 worth of decorating done including new carpets, laminate flooring and tiles. He also claimed for items including £1.50 paper napkins, a £2.49 cake tin and cushions at £4.99 after a shopping trip to Ikea in 2006. In July 2007, he claimed £680 for gardening including to build a 'small wall in rose garden' and prune some trees and £760 for repairs to a garden path. The following year, he had his expenses docked by more than £100 for exceeding the £23,083 maximum allowance.

They've got that already. Why have we a devolved parliament in Scotland but not England? When talking about reform, let's look at the total package, not just the bits that are best for Lib/Dems and Labour. Would it have been fair if Mrs Thatch had set up an English Parliament and not a Scottish one. What would the outcome have been if English MP's could vote on Scottish health matters, but Scotts couldn't vote on English health matters. From a personal point of view, T think we need to maintain a link with a constituency style of Govt. Party lists are completely and utterly a no no as far as I'm concerned. The sight of Michael Portillo (who I greatly admire) being kicked out, was a very powerful message and showed the constituency based system at its best.There are constituency based PR systems that can be used. The Electrol Reform Society explains all the different systems and their pros and cons. http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/votingsystems/systems2.htm#AV