ROBERT BEERS
The British election is in its final days and the first ever televised debates have changed the electoral landscape and for the moment the nation’s zeitgeist.
Suddenly, the UK’s usually policy-intensive politics have been, it is claimed, ‘Americanized’. This time the election season was a cross between a personality contest and Britain’s Got Talent which meant the
Cameron Clegg Brown
incumbent, Gordon Brown, became a long shot.
The Prime Minister is ideally a back room policy wonk. Even if politics is show business for ugly people, as the saying goes, the Prime Minister was hard pressed to compete in three 90 minute debates with two younger, more attractive and decidedly more glib opponents.
After the first of the three debates a star was born. Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat, gave a powerful,
Liberal Democrat's leader Nick Clegg
energetic performance and raced to the top of the polls.
Clegg did well in the next two debates but the Conservative Party’s David Cameron improved and began to regain a narrow lead over the Liberal Democrats.
Labour’s Gordon Brown was in third place and when he was caught on tape last week calling a supporter ‘a bigot’ behind her back and bigotgate (of course) was born in the British media, Gordon was Brown toast.
Cleggmania however has to now deal with the Mail On Sunday’s article entitled ‘If you thought it was safe to vote for the Lib Dems…just look at the parrot puppet, the octopus and the female porn film director.”
Most people simply don’t know a lot about the Lib Dems, the smaller third party, but Nick Clegg is the first to admit they have a number of eccentrics.
Here are a few:
RON BEADLE
Ron Beadle running in Newcastle North is a campaigner for circus performers’ rights and his brother David has been voted the 3rd most popular clown in Britain. If elected he promises to work on circus issues.
Phillip Tibbetts running in Halesowen is writing a book featuring a boy with the powers of a pigeon. Now I thought this might be an unfair solo reference regarding Mr Tibbetts so I went to an interview where his local paper asked him to state what he thought was the largest issue facing the west Midland town of Halesowen: “The unequal car parking fees in the area undermine the economy of our town.”
PHILIP TIBBETTS
Moving on….
Anna Arrowsmith running in Gravesham is Britain’s first female porn film director. Her most famous film is “Eat Me, Keep
ANNA ARROWSMITH
Me and Hug a Hoodie.” A “hoodie’, for the American readers, is the British name for feral teenagers or juvenile delinquents, tending to wear hooded sweatshirts. Ms Arrowsmith thinks what these knife-wielding gang members need are more hugs.
JOHN LOUGHTON
John Loughton, 22, is running in the Scottish areas of East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow. In 2008 Mr. Loughton, dressed as an octopus, won the Big Brother TV show. He thinks good works in politics and/or reality TV shows can give young people a better name.
The Libs Dems also have a candidate who wants to ban the word ‘ethnic’ when referring to mixed race people as he prefers calling himself and them ‘diverse people’. In the historic city of York the Lib Dems candidate’s claim to fame is being the author of an eco-friendly version of The Three Little Pigs. (I haven’t read it yet but I fear they all end up homeless.)
CHRIS YOUNG
Finally, standing for a seat for the Lib Dems in Glasgow, Chris Young is a ventriloquist who in his own words, is ‘a bit of a character’.
He says he is an out-of-work lawyer and a part-time poet, actor and entertainer. He performs at bars in Scotland with Fernanado, a large stuffed parrot.
The comforting fact for these folks is that in Britain the word ‘weirdo’ is virtually nonexistent. When the results come in Thursday night I will let you know who among these fine candidates is heading for the grandeur of the Palace of Westminster.
It is good or bad to note, that the flematic English culture has lost the seriousness of issue on the the elections?
Comment by Manuel Alvarez — 03/05/2010 @ 12:52 pm |