The changing face of Government

Helen Bassett, Soaring Worldwide’s strategic director, discusses the changing face of Government and the televised debates.

The political buzz is gathering momentum as we approach the general election on Thursday 7th May but are we any closer to understanding what we need as a Government?

The current coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats has existed for five years now and whilst I was sceptical ahead of its formation, I now believe it is perhaps what the UK needs in place going forward. No longer can you separate the voting public into either red or blue because the growing trend is to now have a bit of both with perhaps even a little green thrown into the mix. The Government must realise this need for balance and perhaps this is why a coalition government suits us all.

Whatever your thoughts and feelings, the debates leading up to the election make for fascinating viewing and perhaps the most interesting of all is broadcasted tonight on ITV1. Seven political leaders going head to head and it will make for compelling, and hopefully informative viewing.

The first of these political ‘debates’ was hosted by channel four and Sky News last week. Conservative leader David Cameron and Labour chief Ed Milliband spent time both with a studio audience and the political shark that is Jeremy Paxman. Both can improve their debate techniques but if you were to pick the man that came out on top then undoubtedly David Cameron seemed the stronger.

Cameron comes across as authoritative but sometimes this can be deemed as arrogance. This no doubt makes him less of an approachable person however, Cameron was better equipped to deal with questions he faced and his overall style of presenting was leagues ahead of his rival. It depends on whether you were watching or listening but Cameron’s answers were much more coherent on the night and this is because he is a much better orator than Ed Milliband.

Ed Milliband? He lacks authority in the way he portrays himself and his overall display is drab. He appears to be the underdog and because of this you tend to not have much confidence in what he is trying to tell you. Naturally this opens him up for personal attacks and comparisons to his strong and more authoritative brother. Sadly for Ed I feel his biggest downfall is that he comes across scripted and rehearsed and because of this often feels he lacks confidence in what he is saying.

So will they be improved tonight when they compete with the likes of Nick Clegg, Natalie Bennett and Nigel Farage. Tonight’s debate is sure to catch the headlines tomorrow morning.