Blood, sweat and jeers as Britain holds first televised election debates

BRITAIN is holding its first US-style televised political debate tonight — and bookies are taking bets on who will sweat or stumble first.

The three showdowns begin at 8.30pm on ITV.

Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron and Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats will take audience questions on issues such as crime and healthcare. The following debates on April 22 and April 29 will focus on foreign policy and the economy.

While British politicians have been reticent up to now, TV debates have been fixtures in all US presidential elections since 1960, when front-runner Richard Nixon, pale after a hospital stay, gave a lacklustre performance against tanned and affable John F Kennedy.

Afterwards, more than half of all US voters said the debates had influenced their opinion.

“I could see the same situation where David Cameron is the Kennedy figure and Gordon Brown is the Nixon figure,” said Frank Luntz, a US Republican political consultant.

“Cameron is from the next generation where Brown is old enough to be his father. That dynamic usually doesn’t look good on television.”

Brown, 59, is perhaps the most desperate of the three candidates, but pollsters say expectations are so low for him that even a modest performance could be seen as a win.

Although Brown is praised for his intellect, he often appears clumsy on screen — he uses the same phrases, speaks in a monotone and frequently looks dishevelled or tired. Still, he was a champion university debater and can outgun opponents in Parliament with his command of the issues.

Analysts say the big risk for Brown is stepping too far out of character. He was skewered for a YouTube appearance in which he was smiling wildly.

In this race, however, expectations are high for the 43-year-old Cameron — favoured by bookmakers to win the first debate with 5/6 odds. Brown is at 7/4 odds, while Clegg is 5/2.

Articulate, privileged and married to an aristocrat’s daughter, Cameron has been trying to convince voters that Thatcher’s party cares about the poor and disadvantaged. But it’s unclear whether his folksy “Just call me Dave” campaign or his pregnant wife’s visits to soup kitchens have convinced the electorate.

Clegg, 43, is the least experienced politician and considered the hothead of the three. But just by participating, the third-place Liberal Democrats have achieved some parity with the two larger parties and can promote their socially liberal, fiscally conservative platform.

Bookmakers say Clegg is the most likely to do badly in the debates. PaddyPower put Clegg at 11/10 for the first to visibly sweat. Cameron had 6/4 odds and Brown 3/1.