Election debate number 1

So the first ever pre-election priministerial live debate passes, embracing presidentialism and giving the public, at least for a while, the chance to remind themselves that politicians are relatively real people. What this live debate has done, looking past the political engineering and one-upmanship, has once again linked the public to popular politics much like Nick Griffin’s tumultuous appearance on Question Time a few months ago. This has both its benefits and its flaws, on the one hand any attempt to get the public to engage with politics has to be seen as a positive, this goes without saying. On the other hand this idle attempt at showcasing the future leadership of this country leaves quite a strange taste in the mouth.

The debate itself went largely without incident with each candidate at their stereotypical best. Gordon Brown unexciting and uninspiring, David Cameron hollow, with style (make-up) over substance and then Nick Clegg, the leader of the third party in British politics, eager to make a name for himself on the equal footing in which the live debate provides. In essence each leader did everything that they were expected to do, David Cameron wanting to point nuclear weapons at China aside, they all managed to neither significantly help or hinder their cause in a way that was going to have a big influence on the way people will vote. Out of the three leaders up there only David Cameron had anything big to lose and in most respects he reminded everyone watching that despite some populous ideas on immigration and school discipline he has very little else that will distance himself from the other leaders, apart from maybe the most orange face. As a signal of intent David Cameron provided almost nothing in the way of a nucleus for change.

If the inevitable does happen and Mr Cameron does win a majority on May 6th the comparisons are likely to be drawn with New Labour’s victory in 1997. Coming on the back of 18 years of a Tory government the New Labour agenda promised, and provided for a while at least, the prospect of real change lead by a man who provided the real promise of making a difference. If David Cameron and the Tories think they are on a similar bandwagon after 13 years of a Labour government, they are sadly misguided.

As for Gordon Brown the debate was never going to portray him in the greatest of lights. Gordon Brown is just not made for modern, publicity driven election campaigns. Gordon Brown is the type of politician that should be left in the backroom to read big dusty books on Milford and Keynes and devise policy, not out in the shop window scaring the babies. To be fair to him though he handled himself ok but wasted too much time on reminding the public of the Tories flaws. He should have taken this time to convince the public that to vote Labour won’t mean the continual breakdown of society and the risk of a place on the economic slagheap.

The real winner of this debate and the one with the least to lose was Nick Clegg. Being the least well-known of the three all he had to do was not to make a tit of himself, which he managed to achieve quite comfortably. Giving concrete policy promises and answering the public on first-name terms he provided the freshness and ease of speech which Mr Cameron can only yearn for. Only time will tell what this could do for the Liberal Democrats but with solid and respected politicians like Vince Cable behind him they surely have to be taken much more seriously on the back of this performance.

The debate was odd that’s for sure, with the set looking like it cost the equivalent of the X Factor’s firecracker budget it was hard to give the occasion the seriousness it deserved. Added to this the presenter looking at best like an overeager sixth former and at worst Alan Partridge at his camp and socially inept best it lacked the sheen and legitimacy that the BBC adds to these occasions. Let’s just hope that the bland realisation that politics is dead can in part be resurrected by two more debates.

Southsea

Take a cross-section of British society in its basic form, take the uniformity of the modern High Street and the mundane nature of the modern music fan and none would be found in Southsea. Quite a bold statement for such a small town located inside its uglier and often harder working older brother, Portsmouth. Southsea has and will undoubtedly continue to be an anomaly in an otherwise generic part of the south with some of the greatest cultural potential this side of Brighton but unlocking it will be the biggest quest the people of this town will ever have to achieve. Some would say that this has already been achieved and that Albert Road has fast become the street of choice for eaters and drinkers alike city-wide but I would say that the potential is far greater than people could imagine. In an age where the vast majority of the UK suffers from cultural stagnation it is refreshing to see that a small enclave of an island off an island can claim to be at the very heart of hedonism, a true gem of eclectic citizens all with the same relative ideas of live music and great atmosphere. You can go to very few places in Britain and feel part of something truly unique where, particularly along Albert Road, you are faced with an almost enviable mix of pubs, quirky shops and restaurants that haven’t sold their soul to corporatism and will probably continue in this same fashion for generations to come unbowed by the modernist’s dream of pedestrianisation and plastic facades.

Southsea truly holds the ultimate sense of eclecticism, a place that has been relatively well-hidden from the outside world as a place of character with an alternative vision. Walking amongst the Stella-boys migrating south from Guildhall walk you can still bump into the several thousand of students all vying for a place at the bar dressed in their golfing attire. Meanwhile you can still hold that drunken conversation with a member of the Old Conservative Club about the state of Sunday League refereeing whilst being heckled by twelve Pompey fans buoyant after Fulham away. This truly is the cosmopolitan mix that the Blairite years fascinated about, albeit without the middle-England blandness and wannabe’s drinking espresso’s on the pavement because they think it’s the done thing. One thing Southsea can claim is that it doesn’t subscribe to recent fads or trends in popular culture in so much that you can be 99% sure that whatever is popular in the rest of the country Southsea refuses to follow suit. The scene-ista’s that give any town or city its edge have found their home in Southsea too through the recent indie-girl converts hanging around the bands in Jonny Russell’s to the Fred Perry mopheads reliving a mod-revival moment because you can add a swagger and a Marlboro Light and be someone else. With only two credible live music venues dotted around Albert Road its hard to believe that so many bands have had the chance to showcase their talents and this has always been the real let-down with an otherwise up and coming scene. With more and more places to eat and drink opening all the time surely it is time to really showcase the talent and solidarity of such a fascinating corner of the world and provide the places and nights with which the potential truly deserves.

High Street Clones

Has individualism been eroded? For the past few years, following trends in music and popular culture ive genuinely found it exciting at the prospect of the generic excesses of the so called hip-hop generation being replaced by a more care-free attitude intertwined with indie credentials. Its good to see more and more people ditch the glitsy clubs for sweaty pubs and live music but distressingly what has happened is people have become confused as to what they have become. It used to be easy to spot the pretenders from the genuine article but what we have seen now is this uniformity start to take hold once again. Everywhere you look people are afraid to truly commit to something uniquely individual. People feel forced to follow the crowd and in some respects feel they are being truly original by wearing or listening to something different but what they in fact doing is wearing or listening to something that is a by-product of the current trend. This has always been the case through passing subcultures from the arrival of rock and roll from america at the start of the fifties, to early mods and rockers, the original skins, mod revival, new romantics and lad-mag britpop. What is different today is the fact it isn't possible to pigeon-hole any existing movement, some could say that this is absolute individualism, I would say that people are more confused than ever and are looking at their parrot-top hairstyles for answers. The answer to the majority is to wear your cardigan without knowing what it truly represents. Walk around any provincial town on a Friday or Saturday night and you wouldn't be inspired, you would be bored, bored by seeing nothing but comfort-zone fashion.