Will Brown accept the TV debate challenge, after all?

Sasquatch

Brown the Bottler.

He's probably hoping that he is deposed as PM before having to answer unscripted questions. He can always say that he was deposed before he had a chance to show the opposition his clunking fist and how annoyed he is that the traitors in the Labour party stabbed him, the most successful Labour PM of all time, in the back.

Swiss Bob

No.

The Bellman

"There's a touch of the stunt about Sky News..." As they say, it takes one to know one, and we have been governed by stunts for twelve long years.

Vulture

Unless Cameron and Clegg appear in leather G-strings and paint their faces like parrots, they cannot fail to make Bruin look like the dysfunctional weirdo that he is. However far behind in the polls he may be, you can rely on a TV appearence by the Sultan of strange to lose a few more million votes. I reckon he will dither - then bottle it.

Oscar

Let's face it - in the big scheme of things this is a pretty minor political class diversion. I can't imagine most people being in the least bothered about the timing of Brown's announcement on whether or not to do a TV debate. He lost his chance to say 'yes I will' when it was news last week. Now he's making such a meal out of the issue, it just looks like yet more prevarication and dithering about a marginal decision.

Simon Stephenson

Kevin Maguire will write exactly what the Brown bunker wants him to write, so I don't think it's too shrewd a move to put much faith in Maguire's musings as advance warning of future events. After all, if Downing Street issued a direct statement that Brown was seriously giving consideration to appearing in the debate, would you really think that this meant he was seriously thinking of appearing in the debate? Or, once bitten twice shy, would you be more likely to conclude that he was seriously trying to give the impression that he was going to do the "hurrah" thing, while actually knowing full well that there's less chance of this actually happening than there is of Elvis making a comeback.

JONNY

Still dubious about the size or nature of the Sky audience.
Will the three of them be guffing away to empty seats?

MisterR

As in "cunning stunts", Bellman??

Anne Wotana Kaye

Anybody willing to bet that if he appears he will pick his nose?

Al the Bid Manager

I would not be at all surprised if McRuin accepted the invitation and then 'medical grounds' interfered (please follow the link for this rationale http://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/the-sick-man-of-europe/).
The venerable Lord Mandelson will then 'come off the bench'.
The rules must be clearly defined when the debate is set up!

Hawkeye

Does he have a choice? Does he really need to be seen as being "empty chaired" just before an election?

Of course we are all assuming two things:

1. The invertebrates known as "The Labour Party" will not evolve into something with a spine during the conference and jettison Gordon.

2. That Gordon will not "do a runner" just before the election. The betting is on a medical exit, but who knows? He might just do a Blair, turn his back on Labour and walk away.

john miller

Ahh, Bellman, is that Caravan, Cows or Metallica?

Brown now has the King Mire touch - everything he gets his hands on turns to doo-doo.

strapworld

Perhaps Gordon Brown is just concerned about the structure of the programme itself. If that be the case I understand his concerns.

You have only to consider the previous Sky political debates. Chaired by that impartial of err, err, err,err, presenters, err, err, Adam Boulton. To realise what a total shambles each one was.

Breaking for commercials just when it might be getting interesting and thus one loses the thread when it returns.

Brown, Cameron and Clegg should establish just who will be the Question Master and who will be setting the questions.

It could be quite good, but my view of Sky is that it leaves much to be desired on the presentational front. It would be like The Sun conducting a debate on Philosophy!

Publius

It's all so depressingly superficial. What next? A spell in the Big Brother house for the "contestants" for Prime Minister?

Television destroys whatever it touches.

Chuck Unsworth

What are the odds that Brown will throw a sickie and Mandelson will take his place?

James

"Kevin Maguire, who is keyed into Team Brown....."?

Is this a euphemism for nuts-deep?

Nick

I think it is a mistake to assume that Brown has nothing to lose from a TV debate with Cameron.

There is still a sizeable 25% support for the Labout Party in recent polls despite all Brown's ditherings and back-trackings and general air of not being up to the job. A number of these Labour supporters, I suspect, look on Cameron as a lightweight (as do many who post on the CH site) and are prepared to overlook Brown's faults for his "experience" in comparison to the untried Cameron.

If, however, in a TV debate Cameron were to come across as far more statesmanlike then the result could actually been a significant collapse in Labour's core support.

Roll on the sub-20% polling in the General Election for Labour and its possible demise as a serious political party.

Olaf

He'll decide to do it but not until the week after it's scheduled.

Jonathan Cook

Brown has already lost the TV debate. There is no point in him engaging with it.

He could, however, benefit from going "John-Major-Web-2.0" stylie.....

Brown could side step the TV debate and instead offer himself up to take questions from the public via the web. This is a web 2.0 equivalent of John Major's soap box in 1992.

Gordon Brown will only profit by changing the rules of the game and fighting on his own ground.

BrianSJ

They would do better sending the famous tub of lard.

PauL

If it's a no-brainer, then why hasn't McTurd agreed already?

TrevorsDen

A lot of pointless comments on this one.

A pointed comment?
Well if America is anything to go by these debates change nothing. They are usually too formalised. And Brown Clegg and Cameron face each other every week in parliament. There will be nothing new here.

The danger for Brown lies in any open (BBC/ITV ect) Question Time with public questions, and a grilling by Paxo (if he stops being a parody of himself)

If the economy is recovering by election time? Well lets hope it will be! But Brown was doing badly and badly perceived BEFORE the economic crisis. Impending cuts are not going to help.

A 'shifty' Nixon was deemed to do badly on the TV debate (mainly due to lack of make up) but those who heard it on the radio thought he won. It took Democrat Mayor Daley in Chicago to rig the result for Kennedy in the end.

Trumpeter Lanfried

Standard procedure by Brown. Do nothing, say nothing, postpone any decision until the last possible moment.

Then, when your credibility has taken a sufficient hammering, hold a surly press conference explaining how it's all somebody else's fault.

Tiberius

I think Mr Murdoch is looking to pilot a new version of "Game for Laugh" with this project (...and heeeeeeres Gordon!)

cityboozer

strapworld,

Sky appear to have said that they'll host it but make the feed available to anyone who wants in. And Sky News is on Freeview so even if it wasn't on channels 1-5 it would still have access to a pretty large chunk of the electorate.

Bert

My strong instict is that Flash will remain true to character and not contest the election himself due to bad health/family issues/national emergency whatever.

He will not give us the satisfaction of seeing his face on election night special so dont expect to see him in this televised debate.

Senor Frizby

A darlic at the pulpit? I would watch for the pure comedic value!

Rob C

He wouldn't do a Sky News debate, but perhaps on the BBC where the referee could throw the debate? With the added benefit of an 'approved list of questions' (not divulged to the other participants of course), he might just have a slim chance...

Holly

Nick-Sizeable 25% support? Brown's experience?
If you were in a quiz & your prize was based on your performance, in said quiz, would you be chimming at 25%? No me neither.
Brown's experience? Where is the proof or end result for that comment?(you should be took to court for slander or
libel).Brown was chancellor for yonks and is now PM.
Q1.What benefits has this country ended up with for all Brown's alledged experience?Firstly,Financially-from his time as chancellor(years of financial stability is not allowed because it was credit driven not sound economics as expected from an experienced chancellor)?
Q2.As PM, what has this country gained from Brown's experience?
Good Luck x

Stevie Wonderboy

A re-run of the Nixon Kennedy debate!!!

Brown will lose millions of votes if he goes on air and reminds everyone why they hate him so much.

John Lea

Nick - agreed. Brown is a hedgehog, whereas Cameron is a fox. Everyone assumes that Cameron would wipe the floor with him, but I don't see much evidence of that. Cameron has landed some good hits at PMQ, but then again, Brown is a seasoned campaigner who knows how to defend himself. Cameron is more telegenic, but i reckon William Hague would have been a tougher opponent for Brown. I've yet to see anyone get the better of Hague in a debate.

John Lea

The parallel with Kennedy/Nixon is an apt and interesting one. That was a close contest, but Kennedy's looks, charisma and ease in front of the camera finally won through. I imagine Cameron would (just) win a televised debate with Brown. However, I did hear political commentators in America say that if the Kennedy/Nixon debate had been conducted on the radio, there is a good chance Nixon would have won. We'll never know of course, but perhaps that's the route Brown should go down if he hopes to outfox Cameron.

Boudicca

LABOUR will eventually accept the debate, but there's no way it will be Gordon Brown standing at the Labour lecturn. If he hasn't been ousted (or persuaded to go) by the date of the debate, he will be stricken by a sudden attack of swine flu (or whatever is plausible) so that 'Lord' Putrid can take his place.

Brown - and the rest of the Labour Party - know that he doesn't stand a hope up against Cameron and Clegg. Clegg is much derided, but actually does quite well on the whole at PMQs knockabout ... he too can think on his feet when he has to.

Sasquatch

As long as it's after May 6th 2010.......