If I could be serious for just a moment...

Today Britain is quite drastically different. For a start there is a quite staggering amount of volcanic ash floating above us. But more importantly, politicians are now willing to argue with each other on telly. Kaloo-kalay(!)

Well. I say different. But in actual fact is this really anything new? PMQs; though not necessarily as highly watched as the apparent 9.4 million average viewers that witnessed Britain's first televised debate, still provides anyone with a television to watch the leaders of the three main political parties (yes there are three, as last night proved to everyone quite successfully) bicker and shout at each other on a near enough weekly basis. Surely then, a debate where they stand in a studio saying the same things direct to cameras is no large progress?

What we saw, however, was actually fairly refreshing, if still a little underwhelming. With the ridiculously English, lecture hall design of the studio being as it was, we were observing three men alone on stage. There was to be no audience response which, I can only imagine, was quite disruptive to those who typically expect anything they say to be met with a large, staged and employed "rousing cheer". And so there seemed to be more reason to engage the other contenders, helped along by Alastair Stewart's admittedly frustrating interruptions encouraging a response, as if the only personal reassurance these men could gather was from the feeling of pride they felt as they presumed a successful put down. No more evident was this so at the creepy smirks that would emerge for all too long after a "clever and witty jibe" aimed at David Cameron's airbrushed and tax-exile supported campaign. Needless to say, I don't think many votes were won that way. However, despite the isolated nature and the more direct oratary combat, there was still that feel of same old, same old about what was actually being said. Cameron spouted on and on about his feelings on certain things without actually saying what he was actually going to do about it, Brown gibbered confusedly about numbers and statistics without really seeming to understand about how they actually ended up in the real world and Nick Clegg...

"Wait. There's a third person up there. Who the hell is he?" Yes, that's right, Britain's third party were, as I have said already, deemed worthy to be included alongside the "Big Two" in this series of debates. And seemingly people were pleasantly surprised. Any poll you care to read on the debate puts Clegg as winning it, in most cases hands down. And a lot of feedback suggested that Clegg was being seen and heard for pretty much the first time. It was always said this was Clegg's big opportunity to put a cat amongst the very settled and indelible pigeons, but boy did he grab it with both hands. It is unlikely that this debate has changed opinion so much that Clegg could find himself as the nation's favourite, but he certainly made it be known that he wants to be considered on an equal footing, and it would seem a number of viewers at least are doing just that. He seemed just as steady and comfortable on stage as his fellow competators, if not more so, and he spoke frankly about what needs to be done and where his party will affect changes. And the people responded favourably.

In real terms though, Clegg has not done much more than raise his profile and prove that he could well be a very major thorn in the sides of Cameron and Brown. He was always going to be the winner in this debate purely because he'd actually get to jump and wave about, shouting "I'm here too, you know." His progress in actually stealing a march on at least gaining the largest minority will be made in a larger scale of time than just one debate and, most possibly, more than just one election. But it is certainly a start. The positives to be taken are that first and foremost, they have broken into the limelight, even if it is just to the side at the moment. Secondly, Clegg has shown that he is a strong politician, or at least as competant as the other two (which, in a cynical aside, I shall mention is maybe not all that positive) and that he should not be so easily overlooked. And finally, and perhaps most importantly for this election, that they could quite easily snatch a few battlefront constituancies from the other two, scuppering the already doubtful race for an overall majority. Quite what will happen then is anyone's guess, but there won't be anyone ignoring the Liberal Democrats then.

... That wasn't as dull to write about as I had feared...