I watched it last night but I also recorded it to be able to make a better appraisal , yes I know that's sad but you miss the odd nuances and I like to be confident about making a personal opinion.
Having watched it again I thought Natalie Bennett did very well. I think her policies are, to my mind only, quite mad but I liked the way she stated what her policies were in a clear manner. She was certainly more composed than when being interviewed one to one.
Nigel Forage did exactly what I thought he would do, say what he thinks lump it, or leave it. Totally Marmite character but will take votes from both Labour and Conservatives. I thought he performed quite well.
Nick Clegg was OK I just think he looks desperate at times but he is trying to appear to be the 'Mr Middle of the Road' and I don't think that's what his party wants to be honest. I find him a bit hypocritical and back stabbing and that never sits well with me. He did better than I thought he would.
Leanne Wood is a genuinely nice person and as a nationalist quite rightly speaks up for Wales. I thought her positioning on Labours hypocrisy re the running of the NHS and NHS privatisation under Labour were made well. She had another killer point come across when she stated Labour voted 'against' a Plaid Cymru ammendment to ban zero hour contracts . BAM, ! I do worry she is a little too in awe of Nicola Sturgeon though.
David Cameron had a remit I think not to give anybody the opportunity to call him smug and he underplayed his hand too much. I thought he was more or less on the money and the second time round I noted more points were actually raised by him than I thought first time round. I thought he took comments that criticized him well and was all in all steady as she goes.
Nicola Sturgeon is always good in front of a camera and debates well. I like the fact she speaks honestly about wanting to break up the Union and makes no defence of her hatred of the Tories. I do think she defines to the voter a clear choice, spend more, get rid of Trident, break up the Union, vote down a Westminster government etc. My problem with the SNP is I don't find it a Democratic party if all it wants to do is anhialate the opposition by any means including foul play.
Ed Miliband was all Mr Macho and I can't help but find it false. He did OK and he 'turned' awkward comments against Labour well. I think he is thicker skinned than some think. He was quite dominate with regard to the level of his voice and eye contact and hand gestures, my problem is I couldn't help but think he had undergone performance training and I didn't think it was totally natural. He shook his head so much it was annoying. He tried to put over policies but they were shot down by the others and went nowhere.
Can I just say with regards to Cameron and his family. I agree it can be annoying but Ed Miliband also used the birth of his children during the debate last night and Gordon Brown often spoke of his loss of his child too. I don't think any of them 'use' their children for self promotion nor playing the sympathy card as some elude to. I just think that they are trying to say look I do have first hand knowledge of what the NHS means to the voter.
