The three stooges enter talent show tonight!

Tonight is the start of the auditions in reality TV show, it's tragic enough; to see the three of them standing there in their stupid red, blue and yellow ties!! We will feel like we're at a traffic light for the 90 minutes of this talent show and might end up wearing sunglasses.

The tie thing is a sartorial acknowledgement that, to most people, Brown, Cameron and Clegg are merely The Three Stooges, nothing left to chance and at least the stooges were very different men

Today sees this first public debate by indistinguishable suits and if it weren't for the differently coloured ties we will hardly know who pinched which manifesto.

Prepare for some boring stuff and if yoiu get bored simply try playing spot the most honest statement from the debate podium.

Yes we do all the Americans do and in this case we have waited 50 years for U.S style Presidential politics that arrive in Britain tonight as the three main party leaders put their personalities on the line for a television debate watched by millions of voters.

Do I really need to see this talent competition as this live debate takes place after hours of dress rehearsals that will continue up to the kick-off today, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will take audition for a role of P.M. as we get into General Election spin and into the same realms as X-Factor or even The Apprentice

Hours of preparation with body language for all as a concern and Cameron has hired Anita Dunn, Barack Obama's ex-body language coach and I do hope she trains Mr Cameron not to waive his hands in that false Blair sincerity

Perhaps we should ask for a panel of judges including Simon Cowell and Sir Alan Sugar

“

"If your lifeguard duties were as good as your ............., a lot of people would be drowning."
Simon Cowell British Entertainer

"You're Fired"
Sir Alan Sugar The pantomime villain from the Apprentice TV show

Amazing our most closely fought campaign for a generation goes into uncharted waters and looks more like Andrew Lloyd Webber's talent search for Dorothy and Toto in The Wizard Of Oz.

Aides spent last night, and will continue much of today, preparing and trying to relax their candidates for the primetime showdown in Manchester in which a slip or a smart soundbite could prove decisive.

Polls suggest that 20 million voters will tune in to ITV, putting the debate on a par with an England football international or an X Factor final. David Cameron will take the centre podium, Gordon Brown will stand to his left — at the Prime Minister’s request because of his impaired eyesight — and Nick Clegg to his right.

Perhaps we need some new judges or even very old panel members to make sense of all this

"Most political leaders acquire their position by causing large numbers of people to believe that these leaders are actuated by altruistic desires"
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS , was a philosopher , historian, logician, mathematician, advocate for social reform, and pacifist

What about the contestants?

Gordon Brown seems to struggle giving answers and will be no doubt seen wandering off into a maze of statistics. Brown of course is fighting to avoid getting his P45 and being told to clear his desk. I wonder how he will deal with being interrupted or cut short?

David Cameron is prone to being riled so has backed out of an interview (Gordon also keeping his distance from Paxo) with Jeremy Paxman for Panorama next Monday and although many will criticise this I see is it making him an unusually normal human being for a politician! How will he deal with being provoked after being described as a a posh person pretending not to be posh or is really that 'diamond geezer'?


Nick Clegg speaks withdouble fantasy involved - first of all that he will become our Prime Minister later this year under the first Liberal Government since Lloyd George around 90 years ago. And secondly that today's deabte means that a Clegg Government would have any credible basis for balancing the budget.

We could call the THE C FACTOR or The Chutzpah Factor

Maybe everyone will call Clegg "Vince Cable". Maybe someone will call Brown "Blair". Maybe someone will call Cameron "Blair". Maybe Brown will call Cameron "posh toff". Maybe he'll just punch him and perhaps Cameron will punch him back!.

Will any of them will answer a question

Can they tell the truth

How will they stop us borrowing over £400 million a day and start paying off the debt instead.

What do they actually trully believe.

If they simply went through the above it would be well worth listening to.

I'll end up watching the debate is so that I can go online and post sarcy cynical postings here afterwards.

Clowns to the left of me?

This week saw the release of the three main parties' election manifestos and environmental commitments formed a central component of each. In fact, in many areas the manifestos hammered home the admirable political consensus that has developed around the low-carbon policies, with each party outlining broadly similar plans for a new low-carbon infrastructure bank, green home loans, ambitious renewable energy targets, and increased clean coal technologies investment.

However, there were also crucial differences in the Parties' philosophical approach to delivering a low-carbon economy, and clear dividing lines around some high-profile policies, nuclear energy, Heathrow expansion and environmental taxes.

BusinessGreen.com wades through the manifestos (so you don't have to) and offers an at-a-glance guide to the three main parties' low-carbon commitments:

Philosophy:

"Labour's environmental agenda reflects our values. Only active government can shape markets to prioritise green growth and job creation. Environmental sustainability cannot be left to individuals and businesses acting alone. We believe that people have the right to a healthy environment. That means giving everyone access to the beauty and amenity of natural places; we want to make it easier to live in a sustainable way whatever your standard of living."

Politics:

While all the main parties share many green policy proposals, Labour's manifesto accuses the Tories of adopting an approach to the environment that is "all about image".

The manifesto explicitly argues that Conservative reluctance to support renewable energy projects, proposals to reverse planning reforms, and opposition to the government's interventionist industrial policy would "put Labour's low-carbon revolution in jeopardy".

It argues that only an interventionist government can drive the development of low-carbon industries, but also positions Labour as pragmatic environmentalists who are still willing to support the expansion of Heathrow airport.

Policies:

• Achieve about 40 per cent low-carbon electricity by 2020 and create 400,000 new green jobs by 2015.
• Introduce "pay as you save" green home makeover scheme and require landlords to insulate rented homes.
• Move towards a "zero waste" Britain, banning recyclable and biodegradable materials from landfill.
• Push for strong and binding international climate change treaty, and lobby EU low emission target for 2020 to 30 per cent below 1990 levels.
• From 2013 provide climate assistance for developing countries that is additional to commitment to provide 0.7 per cent of UK national income in overseas aid.
• Develop new high-speed rail network.
• Roll out smart grid and smart meters for all homes.
• Ensure 15 per cent of UK energy comes from renewables by 2020.
• Make decision on Severn tidal barrage plans early in next parliament.
• Roll out new fleet of nuclear reactors.
• Develop at least four CCS demonstration plants.
• Ban unabated coal-fired power plants.
• Promote community-scale renewable energy and district heat schemes by making it easier for community organisations, co-ops and social enterprises to provide energy services.
• Introduce "recycle on the go" schemes.
• Link together new protected areas of habitat; maintain the Green Belt; increase forest and woodland areas.
• Continue to push for reform of common agricultural policy and appoint supermarket ombudsman to protect interests of suppliers.

Jokers to the right?

Conservatives:

Philosophy:

"This is a Conservative vision for our future, and it is based on Conservative values. We believe that it is our responsibility to create a clean and healthy environment to pass on to our children. That is why we have put green issues back at the heart of our politics and that is why they will be at the heart of our government.

"Instead of using rules and regulations to impose a centralised worldview, we will go with the grain of human nature, creating new incentives and market signals which reward people for doing the right thing. Instead of pulling bureaucratic levers from above telling people what they can't do, we will provide people with the information they need to make more responsible choices. Instead of holding businesses back by imposing unfair retrospective stealth taxes, we will unleash the power of green enterprise and promote resource efficiency to generate thousands of green jobs. This is how we will live up to our responsibility to be the greenest government in our history."

Politics:

The Conservative manifesto returns Labour's criticism that it is only focused on green rhetoric, accusing the previous government of "stark" failures in its attempts to tackle climate change.

It highlights the UK's poor performance in Europe's renewable energy league table and the fact that it has taken a recession to deliver deep cuts in carbon emissions.

It also argues that "a succession of eleven energy Ministers and eight Secretaries of State with responsibility for energy has left our policy muddled and put our energy security at risk".

Finally, the Conservatives attempt to draw some dividing lines of their own by committing to blocking the proposed expansion of Heathrow and making a pledge to raise green taxes as a proportion of overall Treasury revenue.

Despite the ideological commitment to incentives and individual responsibility there are also a sizable number of policy proposals that would require government intervention to drive low co2

Policies:

• Support existing targets for renewable energy and emission reduction, and sign central government up to 10:10 campaign.
• Increase the proportion of tax revenue accounted for by environmental taxes, while ensuring that any additional revenue from new green taxes are used to reduce the burden of tax elsewhere.
• Introduce an Emissions Performance Standard to limit the levels of greenhouse gases from power stations, potentially banning unabated coal plants.
• Support roll out of new nuclear plants – provided they receive no public
  subsidy.
• Create four carbon capture and storage demonstration projects.
• Deliver an offshore electricity grid to support offshore wind farms and create at least two dedicated Marine Energy Parks.
• Launch a green infrastructure bank and green saving scheme
• Give local authorities the power to establish new district heating networks which use biogas and other low carbon fuels;
• Allow communities that host renewable energy projects like wind farms to keep the additional business rates they generate for six years.
• Block proposed third runway at Heathrow and build new high speed rail link from the airport to London and the Midlands.
• Reform Air Passenger Duty to better incentivise operators to run fuller planes.
• Launch "Green Deal" scheme, offering every home up to £6,500 worth of energy efficiency measures that will be paid back through energy bills with savings
• Improve energy efficiency of appliances by adopting scheme similar to Japan's "top runner" initiative, which bans the least efficient devices.
• Retain Energy Performance Certificates to help people improve the environmental rating of their property.
• Ensure labelling of GM foods and block any commercial planting of GM crops until and unless it has been assessed as safe for people and the environment.
• Support reform of Common Agricultural Policy
• Introduce a voluntary Responsibility Deal with producers of waste urging them to cut back on waste levels, and roll out incentive schemes to encourage this to happen.
• Ditch pay as you throw proposals, but put a floor under the standard rate of
  landfill tax until 2020 to encourage alternative forms of waste disposal.
• Work internationally for strong and binding climate change agreement.

Stuck in the middle with you!

Liberal Democrats:

Philosophy:

"Liberal Democrats believe that protecting the environment is one of the greatest challenges this generation faces. We must hand on to our children a planet worth living on. That requires action across government – this is everybody's responsibility, not just one climate change minister's. It is because we believe concern for the environment is important in every part of people's lives that we have identified policies in every chapter of this manifesto to protect the
planet."

Politics:

The Lib Dems have taken a visibly different approach to environmental policy by weaving it through every chapter of the manifesto - a tactic that has already secured plaudits from a number of green groups.

The main political dividing line is the decision to ditch the planned roll out of new nuclear reactors on the grounds that they are likely to prove more expensive than renewables and energy efficiency measures. However, it could be argued that plans for a green stimulus package are more detailed and ambitious than the low carbon strategies presented by the other main parties.

Policies:

• Launch a job creation and green economic stimulus package funded through £3.1bn of public spending. Aim to create 100,000 green jobs.
• Set up UK infrastructure banking systems to invest in low carbon projects. Allow individuals to save with the new bank.
• Invest £400m in upgrading shipyards to support offshore wind and marine energy industry.
• Launch one year scrappage scheme offering households £400 when they install double glazing, replace an old boiler or install microgeneration technology.
• Launch green home loan scheme and target loans and grants to renovate 250,000 unoccupied homes.
• Increase school energy efficiency.
• Invest £140m in council bus scrappage scheme, accelerating roll out of low carbon buses.
• Reject a new generation of nuclear power stations; "based on the evidence nuclear is a far more expensive way of reducing carbon emissions than promoting energy conservation and renewable energy".
• Block unabated coal-fired power stations.
• Set target to generate 40 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2020, raising to 100 per cent by 2050.
• Strengthen Carbon-reduction Commitment scheme and require all businesses and government departments to report on carbon emissions.
• Sign government up to 10:10 campaign.
• Replace per-passenger Air Passenger Duty with a per-plane duty (PPD), ensuring that air freight is taxed for the fi rst time, and introduce higher
  rate of PPD on domestic flights where alternative forms of travel are available.
• Oppose expansion of Heathrow and support major overhaul of railway network with addition of new lines and new rules to help cut fares.
• Work internationally for strong and binding climate change agreement.
• Work with EU to set a target to make all cars zero emission target by 2040.
• Set clear zero waste targets, aiming to edn waste being sent to landfill.
• Hold an immediate Strategic Security and Defence Review (SSDR), including non-military challenges such as climate change.

Get set for a green election!!

Gordon Brown fires the starting pistol on what promises to be the closest election in decades, green business leaders ask whether the low carbon economy could prove a vote winner?

We remain divided on the scale of the impact that environmental and low carbon issues are likely to have on the election campaign, which was formally kicked off yesterday when Gordon Brown confirmed the election would take place on May 6. And this will be a very close race as many can't see a clear leader!!

Energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband said that the environment and climate change could emerge as a "top three" issue during the campaign as each party seeks to tout its green credentials.

What I'd like to see is the whole thing being fought on the architecture of a Green New Deal, Only Vince Cable seems the type of spokesman we would all listen to on topics of economy and green together (some say he would be a good PM if only he joined another party).

Lord (Mandy) Mandelson talks about a low carbon revolution, he only gives it lip service as it needs to on a much bigger scale than anyone on Silicon Valley would ever recognise.

He added that there was a strong case for the parties to make low carbon policies a central part of their manifestos, particularly given the scale of the economic opportunity clean technologies represent.

"I would not even couch it in terms of climate change and would solely focus on the opportunity," he said. " But I would be very surprised if I am not disappointed by the campaign."

Lord Mandelson

"We're pleased to see the election has finally kicked off but disappointed to see that environment and energy policies seem to be taking a back-seat for all parties," she said. "The environmental business sector should be seen as one of the key drivers of jobs and growth to lead us out of the recession, not as an afterthought or add-on. Environmental matters are central to many voters concerns – it's a shame that political parties seem to have forgotten that."

Juliet Davenport, founder and chief executive of Good Energy

However, others are convinced that environmental issues could yet emerge as a somewhat surprising electoral issue, particularly at a local level.

The Green Party announced today that it would for the first time put forward a full slate of candidates for London seats and is riding high in the polls in Brighton and Cambridge with a genuine chance of securing its first parliamentary seat. I even thought about joining the Greens myself and then heard that they were all originally Marxists!!

Meanwhile, insiders have suggested that Ed Miliband's role as Labour's manifesto co-ordinator could result in many of the low carbon policies he has pioneered at the Department of Energy and Climate Change being adopted as part of the manifesto. OK we'll have to see if this taken seriously and not left out after all the fudging of figures in the name of research, the research data was about as straight as an expense claim in the House of Lords!!

In addition, Miliband has repeatedly attempted to put down the Conservative support for wind farms and renewable energy targets as an electoral issue, and the contentious topic of wind farms, as well as the credibility of the Conservatives' commitment to environmental issues, could surprise all and play a key role in the campaign.

My thoughts are some prospective MPs do not regard climate change as a significant issue.