UNITED KINGDOM: Polls and pundits put outsider Nick Clegg clear winner in Britain's first TV election debate

Record ID: 593281

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Polls and pundits put outsider Nick Clegg clear winner in Britain's first TV election debate
  • Date: 17th April 2010
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOE TWYMAN, DIRECTOR OF POLITICAL RESEARCH AT POLLSTERS 'YOUGOV', SAYING: "Nick Clegg emerged victorious, but then he was really expected to do that. He had everything to gain and very little to lose, so it's perhaps not a surprise to him and not surprising he emerged like that." POLL LOGO AND CHART ON A BOOK ABOUT POLITICAL POLLS (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOE TWYMAN, DIRECTOR OF POLITICAL RESEARCH AT POLLSTERS 'YOUGOV', SAYING: "I don't think it will have a massive impact on the polls long term but that's fine with three weeks to go. With one week to go the question is really if...."If Brown is still behind going into the last debate: Will that alter his behaviour?" DIRECTOR OF UK BODY TALK, RICHARD NEWMAN, WALKING IN STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD NEWMAN, DIRECTOR OF UK BODY TALK, SAYING: "He shows he's this action man, by standing nice and strong and also doing firm strong gestures and also getting the sympathy vote, the empathy vote by when he's listening to questions having his head off to one side and he's making eye contact with the other leaders, making eye contact with the people in the studio audience, with the camera and therefore winning us over. So he's got the strength but he's also got the empathy."
  • Embargoed: 2nd May 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAA5MLNX4TXHOL10QSW1GFT6M40
  • Story Text: The boyish leader of the Liberal Democrats, rank outside Nick Clegg, came out of Britain's first live TV leaders debate as the clear winner.
    Newspaper headlines read "Enter the Outsider" and "Clegg comes of age" as polls pointed to a landslide victory for the 43 year old in the historic clash with ruling Labour leader Gordon Brown and opposition Conservative leader David Cameron.
    "Clegg was brilliant, Brown was devious and Cameron was pathetic," said one man, summing up the general opinion of the three leaders' performances.
    Some who watched the 90 minute debate felt it was too manufactured and the leaders too practised.
    Pollsters YouGov found that 51 percent of people polled said Clegg won the debate, with 29 percent for Cameron and just 19 percent for Brown.
    There will be two other live debates and three weeks more campaigning until the May 6 election.
    YouGov said although Thursday evening's debate has given Clegg's party a poll boost, there's still a long way to go.
    "I don't think it will have a massive impact on the polls long term, but that's fine with three weeks to go. With one week to go, the question is really if Brown is still behind going into the last debate: Will that alter his behaviour?" said Joe Twyman, Political Director of YouGov.
    Body language expert, Richard Newman had fun analysing the behaviour of the three leaders. He, like the polls, marked Clegg the clear winner.
    "He shows he's this action man, by standing nice and strong and also doing firm strong gestures and also getting the empathy vote by when he's listening to questions having his head off to one side," said Newman, Director of UK Body Talk.
    Newman said Cameron was too poised and came across as aloof, whilst Brown was too "bullish".
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