OpEd: Election 23-04-15

The commentators 23-04-15

...on the general election

Since her sensational success in the TV debates the SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, has utterly dominated the political discussion. Her triumph has also given rise to the single unfunniest joke in the history of English journalism, outranking orphanage fires and oncology reports in pure unfunniness. And that’s the joke that says Nicola Sturgeon looks like Wee Jimmy Krankie – the pantomime, red-capped schoolboy figure played by the Glasgow comic Janette Tough.
- Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

The fate of the next British government will be determined by productivity. As the Bank of England said on Wednesday, current rates of activity growth cannot be maintained for long “in the absence of some material improvement in labour productivity”. If Britain’s productivity crisis persists, the result will be weak growth and more austerity. Imagine Italy without the food or sun.
- Chris Giles, Financial Times

In my ideal world all the terrestrial channels plus Sky News would be required by law to screen peak-time election debates between the main spokespeople on health, education, foreign policy, the economy and so on, in which the questions would be asked by experts and unsatisfactory answers would be challenged. In his ideal world, of course, everyone would want to watch.
- David Aaronovitch, The Times

Grant Shapps is a political bantamweight, utterly incapable of lifting the party faithful or connecting with the wider electorate. A somewhat immature and increasingly detached political class has gained control of the political process, often aided and abetted by a compliant media, particularly on our screens. Age, wisdom, experience and knowledge of the world — attributes which politicians sought in the past — are now regarded by our rulers as defects. Is it any wonder that the public is less than enthralled by this election?
- Stephen Glover, Daily Mail

An SNP coup to take over England might be the world’s shortest ever coup, as it would be the only one ever carried out by people who didn’t want to be part of the country they’d taken over.
Mark Steel, Independent

The English should take back their pride. Demanding self-government is the first step. If it is good enough for Scotland, it is certainly for this “blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.”
Leo McKinstry, Daily Express

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