American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

The Tories are using a loophole in election law to produce American-style attack adverts in the run up to the general election in May. It's still illegal to run these on British TV, but the internets are a free for all. This is their latest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_DJ64bPBOw

It uses footage of the young Eds in the late 1990s, advising Gordon Brown.

What do we think this adds (if anything) to the debate? Should ads like these be allowed on TV?

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

I don't like them. I think the tenor of the adverts leak though into general political discourse and poisons it and we'll end up with the kind of hate fuelled partisanship that you have in America where the other side isn't just wrong but evil. Being encouraged to hate your political opponents isn't healthy and is generally something we've avoided.

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

Since Dave has been in we have been taught and encouraged to hate each other.

Rich vs The Poor vs The Sick vs The Disabled.
the way to get through life today is by hating one another.
and it's all down to Dave and his nasty party.

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

Actually, Gary, you have been hating people since before Dave came to power....

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

Shows how low some political parties can go.

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

That's not true. I used to like everybody before Dave got in and taught us that we're all different and that we are to blame for one thing or another in life.

so now I hate certain people in life because I have had 5 years of teaching and encouragement from Dave.

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

Sadly most of them are stooping pretty low now as they will do anything to get their grubby hands on the levers of power no matter what.

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

I can't say I'm a huge fan of the 'televised debates' either, everything is coming down to personality and sound-bites rather than substance

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

Political parties should.concentrate on themselves and what they're going to do with power rather than attacking each other, besides it's not a tactic that goes down well with the public, new labour new danger did nothing for the tories as I recall apart from highlight a dearth of their own policies, as for using legal loopholes, that's just ridiculous, it will potentially do them more harm than good, a.double whammy

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

Actually I thought that was pretty mild. It stuck to "issues" and was pretty much just "new labour new danger" again.

If it was american style attack ad it would be "Ed Miliband's father was a marxist dog murderer, can you trust Ed Miliband not to put the country down....."

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

Currently listening to PMQs..it's a bear pit..and this election is going to be another bear pit whatever methods they use.

As far as I'm concerned it's a complete turn off.However the reason it's on at the moment is because his nibs loves this crap..it's entertainment to him.:(

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

I like Prime Ministers questions. There is something nice about the fact that the Prime Minster has to enter that environment every week. The commons isn't usually like that but once a week they have a cruelling session like that.

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

It's a sign of how free and open a democracy we live in, that the head of our government has to submit to a verbal kicking once a week, every week, for the duration of his term of office. Dictators don't submit to this. For that matter, most democratically elected leaders don't, either.

If nothing else, it ensures our leaders can think on their feet, which has to be a useful skill.

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

What I have seen in the Parliament is hardly any MPs in it. Probably peeing it up in the bar (subsidized by the tax payer).

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

You appear to be making stuff up, as this video of today's PMQs shows differently...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31943274

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

Then you weren't looking or listening very hard..;)

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

Perhaps he looked closer than just for a couple of hours on a Wednesday

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

MPs still turn up for votes and big debates in good numbers.

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

Too many MPs.

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

I don't really think there are too many MPs. In the grand scheme of things 650 mps cost little, even if you include their staff and other fees incurred. If you cut down the numbers then there would be larger constituencies and each MP would have less time to deal with problems raised by individual constituents. That link between a voter and their MP is one of the benefits of our system.

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

Quite right. The USA gets by with 435 in the house of representitives, their equivelent to the commons and only 100 in the Senate their second chamber equivelent to the lords. This for a population many times greater than that of the UK.

Wiki

Fewer MPs could be paid more individually and remove the second jobs.

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

That's because they also have State Assemblies and Senates, being a Federal system - these have their own Senators, Representatives, Governors, etc. For instance, New York State has 62 Senators and 150 Representatives.

This link gives an idea of the number of State elected officials at Representative/Senate level - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compa...te_governments

Nearly 6000 State Representatives, and nearly 2000 State Senators.

We need to compare like with like.

Re: American-style attack ads in UK elections
 

As Hugh pointed out the House of Representatives doesn't have the local attachment that MPs do. Your MP covers a fraction of the area a congressman would in the States.

We could still pay MPs more. Budget wise the numbers are nothing. We don't do it because of the perception more than anything else.