LONDON — British voters fixed their eyes on television screens across the country for the nation’s first U.S.-style political debate Thursday — a historic event billed as an exciting prelude to one of the closest elections in years.
But a life-sapping format of 76 rules sterilized many of the exchanges. There were no real gaffes, no visible beads of sweat and no bloodletting.
Initial polls handed a surprising victory to the third-place Liberal Democrats’ Nick Clegg. The 43-year-old looked relaxed with his hand resting in his pocket. He also spoke confidently and passionately — often looking intently into the camera or to the audience — about topics such as immigration and greed in the banking industry. Some bookmakers last week thought Clegg would be the worst performer in the first debate and the first to sweat.
A ComRes poll said 43 percent of the people thought Clegg was the clear winner; 26 percent thought the Conservatives’ David Cameron won, and 20 percent thought Labor’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown won. About 11 percent thought there was no clear winner. ComRes sampled about 4,032 people by telephone immediately after the debate for ITV News.
One audience member in the debate described Clegg as the “Barack Obama of British politics.”
The British prime ministerial debate — the first of three leading up to May 6 elections — was more subdued than U.S. presidential debates or even the vicious exchanges often seen in Parliament. An estimated 20 million tuned in to see the candidates inside a Manchester studio.
Swing votes will be crucial in this election. Many polls say that because the election is so close, no party may win an outright majority in Parliament. If that happens, it will be the first time since 1974 that Britain has seen a hung Parliament. If there is a hung Parliament, that could prompt yet another election this year.
An estimated 6 million swing votes are at stake.
Audience members in the debate Thursday asked questions about immigration, health care, pensioners, the economy and the armed forces.
