Quintin Jardine's blog

I can’t be the only man in Britain who wishes that all the election hoopla was over and we could get on with the serious issues that each of our party leaders (with the exception of the Greens) are avoiding like the plague. I can’t be the only man in Britain who’s decided not to watch the leaders debate, which can only favour the outsider, given the runners and riders in this particular race. I don’t believe that they are serving the public interest at all; indeed the exclusion of Alex Salmond, who would have run rings round the other three is, in my view a blow against democracy. Yes, these shows have become an automatic feature of US elections. However,  those are presidential, while ours are not. The only saving grace is that a week will elapse between the third of these shambles and polling day, allowing time for the clouds of vacuity to dissipate, and for the public to realise that the Lib Dems don’t have any more principles that the rest.

But will things be resolved on May 7? If only, but I don’t believe so. I fear that the whole thing is a disaster about to happen. There will be a hung parliament. Where we need clarity there will be obscurity. Where we need decisive leadership we will have fudge and compromise. We will stumble along for another year or so, and then we’ll be doing the whole thing again.

I can see one small ray of hope in the gloom. If the SNP wins sufficient support in Scotland to influence the next administration, then maybe it will secure a fully autonomous Scottish Government within a United Kingdom, and make me a happier man. But am I holding my breath? No.