To think three female party leaders should manage a debate without group cuddling on stage?

[Arsenic]

Just pfft.

Excellent - glad to hear it, must have missed that at the end. Still doesn't stop the silly group hug at the end being childish and unprofessional.

Ginmartini

Did you watch the debate?

I think your comment is offensive to all three women involved in that debate.

Go and watch it. It was inspiring to see these women take on the men in suits in such a robust manner.

It made me feel proud on their behalf.

It was different. It made a change.

For me change and something different is refreshing.

It was different and heartening for me to seen so many women up on the political stage there.

If more women in politics means more spontaneous physical displays then so what? It's hardly a big deal. Why should it invalidate their ability to be decent politicians? The 'girlie' comments here are IMO.

Personally I was appalled by the hugging. Totally unprofessional. How can women expect to be taken seriously in politics if they pull that kind of stunt?

It wasn't 'inspiring' - it was more of the same meaningless politics and empty rhetoric from 3 ideologists who finished up with a group hug a la the playground.

Perhaps you're easily made proud though.

Vomituous.

You think opposing the renewal of Trident is meaningless?

Challenging the austerity mantra is meaningless?

Debating the NHS is meaningless?

I saw three people up there who had the courage to stand up and debate - people who would have revived the high level coaching ed Miliband has to make him slightly more credible.
The only meaningless one was Farage - although perhaps he doesn't get the meaningless tag because he is a man?

What's an 'ideologist' by the way?

Surely s
Political parties have an ideology (although perhaps not in the case of the Labour Party)

I don't think debating any austerity or the NHS is meaningless or pointless (although I don't oppose Trident) - but none of them have any sound, economic, rational, concrete, rigorous policies that will address these issues. Simply claiming that you want a fairer Britain and then hugging your girlfriends isn't enough for me. I recognise others feel differently though.

As for having the courage to stand up there - it's what they do for a living. I would expect any politician leading a party to be able to debate. It's not 'courageous' in my book.

I thought it was a nice moment of solidarity
Why shouldn't they do things differently from business as usual - after all look where that's got us
Refreshing policies that speak out for the disadvantaged in society, and a refreshing expression of them during this moment after the debate
Made a good pic I thought and sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words

A moment of solidarity because they are all women? Or something else? And why does a group hug from women equate to something different in politics?

It made a 'good pic' all right, not necessarily for the right reasons - but I'd like British politics and the future of its population to be more than good pics.

I missed the hug, and i'm now torn. I'm not a hugger and yes, think hugging is unprofessional. But then why is it considered unprofessional? Because industry started as a manly thing, and hugging isnt something (most) men do, whereas women are socialised to be more tactile with each other? So really, is it a bad thing? I dont know, i'm honestly torn

I do know i wouldnt touch farages hand with yours though. Urgh
I think it should be okay for leaders to do this. Why is it a good thing for say the queen to shake mugabes hand (no idea if she did this before, just picking names out of thin air)?

Nicola Sturgeon and Leanne Wood are friends. What's wrong with giving a friend a quick hug to say 'well done' or 'yay, we survived it!' when you've just done a big, important, possibly even scary thing like a TV debate? I thought it was a nice moment.
I agree it was rude of Leanne Wood and Natalie Bennett not to shake hands with Farage.

Of course none of them know what it's like to run an actual country. If they did, they'd run a mile. It's a bit like childbirth if you'll pardon the shitty analogy. You can get through childbirth and feel the need to celebrate, reach out and spontaneously acknowledge having survived pregnancy and labour. But it's just the start. You have no idea that the real battle is actually beginning. No reason not to spontaneously and honestly celebrate hard work so far.

All the judgements on this 'hug' are filtered through other people's opinions. A hug in itself is not a negative act. Nor is it necessarily strategic or politically motivated. Or a positive act.

I think if a hug was right for those people in that moment then a hug was right for them in that moment. I will not use it as a measure of their ability any more than I will buy into headlines about bacon sandwiches or twittering about how old Sturgeon is or what her shoes look like.

Partly because all three are women yes SirChen, and why not take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate that and all that goes with that, but mainly because all three are anti-austerity and are coming from a very similar political position with policies for a compassionate society. They would be happy to work together in the interests of the country (and I'm sure they have had many discussions about this and the group hug wasn't purely a spontaneous girlie moment) - possibly with Ed Miliband as PM if he is prepared to work with them, and as Nicola Sturgeon challenged him "be better than David Cameron"

I kind of 'get' why they did it. They must've been thinking 'bloody brilliant! THREE women leading political parties in the UK, given airtime on national tv, not patronised and holding our own as politicians and nor token women'.

Still, its was a bit 'bleeeeeech' to do it on screen.

Why can't you be taken seriously if you give someone a public friendly hug?

I think it makes a refreshing change.

Of course none of them know what it's like to run an actual country. If they did, they'd run a mile. It's a bit like childbirth if you'll pardon the shitty analogy. You can get through childbirth and feel the need to celebrate, reach out and spontaneously acknowledge having survived pregnancy and labour. But it's just the start. You have no idea that the real battle is actually beginning. No reason not to spontaneously and honestly celebrate hard work so far.

To stretch your analogy Grant, it wasn't post-childbirth, it was (maybe) a scan...

I'm with Gin all the way. But then I found the 'debate' quite formulaic and not half as inspiring as some people apparently did, so I don't have the sense that I should shut up about the embarassing incident at the end for the sake of the marvellous thing that came before.

What's with this idea that 'different' and 'change' are necessarily 'A Good Thing'?

Because so many people are disillusioned with politics as they are, so maybe change is a good thing.

And even if it's not a particularly good thing, why does something being done differently have to be a bad thing?

I'm no feminist, but I think the comment made by someone earlier about this setting feminism back is horrible. Why does anyone see it as setting feminism back? I genuinely don't get it. Women don't have to behave in the same was as men to be equal to them. I'd have thought that women doing things in their own different but equally valid way, and then not being judged badly for it would be something good for feminism.

I really do agree Ptolemy. Especially this - Women don't have to behave in the same way as men to be equal to them. Absolutely.

Whether it's a scan or birth or a hellish NCT meeting, the point is that they don't know what's to come, can only react to what's gone before and their feelings are their own. They feel they have worked hard and that was the end of their night. The debate, the standing up and saying stuff, the campaigning and hustings are things they do for us and we have every right to hold them to account for it. The bit after that, unless it genuinely reflects on their ability to do the job, is nothing for me to comment on. I certainly don't get to imply it means anything about professionalism or feminism. That's filtering it through goggles.

God help whoever wins frankly. No one person or one party of politicians can effectively run a country. Which is why we have this nonsense every 5yrs.

And even if it's not a particularly good thing, why does something being done differently have to be a bad thing?

It isn't the sameness or the difference that is the issue, it is the act itself.

I'm no feminist

Yes, I worked that out.

, but I think the comment made by someone earlier about this setting feminism back is horrible. Why does anyone see it as setting feminism back?

Because it DOES. It was just a soppy, sloppy, unprofessional gesture.

The first time we have three female party leaders and they were apparently unable to comport themselves calmly and exit the stage without dissolving into that. It's annoying.

I genuinely don't get it. Women don't have to behave in the same was as men to be equal to them. I'd have thought that women doing things in their own different but equally valid way, and then not being judged badly for it would be something good for feminism.

Ptolemy you are the one inflicting this (deeply strange) 'the same as men' interpretation on it.

They just had to behave as professional politicians.

I'm sorry that some of you think hugging is unprofessional. I work for a legal publisher and quite often when one of us has been on leave/out of the office for a bit, we have a hug or air kiss when we are back in the office - both male and female colleagues in our team. I can imagine that if we'd had a stressful time of it and finished a big project or something we'd do the same.

As someone else has said, better hugging than the idioticy that is PMQs. WHY is that even allowed? John Bercow is completely spineless. I'd quite like to see Nicola Sturgeon as Speaker - I'm sure she'd keep them in line.

Although Ruth Davidson wasn't there, my impression is that she would have joined in, if you follow the Scottish party leaders on Twitter they seem to get on quite well - there was some talk of all getting together and watching a tennis match (involving Murray probably) in someone's office. I'm sure Nicola, Leanne and Natalie get on well on a personal level too. As someone said, they're not really in competition with each other (Natalie Bennett doesn't lead the Green party in Scotland).

And I hope Caroline Lucas is reelected. I wasn't sure about her getting herself arrested over fracking, but she comes over very well when interviewed and actually answers questions!

I think it was more supportive hug than cuddle!