5 Days that changed Britain

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Anyone else waiting for this? I hate Nick Robinson's smugness, but for all that, am still going to be watching with fascination.

I think Politics is probably a more suitable forum than Telly Addicts!

Well, I happen to think that of the three, Cameron acted in the most principled way during the coalition negotiations.

He didn't try to hoodwink anyone, like Clegg seemed to have over voting change without a referendum.

As it happens, I don't think Obama has more or less integrity than most other politicians. For example, his spin operation leaked the details of John Edward's $400 haircut to try to take him down during the primary process. Link www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1109/A_haircut_tip.html. Also his "British Petroleum" comments were hardly the remarks of a principled man - though not unexpected of a politician.

Oh - and I'm under no illusions about Cameron.

He is just as much a spinner, versed in the dark arts of spin, as Gordon Brown. Almost all senior politicians are. I am sure that Andy Coulson's team is more than a match when it comes to media black ops for Damian McBride, Ed Balls, Charlie Whelan, and Alastair Campbell.

I do think though that during the coalition negotiations he seems to have acted the most honestly of the three leaders.

Don't confuse integrity with it simply being about principled

Integrity is a highly complicated construct

Obama has integrity IMO

His BP comments do not show a lack of integrity - quite the opposite. He made them pay for the clean up because they caused the accident. If you look at accident causation theory, it is clear BP put profit over safety and their organisational values reflected this.........hence the inevitable accident.

Obama stood up to them - maybe at the cost of confidence from business - but that is the point - that is a demonstration of integrity.

"I do think though that during the coalition negotiations he seems to have acted the most honestly of the three leaders."

See, I think he just looked a bit lost. Amateurish.

"Mummy, these boys won't let me be prime minister" sort of thing.

I think Cameron was dignified and graceful in victory. He praised Labour. He hasn't put a foot wrong, up until these recent blunders.

BP should obviously compensate the people who were affected by the leak.

However, I don't think it is principled for Obama to force BP to pay compensation to other oil companies because the Obama administration themselves took the political decision to stop all deep water drilling.

I don't think it is principled to talk about "kicking ass" or "putting a boot on BP's throat".

And sorry. Leaking a story about a rival's $400 haircut is not principled - it is simple low politics. Perfectly acceptable, but you should recognise it for what it is! I don't think Rahm Emanuel is particularly well-known for his principled stances.

I am not sure I have heard him praise Labour, rather he has used them as a faux excuse for his cuts/policies - despite the economy growing, crime falling and schools being better than ever

That is an example of no integrity

BP decided, despite their very poor record on safety, to continue to put profit over safety.

They, thus, ruined the deep sea drilling industry for all because they took this stance despite masses of research and recommendation that this was the sure fire way of having an accident

If you look up Reason's Accident Causation theory, you will see what I mean. This is a text book accident, right down to the employee warning management that the system was liable to failure a few weeks before.

So, they should pay. They decided to take the risk - and it was not even that they did not know what the risk was - the management will just have hoped it did not happen on their watch.

And yes, the language he used therefore is relevant. And not forgetting that employees lost their lives in this 'accident'.

Having courage to stand up to them shows absolute courage - an important factor in integrity

Of course BP should pay the fishermen, hotel owners, etc. Why should BP pay other oil companies though?

Obama has taken the decision to stop all deepwater drilling. There is nothing to suggest that Exxon, Shell and whoever else also have bad safety records. Why should BP have to pay Exxon because of Obama's decision?

As for praising Labour for its economic record - surely you have to be joking. Gordon Brown brought Britain to the edge of bankruptcy. He deserves to have effigies of him burned in the street.

I said the economy was growing - it is (or was). That is not a joke.

BP should have to pay Exxon because they have screwed it up for everyone. Equally there is no evidence that the others have good safety records. So this sort of stuff always has to err on the side of caution - lives can be easily lost and livelihoods destroyed.

Separating out the effect of fiscal and monetary policy is key.

Low interest rates and quantitative easing helped get us through the recession. The VAT cut, car scrappage scheme, and the like helped at the edges but were extremely bad value for money and raised the recessionary portion of the deficit too much.

Ultimately though the big mistakes were in the boom, not in the bust. The simple fact was that Gordon Brown thought he had abolished boom and bust, so thought he could borrow forever. We had a massive structural deficit - £12bn greater than Labour said. Ultimately it is the structural part of the deficit that we need to eliminate - the recessionary part is pretty unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

And actually, cutting government spending, besides getting rid of the deficit, might be key in keeping inflation under control. That in turn will help keep interest rates lower for longer.

The VAT increase will increase inflation though. Hopefully not by too much!

Bla bla bla bla

I dread to think what we will be saying in 2 years time after the gambles that have been taken with the economy/society in the last few months

Well, I don't think we're going to agree on the economy any time soon. You are right; only time will tell - though I would say the time to evaluate the new policies is in about 3 years time.

It is fairly obvious that in the short-term the effects will be to increase unemployment and slightly dampen growth.

I think that going back to the coalition talks - I was very impressed at the level of preparation the Tories had done on compromises with Lib Dem policy. I don't see how you can think of Cameron as being ineffectual with that level of detail being discussed in advance. Especially compared with Labour, who seemed to have no idea whatsoever about how they would accommodate policy differences.

Obama is not the messiah - and I don't think he has any more integrity than any of them...you don't get to be POTUS and have much integrity left imo. If he had any integrity he might admit US responsibility for Bhopal.

Fair comment DC made about Pakistan as some in the Security Services there have their own agenda that is contrary to what the Army and the Government are trying to achieve. I am informed that the Taleban in Afghanistan are well supported and supplied by the Pakistan security services, hence exporting terror.

Given that the US is the most energy hungry nation on the planet, with a maw constantly gaping for cheap fuel, then the US is complicit in the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. If they want the cheap fuel, then it has to come from somewhere. BP are paying for the clean up, but I don't think they deserved the treatment they got in the televised congressional hearings. Sheer political re-election grandstanding that was.

In two years time we will be saying we are glad that someone has decided to sort out the mess that Labour left.

Labour unprepared? Yes because Cameron should have walked it!

All the polls were saying "hung Parliament" for at least 3 months before May 6th.

Labour can't say that the result was unexpected. I know they dislike the concept of taking responsibility, but they have no-one to blame for their lack of preparation but themselves.

The polls are pretty useless really

All the narrative was that Gordon Brown was a dead duck and he knew it

the polls don't work

I think that it is nonsense to say that GB should have waited longer when the gutter press (daily Mail etc) were saying things about him being desperate to stay in number 10!

I agree that Cameron is a natural.

...whether or not you like him or his policies he was born to do the job?

watching it now....can't believe that they are doing this big brother style...what are we all becoming?

born to do the job?

Give me strength

He is totally uncharismatic, uninspiring, rigid, fake, unempathic, unrealistic, out of touch, patronising, smug, .......oh I could go on

So you don't like hime LadyBlaBlah.....I just think he is an imitation Blair without Iraq. Someone said that Cameron (and Clegg) is Blair's legacy. Modern politics is about having a nice face and speaking reasonably and having a nice wife and a couple of kids and doing magazine interviews. Convinction politicians like Brown have a role but not in the front room....I know this a cynical view but I think that is where we are; however unfortunate.

Cameron is a good politician not to be underestimated, I think.