22nd April, 2010, 8:44 am The second debate – 8 in the morning, April 22nd Alex Smith Share this article: By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 * In a comment that has been interpreted as a further overture to the Lib Dems, Gordon Brown has said “I’m only here because I want to make a difference. If I cannot make a difference, I go.” * Sky’s Adam Boulton, tonight’s host, says he is ready to push the rules to the limit to guarantee an interesting debate. * Nick Clegg says he has been “too busy to prepare” for tonight’s debate. * Ahead of the debates, Clegg has been forced to deny any wrongdoing over allegations that Lib Dem donors paid money directly into his private bank account. * The likelihood of a split vote in Croydon Central has forced David Cameron to write to all electors there: Dave Hill investigates. * David Cameron has been urged to sack a Tory frontbencher who said lowering the gay age of consent to 16 puts teenage boys at “serious physical risk” and in danger of catching HIV. * The Lib Dems would insist on “truly proportional representation” if the they were to consider working with Labour in a hung parliament, reports the Independent. * Cleggmania? Not in the Tory-Labour marginal of Stourbridge, reports John Harris. Alex Smith Alex is the founder and CEO of The Cares Family. He was editor and first director of LabourList in 2009-2010, during which time he established the site as the number one Labour blog, and later an aide to Ed Miliband. @alexsmith1982 View all articles by Alex Smith Subscribe to our daily email More from LabourList Analysis The importance of keeping it local In the final days before this set of important local elections, it can feel as though the gravitational… James Tibbitts 5th May, 2026, 10:09 am Comment ‘Reform or Recovery? The High-Stakes NHS Test for Wes Streeting’ In the weeks following the local elections, political attention may well turn to senior Labour figures such as… Charlie Paterson 5th May, 2026, 6:00 am Comment ‘Labour’s Crime and Policing Act is a step forward for shop worker safety’ For far too many years, shop staff across Britain have gone to work knowing they may face abuse,… Callum Anderson MP 5th May, 2026, 6:00 am
Alex Smith Alex is the founder and CEO of The Cares Family. He was editor and first director of LabourList in 2009-2010, during which time he established the site as the number one Labour blog, and later an aide to Ed Miliband. @alexsmith1982 View all articles by Alex Smith
Analysis The importance of keeping it local In the final days before this set of important local elections, it can feel as though the gravitational… James Tibbitts 5th May, 2026, 10:09 am
Comment ‘Reform or Recovery? The High-Stakes NHS Test for Wes Streeting’ In the weeks following the local elections, political attention may well turn to senior Labour figures such as… Charlie Paterson 5th May, 2026, 6:00 am
Comment ‘Labour’s Crime and Policing Act is a step forward for shop worker safety’ For far too many years, shop staff across Britain have gone to work knowing they may face abuse,… Callum Anderson MP 5th May, 2026, 6:00 am
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