It’s official: Cameron is a coward

David Cameron says that he wants to debate Ed Miliband. And we believe him right? I mean it’s not like him to be disingenuous. To say one thing and do the opposite hoping a disengaged public won’t notice. Just look at that promise he made about NHS reorganisation. Or his deep and lasting pre-election commitment to “green crap”.

But it’s not as simple as all that. With a character as slippery as our eel of a Prime Minister it rarely is. David Cameron will debate, but only in such conditions that absolutely minimise the possibility he’ll be shown up for the blustering chancer that he is. There has to be a football team’s worth of people between him and Ed Miliband all ready to jump in and muddy the waters any time the threat of the electorate actually learning anything about the Tories and their plans for the country becomes too real.

Two party politics is in decline so it is right that the smaller parties should take part in these televised debates. The public deserve to hear the range of options before them. Personally I think the seven way debates have the potential to be pretty ramshackle and unilluminating, but they serve an important purpose in our changing democracy.

But two party politics ain’t dead yet. There are only two people who have the potential to walk away from this election as Prime Minister – David Cameron and Ed Miliband. The public deserved a chance too to see the very real differences between the two. That’s why the broadcaster’s proposal – one that had already taken into account the Prime Minister’s vain dictating of terms – was actually pretty fair. Two big debates with all the parties and one head to head between the two actual candidates for Prime Minister.

But David Cameron can’t have that. He would have nothing to gain and he only ever does things when there’s something in it for him. He’s a Tory after all (I usually counsel against such rhetoric, but frankly if Cameron is going to play up to his stereotype so much who am I to be the bigger person?). The level of expectation the Tories and their press allies have set around Miliband doing badly is such that all Ed would have to do is show up, not eat a bacon sandwich and he’s defied the bar that has been set for him. Cameron can’t have that. Especially having been bested by Ed regularly in PMQs over the last few weeks. God forbid anything in this campaign shouldn’t run to their control. Six weeks ago, I asked why we are putting up with Cameron’s basic dishonesty about why he didn’t want the debates to go ahead. He got what he wanted and now he wants more. He should not be given it.

David Cameron’s Tory arrogance is not new. This is just the latest outrageous, undemocratic expression of it. But his point blank refusal to meet the voters on their terms should come at a cost to him (and a cost greater than being chased by a poor intern dressed as a chicken which you know is now rather inevitable). It should come at a cost to his Party.

At this time when so many are opting out of engaging in our democratic processes the parties should be moving Heaven and Earth to get as many people to the polls as possible. Labour’s Angela Eagle has announced some pretty good measures to make sure that we are getting as many involved as possible, they don’t go as far as I would ;I believe in compulsory attendance at the polling station (or registering “attendance” online). But they are an important start. Contrast that with the born-to-misrule arrogance of our Prime Minister.

There is a choice to be made in May. For many it will be a difficult and important choice. The electorate deserve better from their Prime Minister than this cowardly back peddling; this removal of a part of our democratic process. That they have been ignored and sidelined by David Cameron should give them cause to wonder why. What is he really afraid of? For my money it is being found out for the empty suit he is.