What you've said

Find out what you had to say about Question Time on Thursday, 15 November, 2007 from Buxton.

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The topics discussed were:

Past leaders

Hung parliament

Trident

Tax cuts

Are the contenders too similar?

General comments on the programme

The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received:

Past leaders

Audience Question: Has the way in which the previous two leaders left office had a negative effect on how the public views the party?

You said:

Text: I'm a Lib Dem. Let's get Charles Kennedy back. He deserves a second chance.
Jo, Bristol

Text: A drink problem, a pensioner, and now the invisible men.
SJ, Herts

A light hearted debating occasion with little political significance. The Liberal Democrats are the third force of British politics and likely to remain there for years to come, regardless of who the leader is. Sorry
Frank Greaney, Formby Liverpool

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Hung parliament

Audience Question: In a hung parliament, which party would you be willing to form a coalition with?

You said:

Text: No one can give a commitment about hung parliament coalitions in advance.
LR, Sheffield

Text: The British National Party will be the third largest party in five years, not the Lib Dems.
Ben, London

Text: Oh Ben! I sincerely hope you are wrong about the BNP!
Penny, Brighouse

Text: Remember, this is not a two-party state. We are not the Americans!
DJP, London

Text: I'd rather be stuck in a lift with these two than Brown or Cameron.
Ella, Wakefield

After watching Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne, I've lost any confidence in the Lib Dems and won't be voting for them at the next election (as I had been thinking of doing). What's wrong with politicians that they can't answer a simple question as one or two questioners in the audience tried to demand of them? This is what turns people off politics altogether. Of course the reason they won't answer a question on conditions for forming a coalition is that they want to leave the door open for a deal without admitting it. Their answers, from beginning to end, were mealy-mouthed and patronising. All that talk about democracy at the heart of the party is just cant.
John Purdy, London, UK

We don't have a Labour party no more. We have a Tory party and a watered down version of the Tory party calling themselves Labour. Labour died when Blair became leader. Let's hope the Lib-Dems can give them a good run for their money.
Ian Griffin, Stoke on Trent

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Trident

Audience Question: Is Trident really the answer to securing a safer planet?

You said:

Text: You can't negotiate away nuclear weapons before the talks start!
Ben, Cornwall

Text: Will the Lib Dems bring our troops home?
Ed, Kent

Text: The Russian threat is growing. We have to keep our nukes for the foreseeable future.
Steph, London

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Tax cuts

Audience Question: How would you appeal to voters who want tax cuts?

You said:

Text: The Lib Dems who just take money off the taxpayer under false pretences.
Tony, Lowestoft

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Are the contenders too similar?

You said:

Audience Question: How can we tell which of you is which?

Text: For the first time, I shall vote Lib Dem at the next election.
Sandra, Hull

Text: They both have great hand movements!
Margaret, Glasgow

I'm not interested in who the leader is because I live with a Lib Dem council who has done everything to up our bills in every sector of running our services, so I have first hand how the party works, now matter what they would like you think the party would do for you. Believe me they are no different from the other parties in practice, in fact they will actually cost you more as a constituent.
L Reynolds, Swindon

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General comments

You said: Text: Oh Lord, two grey suits. Whoopee!
Susie, Leeds

Text: Ming's grandsons!
Sam, Matlock

Text: You're really putting this pair in an impossible position - damned if they agree, damned if they don't.
Gary B, Uxbridge

Text: When is the first bush tucker trial?
Graham, Corby

Text: This is a serious debate. Do not underestimate these men.
John, Preston

Text: QT is giving Lib Dems a huge shop window. Will they give the same air time to the other two parties?
Mike, East Yorks

Text: Is the real QT on BBC Two, Three or Four?
Ian, Birmingham

Text: It's nice to hear Lib Dem policies; normally only get to hear them at election time.
Dominic, Northampton

Text: Is anybody out there decorating? If so can I pop round and watch your paint dry?
Tony, Ramsgate

Text: I think I'd vote for the bloke in the middle.
Dickie, Wotton

Huhne had more to prove - and did
John Minard, Sheffield

I am an ex Labour Party member but vote Lib Dem in my constituency. Nick Clegg reminds me of Tony Blair - he seems to have a short memory on quotations he has made, and wants to please everybody all the time. Although he is the younger and more attractive, and a vivid contrast to Ming, I found Chris Huhne the more attractive speaker and feel that he would be more trustworthy as a leader. If Clegg gets the leadership, I hope he will try to take more consistent views on the issues raised tonight.
Mary Clarke, Seaford

Why bother wasting our license fee by talking about an irrelevant decision?
Andy, Derby

The high calibre of the Lib Dem leadership candidates is stark contrast to the lack of candidates against Mr Brown when Mr Blair stood down or the selection of horrors that were on offer by the Tory party after Mr Howard stood down.
Chris Bovey, Totnes

Question Time is the only public forum we have. Why waste it on Lib - Dem leadership election when there are so many more important subject to debate?
Lorraine Thurlow, Hereford

I commend the BBC for airing this special edition of Question Time, it allowed the viewer not only to get a feel for the policy differences between the two Lib Dem candidates, but also for the party's policies and character as a whole. It was refreshing to see two candidates of a party that gets too little coverage having the opportunity to debate, to disagree and to agree on so many points. If only all the party's were this transparent in their internal elections.
Chris Jones, Bristol

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