Kind, caring Gordon

Everyone knows pensioners find it hard to make ends meet. So I commend Gordon Brown for giving 66-year-old Gillian Duffy the opportunity to boost her meagre income by selling her story to a tabloid. If only all politicians were so thoughtful....

I've never voted Tory before, but...

That Nick Clegg has really shaken things up, hasn't he? No longer does he possess a face only his mother could recognise. In two hours of spellbinding oratory he became the Bright Young Thing of British Politics, a role vacated when Blair cosied up to Dubya and Cameron turned smug.

I didn't see the debate but nor, judging from the viewing figures, did most of those whose allegiance has changed in the past few days. Chinese whispers spread word of his success and the snowball has grown. Like accounts of epic battles in days of old, his victory becomes more glorious and emphatic with each retelling. History is written, if not by the victors, then at least by those who suspect they know which side is about to win. Suddenly there's a third party with a realistic chance of making an impact in a general election. That's long overdue - and very welcome.

We will now see whether the Lib Dems' policies withstand scrutiny. Until now the most serious critique has been by comedians, who were keen to point out that the Lib Dems could promise all manner of unlikely initiatives safe in the knowledge that they would never have to implement or fund them. A zero-percent income tax rate? Sounds good to us, a Lib Dem government will introduce that. The moon on a stick? Sure, why not. Now, we may get to see whether there's a £10bn hole in their budget, as the Tories claim.

But, Clegg and wise grandfather Cable will not get my vote. I could never bring myself to support a party which wishes to subsume Britain further into the morass of bureaucracy, corruption and trough-swilling that is the European Union. This is a group of self-serving careerists who make the Westminster cabal appear quite saintly. Why should we let Italians, Germans and Greeks make our laws and run our economy? It's bad enough that the Scots do it.

Further, my local Lib Dem candidate's leaflet trumpets loudly, in almost so many words, that if you don't vote for him you will get a Tory. Has he not considered that maybe that's what the populace wants? Particularly in Wigmore. The leaflet may have contained some statements on his party's policies but as he didn't see fit to put them on the front page, I didn't see fit to open it and read them. A candidate who defines himself by who he isn't, does not deserve my support.

Besides, as the Conservative spinners will no doubt soon find the courage to advertise, "Vote Clegg, get Brown". Already Lord Voldemandelson, is making noises about the common ground between the parties, preparing for a coalition in which the same old puppeteers (including him) would pull the strings. A hung parliament is probably bad for the country, a hung parliament with Labour still in power would be infinitely worse.

I don't buy the argument that Gordon Brown has no mandate to be PM, at least not on the grounds that are commonly stated. We don't elect the Prime Minister, we choose MPs who then choose their leader. The West Lothian question is a different matter entirely, but not something to which there will be any resolution until Scotland gains independence or England gets its own parliament. I'm also dissatisfied with the notion that Brown is unsuitable to lead the country because he lacks charisma. Blair had that in bags and look where it got us. I can even tolerate that strange thing he does with his lower lip, whilst suspecting his own wife must want to punch him by the end of an evening spent together.

My objection to Brown's reelection is that his government is no longer fit to govern. The moral authority vanished when Blair decided to invade Iraq, based ostensibly on evidence that was either misguided or misleading. Incompetence or dishonesty - neither is a particularly attractive trait for a government. Then there's the economy, which has gone to hell in a handbasket. Admittedly the UK is not alone, we just have it worse than most. Brown was a disastrous Chancellor, although I will concede he delivered on his promise to end boom and bust... by getting rid of the boom. Who increased public borrowing to levels that threaten to cripple the British economy for the next decade? The same man who now claims we should trust him to lead us out of the very mess he got us into. I've had enough of broken promises (remember the referendum on Europe? Brown doesn't) and the same old slimeballs finding their way back into government - I'm thinking of you, Mandy and Camby.

In the midst of all this sits Paul Clark MP (Lab), a loyalist who did his time in local politics and has represented Gillingham for 13 years, no mean feat after it had been Conservative since 1950. He floated into the Commons on the wave of Blairite revolution and has held on, most recently with a majority of under 300. His voting record suggests unwavering alignment with the whip, sometimes at the expense of his constituents' interests - which may be why he is now a junior transport minister. (Anyone see the irony of him voting in favour of trashing our train service?) I have no particular gripe with him but he hardly demands reward for his faithful service to the people of Gillingham.

My conclusion: I may have to vote Conservative. It's a decision I won't take lightly, not least because I'm old enough to remember that the last Tory government wasn't a roaring success. I have no confidence that Cameron & co would do a better job than the current lot. But, I believe they at least deserve a chance. And frankly I'm desperate for change.

Whether the country agrees, remains to be seen. At least they're interested. And for that at least we should be grateful to Nick Clegg.