ELECTION DEBATE : WAS IT WORTH THE EFFORT ?

Last night's election debate on the BBC told viewers nothing that they didn't already know, but highlighted the way in which politicians distort facts to their own benefit.

With Theresa May opting to be elsewhere, Amber Rudd represented the Conservatives. She was opposed by a 5 socialists and Paul Nuttall, whose UKIP party policies seem to be designed to appeal mostly to the extremes of both left and right. Unsurprisingly, the socialist mob rounded on Ms Rudd and threw as much mud as they could muster.

In essence, Ms Rudd stuck to the Conservative line of economic competence while the assembled socialists all made wild claims of crippling austerity and vast poverty afflicting our nation. All said that they would throw huge sums of money at these supposed problems. All did no more than continue their principal policy of buying votes with promises of making everyone rich.

No one ever questions what 'austerity' really means nor does anyone question the claimed levels of 'poverty' that the left claims exist. In truth, the current 'austerity' is nothing of the sort and true poverty is virtually non-existent in the UK. While some people may be less well-off than others, very, very few live on the streets as the likes of Caroline Lucas of the Green Party would have us believe.

One of Labour's big promises is to increase the 'living wage' to £10 an hour; they say this would relieve the supposed poverty that exists. What they don't say is how such a move would impact on business, productivity and employment or on inflation; inevitably, all three would suffer negative effects, compounded by the proposed increases to corporation tax. Inevitably, businesses would become less profitable and many would close; both inflation and unemployment would rise. So much for the socialist nirvana.

While Corbyn and his main socialist allies, Caroline Lucas and Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru, all spout this same nonsense, Tim Farron of the Liberal Democrats adds his party's determination to keep the UK in the European Union to his mishmash of policies; despite the outcome of the referendum, Farron still keeps harping on about how unfair it all is and how the people just don't understand, or didn't know 'what type of Brexit' they were voting for. It's all tripe. The Scottish Nationalists want independence and UKIP wants immigration sorted out.

So there it is. No one learned anything new and what we saw was 7 politicians squabbling amongst themselves, mostly trying to see who could score most points off of the others, while 6 of them took pot-shots at the absent Prime Minister at every opportunity. Truly excruciating television.

In the end, the voters' choice remains the same. A degree of economic stability and a controlled exit from the European Union under the Conservatives, or higher taxes, higher borrowing, rip-roaring inflation and economic catastrophe under Labour and an amalgam of other left wing parties. 7 days to go.