Party Leaders' Characters Called Into Question

First look at Iain Dale's comments on Gordon Brown

Now look at Paul Richards' comments on David Cameron

To be fair, Cameron is more of a ruthless spin doctor than charming man, and Gordon Brown is hardly the most charismatic or nicest of leaders, but this is an issue that bothers me. There are some within the Conservative front bench who I really take a personal and political dislike to(as regular readers of this blog know). Equally, I have to reluctantly admit, there are some within my Party who I would not be sorry to see retire from politics (thankfully one of them seems to have made such a move today). That said, "character assassination", whether intended or otherwise and no matter how much the attacker believes what he or she says, is not a route that is healthy.

I know how easy it is to write a blog post denouncing an opponent one despises. God knows how often I have mentioned my contempt for George Osborne and have had to sometimes censor myself. With that in mind I honestly believe that Iain and Paul truly believe what they have said about Brown and Cameron respectively and if they feel that these leaders damage the fabric of British politics then they are right to call certain things into question, but it needs to be done delicately and carefully and thoughtfully (take the brilliant example of the "Camera on/Camera off" campaign), or else it becomes part of the kind of politics that turns people away from the Polling Booths.