Second debate – international affairs: what our experts said

The second round in the UK election debate last night showed great differences in the party leaders’ foreign policy agendas. Not least on Europe, where Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown’s challenge of David Cameron’s more Euro-sceptical views on ‘Brussels’ meant that both sides had to elaborate on what exactly they see as the pros and cons of EU membership. It is not the first time in UK politics that ‘Europe’ is on the table at election time. However, it is hard to recall a debate over real policies – i.e. cooperation on unemployment, crime, climate change, trade, etc – rather than just the question of whether or not Brussels has moved into Westminster and taken over decision-making in core UK policy domains.