Dita's Slot Meter wrote:For once I agree with Cameron.
Personally, I don't see the point of the whole thing. Its just cheap point scoring and proves nothing and is little more than an extended version of Question Time, which itself is now little more than a joke.
However, if you are going to do it, you either include EVERYBODY (including the SNP, who could easily end up in a position of power themselves), or you simply have it between Cameron and Milliband, as these are seriously the only PM candidates and the only thing the viewing audience are wanting to see, is how any potential leader stands up in the public spotlight.
I tend to agree.
In my opinion they are not really debates at all if recent ones are anything to go by. These so called debates are good for TV programmers as they are very low cost but do little for democracy. You will hear nothing new and they will be decided upon by who has the best celebrity status on the night and not who has the best policies for the country
In the Scottish independence referendum so called debate, the loud mouth Salmond nearly bluffed his way to victory and managed to convince many that the Scottish economy would boom on the back of the oil revenue income. I have always considered there was something fishy about the SNP what with leaders called Salmond and Sturgeon. To think he nearly netted the Scottish public hook line and sinker with his oily tales of riches from the North Sea. Some poor soles still haven't smoked out that the SNP economic ship would have sunk given the reality of the spot market.
Then if you recall the debates of the 2010 election which convinced enough voters to bring to power that weasle Clegg. Remember how a well rehearsed Clegg won favour by looking directly into the camera and somehow being perceived as more honest.! If that alone doesn't put you off live televised debates nothing will!
We do not have a presidential system in the UK and it is quite likely that if the TV debates go ahead none of the participants will actually become the next PM anyway. Recent polls suggest Labour will lose at least half their Scottish seats and even if the Conservatives take the largest share of the vote they may well not have an overall majority so we face the uncomfortable senario of the SNP holding the balance of power and propping up a Labour government in exchange for blackmailed demands for more powers and money for Scotland. So it is quite possible that to form a coalition each of the main parties will have to ditch their current leaders.
I do not think that David Cameron is being "chicken" in fact he is being more of a "fox" ie cunning rather than cowadice. The 2010 debates cost him an overall majority because of people voting based on personality rather than policy. To go against skilled debaters like Farage a la Salmond in the Scottish versions he has everything to lose and very little to gain. With Ukip sniping at the Conservatives the Greens would bring some form of balance as they snipe at Labour and the Lib Dems.
Finally with the news that the 'Pub Landlord' (FUKP) is to stand against Nigel Farage we should at least have some fun to look forward to. With policies that include beer at a penny a pint, bricking up the channel tunnel, revaluing the pound so it is worth £1.10 he may even win some votes.
Now if the TV debates included Al Murray there would be a good reason to rethink my position.
