Tonight's seven~horse TV debate. Place your bets.
Discussion
k off you TEKNOPUG said:
Why are these regional parties taking part in this debate? I can't vote for Plaid Cymru or the SNP, what they say has no relevance whatsoever for 87% of the country. They may as well give Julius Malema of the EFF a chance to put forward his plans.
Blame Cameron for that one. Initially the tv companies just wanted Cameron vs Miliband and then 2 or 3 debates with Cameron, Miliband, Clegg and Farage. The SNP, Greens etc threatened legal action over this however it would not have broken any of the broadcasting rules because the SNP and the Greens don't qualify for “major party status” in the general election.Then Cameron's advisers decided that he shouldn't take part in the debates so they lobbied for the minor parties to be involved thinking that would dilute the debates down or better still (for the Tories) mean that they wouldn't even take place in the first place.
greygoose said:
I still don't understand Cameron avoiding debates, missing the chance to put your points across to a large audience is odd and just gives the others a chance to give you a kicking.
He'll get a kicking either way.Cameron has little to gain and a lot to lose from debates. Not only has he a record in Government to defend, he also has the burden of expectations: voters expect him to blow their socks off in a debate (be 'prime ministerial' so to speak) and will be disappointed if he's merely good. Miliband on other hand merely has to not pick his nose in front of the camera to exceed the low expectations people have for him. Be too robust and he'll come off as a bully, especially against the female leaders.
It's the same reason why Blair rejected debates as Leader of the Opposition in 1997 - the possible damage outweighed the limited gains to be made.
It also suits Cameron to sit this one out because it is effectively lowering Miliband to same level as the small parties.
Look at Nicola Sturgeon, she was given the win in the 7-way debate because she was a) unfamiliar to non-Scottish voters with correspondingly low expectations b) she knows more about Westminster politics than Cameron/Miliband do about Scottish politics and most of all c) she was largely unchallenged as Cameron/Miliband focused on each other. By contrast, she struggled in the Scottish leader debates where her opponents could take the fight to her and put her on the back foot.
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