Tuesday 2 March 2010

TV debates - numbing voters to the ballots

Count them - I have and I make it eight full-length television debates being broadcast in Scotland during the general election campaign.

Because separate arrangements have to be made for Wales and Scotland to give the nationalist parties a fair go viewers in these countries are being given an extra treat of double the political viewing time of people in England.

That could total 12 hours of repetitive mind-numbing, sorry crucial, political huffing and puffing before being allowed to put a cross in the box.

The SNP is complaining that it is being excluded from the debates. There must be more votes to be won in campaigning for fewer debates.

Here's that list in full:

Three x leaders debates on ITV, BBC and Sky

Three x Scottish leaders debates on STV, BBC Scotland and Sky

Two x proposed Treasury (Darling vs Osborne) and Business (Mandy vs Clarke)

Viewers will be sleep-walking into the voting booths after that.

But wait, I have to suffer for my language too. The BBC have just confirmed that they hope to stage a Gaelic debate on BBC Alba too. That's nine debates to be endured.

1 comment:

  1. Three x leaders debates on ITV, BBC and Sky

    Three x Scottish leaders debates on STV, BBC Scotland and Sky


    Now that's fair. Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib-Dems get six broadcasts on the telly in Scotland during the campaign and the SNP get three.

    Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib-Dems get three leaders debates and three debates where their regional managers get to debate among themselves.

    The SNP leader gets three debates with the other parties regional managers.

    Aye. The courts are going to love that for political impartiality.

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