Now that the dust has started to settle on the UK’s first ever televised election debate, held last Thursday, we can
No vote means no say - today is the last day to register to vote in the UK's general election on 6th May
actually begin to see what the fall-out has been. The political candidates; Clegg, Brown and Cameron, managed to answer a total of five questions with carefully scripted and well rehearsed lines, even though we were reminded that the politicians did not know what questions they would be asked (hmmmm). Calling it a debate was certainly being hopeful; the format of the whole show including decor was, dare I say, somewhat dull, despite the occasional (bad) joke from current Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Clapping, booing, cheering was not allowed.
But the show did create a whole 90 minutes of content that journalists and commentators are now busy criticising and analysing. The overall summary seems to be that Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, won the debate according to most polls, although the claims that he is now more popular than Winston Churchill maybe, I feel, wide of the mark. However, it is interesting that from the two-horse race we have been in for the past 30 years or so, one single televised debate later and we are suddenly facing the possibility of a three-party election battle; a lesson in not underestimating the power of television combined with a good suit, perhaps.
But was it the excellent answers and policy changes that the Lib Dems offer that has finally raised the public’s interest in politics, or was this due to Nick Clegg’s good showman skills and memory for names?
While the televised debate has seemingly opened up a whole new political party for the UK, I wonder if the debate actually took focus from the real political polices in hand, to instead focus the public’s attention on a somewhat crude popularity content, where wives, hand gestures and hairstyles are now all part of the battle plan.
With around three weeks to go the hype will continue to grace our media, but today is the last chance to register to vote – so make sure you have a say and register now.
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