How much are you bothered by the TV election debates carry on?

[skyscraper101]

Do you want to see it happen in the existing format with 3 main party leaders? A Cameron Miliband head to head, a multi party panel, a combo of the above, or not at all? The last ones were so lame the most memorable things was 'I agree with Nick' - it makes the Andrew Marr show look like WWE by comparison.

Personally I care not if it happens, because it will basically be bullshit anyway. A sanitised Question Time at best without the added potential for comedy or rationality with a non-politician. If Farage does participate in he'll basically get more screentime to throw around his usual crap about Brussels, immigration and islamification etc and without him we'll have to look at the others dish out their pre-prepped soundbites to the news media to latch onto.

Then you've got the irritating post-debate dissection over every word with inevitable cutaways to 'regular voters' - you'll probably have Sky News rock up in some pub in a swing area and get some folk to sit with their hands on a like/dislike knob so we can all expertly predict the outcome of the election.

Perhaps you'd prefer some other dynamic? A question time stylee discussion panel? A Dave an Ed cosy up on the sofa with Andrew Neil, or maybe a multi party leader version of Take Me Out where one lucky leader wins a holiday with a Westminster WAG? Personally I'd quite like to see Gladiators bought back for election season and we can see Dave & Ed progress through the rounds of Hang Tough and Dueling with pugil sticks before racing each other in the Eliminator round to swing through a paper replication of the door to 10 Downing Street.

 

[DotCommunist]

I think they are essentially bollocks but its sport of a kind to watch. They produced some excellent gaffes last time. Agreeing with nick, met a black man etc


as to the format, seven seems a bit unwieldy. Its already over an hour if you give each person 10 mins intro. Thats before we get questions from the floor

 

[Nancy_Winks]

I like your gladiator option

I couldn't really give a toss, it's all meaningless anyway. Tories, labour, lib dem. Nothing between em.

 

[skyscraper101]

as to the format, seven seems a bit unwieldy. Its already over an hour if you give each person 10 mins intro. Thats before we get questions from the floor

That is the basic flaw with seven I agree. No time for anything interesting to happen.

 

[bi0boy]

The more TV debates, the more chance for LOLable gaffes.

 

[DotCommunist]

Farage has the slight advantage as he has been in training for two years, never off the tele or radio doing debates and panels. Wheras Dave & Ed have spent the last 5 years getting flabby by just screaming at each other during PMQs

 

[SpookyFrank]

These debates, in whatever form they take, will be a bad joke. There will be nobody there to fact-check and call out the outrageous lies and failures of basic logic, so we'll get the same drivel from Cameron and Miliband that we've been hearing for years.

If the party leaders are allowed to dictate the terms of the debates, then they will be meaningless. There will be no input from the public, no obligation for anyone to make a coherent argument, no analysis of anything. Even U75 bunfights are more intellectually rigorous than that.

 

[campanula]

Nude wrestling, please.

 

[SpookyFrank]

'Our first question tonight comes from a Mr John Sockpuppet...'

'Ere, wotchoo gunna do abaaht awl these immergrunts?'

*applause*

 

[marty21]

I'd like them to invite all the parties except for UKIP for the lols

 

[Vincent]

I reckon keep things simple...just like "they" think "we" are. A "head-to-head" with what at the time is reckoned to be the option of two most likely to win. Then a 3-way between the next three "most popular" parties...currently Lib, UKip & Greens...? That way makes it extremely difficult to makes excuses not to do it...

 

[moochedit]

I'd like them to invite all the parties except for UKIP the lib dems for the lols

corrected

 

[Fez909]

I want a head-to-head just because Cameron doesn't want it.

Otherwise, I don't care.

 

[stavros]

Nude wrestling, please.

Prescott vs Pickles will be on pay-per-view.

 

[Sprocket.]

Not bothered in the slightest.
All platitudes, sound bites and plain bollocks. Nothing new to see or hear.

 

[NoXion]

It's a media circus, so in that spirit I would like to see something analogous to a clown car act; how many parties/candidates can we fit on the stage before someone falls off?

 

[gosub]

Fuck the lot of them for talking about talking rather than talking about issues

 

[DotCommunist]

It's a media circus, so in that spirit I would like to see something analogous to a clown car act; how many parties/candidates can we fit on the stage before someone falls off?

so long as at least one of them gets shot out of a cannon sans helmet

 

[NoXion]

so long as at least one of them gets shot out of a cannon sans helmet

Hopefully Rachel Reeves will get sawn in half as well.

 

[FiFi]

If they just insult each other, spout pre-scripted "jokes" and refuse to answer the questions put to them, it will be as big a waste of our time as every other Question Time and interview for the past 5 years.

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

The inordinate fuss insults the intelligence. Looking to"leaders " at all is pretty sad. But at least there will be 3 anti austerity folk there, all females too. Not that I'll watch it.

 

[tim]

Send them of to Strangeways for a one off edition of "It's a Knockout." with genial pervert Stuart Hall.

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

Green's shouldn't be there and the should be seperate debates for England (including UKIP), Wales, Scotland, and that other place.

Greens have no more right to participate than other parties with one MP like Respect. UKIP on the other hand have two MPs and are the third party in polling terms.

 

[pogofish]

Cannot work-up any interest or be in any way bothered by this.

 

[stethoscope]

Just can't get excited about them at all.

 

[gosub]

Excited or interested, no. But worked up yes. If any of them had enthusiasm for their ideas or even any ideas, that's what they would be talking about. As it is, I'm sure they find the distraction useful.

 

[Flavour]

massive pointless waste of time and money

 

[bemused]

It should be a dance off.

I don't really want to see more than one debate and if was just between the big three I wouldn't want to see any debates. It's not a debate if all the statements are canned and the questions never answered. The only reason I want to watch it is because they are going to have the other parties on the stage and it'll be comedy gold.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

I guess the fuss is that last time they attracted so many viewers, 22m?

I'm not bothered particularly. We never had them before 2010 and no-one minded. They're like 'Question Time' only worse with no non-politicians to calm things down.

 

[Roadkill]

I'm not, except for enjoying Cameron making a dick of himself trying to tell the broadcasters what to do and failing miserably.