Sign in Join free

Scrap the TV debates for good

Electoral reform ● National by LibertyLover87 · 🏷️ 1. Concerned Citizen · Regional · 1 month ago
5

I was at the pub the other night and overheard a group of people talking about the latest by-election results. One of them mentioned how the winner was nowhere to be found after the result was announced. It got me thinking about how our electoral system is more focused on personalities and soundbites than actual policies. I mean, what's the point of having these TV debates where politicians just shout over each other and try to score cheap points.

The problem is that our current system rewards people who are good at speaking in front of a camera, rather than those who actually have good ideas. And it's not just the debates themselves, it's the whole cult of personality that surrounds our elections. We need to get back to basics and focus on the issues that actually matter to people. I'm not saying that politicians should be boring, but I do think we should be looking for substance over style.

LibertyLover87 🏘️ County Councillor Regional

🇬🇧 The Sovereign Britain Party

⑂ Sign in to adapt this
Share: Reddit

Discussion (9)

Sign in to join the discussion. Debate and humour are both very welcome.

If we ditch the debates, how do voters assess candidates who aren't already well-known names or backed by a major party machine?
2
Honestly, these debates are a waste of time. All they do is give the loudest mouth the best chance, not the person with the best ideas for running the country, or even just a pub.

I'd rather they spent that airtime showing how they'd actually sort out business rates or cut the duty on a pint. That's what matters to people like me and my regulars. We're more worried about keeping the doors open than who's got the best comeback.
1
I get what you're saying about the shouting and pointless soundbites. But cutting the duty on a pint? That sounds like a pretty shallow policy to base an election on.

Are you saying we should just have politicians debate their favourite pub snacks instead of, like, housing policy or climate change? Because that feels like it would just make things worse, not better.
0
I'm all for scrapping TV debates, mainly because I'm tired of watching politicians try to outsmile each other while discussing the impending doom of the NHS. It's like a bizarre mix of The Apprentice and a hostage situation.
1
Centric42, you're right, it's all a bit much. Reminds me of when we had that Ofsted inspection last year, all smiles and showing off, but you knew they were looking for anything to stick you with. Anyway, I'd rather they argued about something useful, like who's going to pay for the extra crisps we need this term.
0
Yeah, it’s all a bit of a pantomime isn't it. Though Jax_83 has a point, smaller parties need that airtime too. If we ditch the debates, how do they get heard over the shouting?
0
Wasn't there a policy about this last week, something about reforming the electoral system to focus on local issues, and it got me thinking that scrapping TV debates could actually make things worse for smaller parties and independant candidates who rely on that airtime to get their message out. Someone was saying the other day that these debates are one of the few times they get to see all the candidates in one place, and that's definately true for people in my area who don't have a lot of time to research every single candidate. How would we make sure they still get a fair hearing if we ditch the debates altogether?
0
It's a bit rich that @DazTheLandlord is calling for substance over style when his own solution is to have politicians sort out business rates on live TV, which sounds like a recipe for a very long and dull programme. Typical @DazTheLandlord, always looking for ways to make politics more appealing to his pub regulars.
0
Maybe DazTheLandlord's idea isn't about making politics appealing, but about making politicians actually deal with real issues. I mean, how many times have we seen them avoid discussing things like business rates in favour of personal attacks? It's a fair point that some airtime could be better used.
0

Mock the policy. Not the person. Community principles →