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In my view, the 2010 General Election TV debates were a big success. Whatever your political background, they were a great way of holding our party leaders to account in front of the nation. My challenge is this; why not have a similar format for the Derbyshire Dales?
In recent times, hustings between Parliamentary candidates in the Dales have occurred behind closed doors. There has been little or no media coverage of these hustings, and the only people in attendance have been the respective party members for each candidates. Not only is this a pointless exercise, as the debates will not sway the opinion of tribal loyalists, but it is undemocratic. Politicians need to be held to account with the electorate, and yet debates over local and national issues exclude the general public in this context.
In addition to this, we live in a world where social media is an increasingly important outlet for conveying messages and news, yet we still have an archaic and exclusive mechanism for debates between candidates in the Dales. Even if the debates were to include members of the public in a town hall-style format, the vast majority of households would be left out. There are very straightforward solutions. We of course can’t expect television studios to send their cameras down and televise the debate, but we can stream the debate live, or at least have an uninterrupted recording of the proceedings to publish on Youtube and other relevant websites soon after. There could also be the opportunity for interaction as the debates goes on, so that people watching could ask their own questions.
I’m laying down the gauntlet to my fellow candidates; let’s have the debate, but let’s have the debate inclusively in front of the people we are standing to represent. What is there to be scared of? We are standing for a very important cause, and it is our duty to convey our messages across to the Derbyshire Dales.
In recent times, hustings between Parliamentary candidates in the Dales have occurred behind closed doors. There has been little or no media coverage of these hustings, and the only people in attendance have been the respective party members for each candidates. Not only is this a pointless exercise, as the debates will not sway the opinion of tribal loyalists, but it is undemocratic. Politicians need to be held to account with the electorate, and yet debates over local and national issues exclude the general public in this context.
In addition to this, we live in a world where social media is an increasingly important outlet for conveying messages and news, yet we still have an archaic and exclusive mechanism for debates between candidates in the Dales. Even if the debates were to include members of the public in a town hall-style format, the vast majority of households would be left out. There are very straightforward solutions. We of course can’t expect television studios to send their cameras down and televise the debate, but we can stream the debate live, or at least have an uninterrupted recording of the proceedings to publish on Youtube and other relevant websites soon after. There could also be the opportunity for interaction as the debates goes on, so that people watching could ask their own questions.
I’m laying down the gauntlet to my fellow candidates; let’s have the debate, but let’s have the debate inclusively in front of the people we are standing to represent. What is there to be scared of? We are standing for a very important cause, and it is our duty to convey our messages across to the Derbyshire Dales.
