No Election Debates Please, We're British

Davies, Philip John, Contemporary Review

IN October 2004 The Guardian reported that 62.5 million Americans had tuned in for the first of the three debates to be televised as part of that year's presidential election campaign. Steve Anderson, creative director of Mentorn TV, argued that the level of political engagement suggested by attracting an audience four times more than the final episode of Friends, was itself prima facie evidence for the value of the televised political debate.

American presidential election debates have certainly had their moments. Many still remember Nixon's discomfort and Kennedy's calm demeanour from 1960. In 1976 Ford's mis-statements on Soviet domination in East Europe, and his inability to retrieve the situation when he was given the opportunity, did him no good. In 1980 Carter and Reagan confounded expectations when the President appeared low on substance, and the challenger failed to live up to his reputation as an extremist. More recently Gore's impatient sighs may have been more damaging than anyone expected, given that the 2000 election was so close. And while the 2004 debates did not give Kerry a victory, they certainly breathed new life into a comatose campaign, and the cut of Bush's suit provided grist for a public debate on whether the President was using technological aids during the event. The Guardian went on to ask about such debates 'Could it happen here?'

On the 5th of this month, the British people will vote in a general election. A general election in the United Kingdom is contested between political parties. The parties choose their leaders, and, unlike the American practice, these leaders do not take part in a separate public election. The Prime Minister is simply the leader of the political party that, when all the results are in, is in the position to form the next government administration.

The party political candidates are expected to base their campaigns on their party's election manifesto. While most voters never see a copy of the party manifesto, it sets the party agenda in a way that no other element of the campaign can claim. In UK elections candidate campaign spending is strictly limited. The precise limit varies according to the population size of the constituency, but is typically around [pounds sterling]9,000. Far more campaign spending is controlled by the national political parties. In 2001 the political parties spent nationally more than twice as much as the aggregate campaign spending made by all 3,319 candidates who stood for election. In a campaign so directed by the political parties, the role of the manifesto becomes even more significant.

The campaign in the electronic media is also driven by the party manifestos. The parameters of the electronic media campaign in a UK general election are firmly governed. The opportunity to advertise …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: No Election Debates Please, We're British. Contributors: Davies, Philip John - Author. Magazine title: Contemporary Review. Volume: 286. Issue: 1672 Publication date: May 2005. Page number: 257+. © 1999 Contemporary Review Company Ltd. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.