03/03/2010: "TV election debate"

so the TV election debate between the party leaders of the 3 main parties is to go ahead, TV stations are plugging it as a fantastic opportunity for the public - poppycock!

X factor style debates with questions selected by journalists are exactly what the public do not need.

included in the "conditions" for these debates, will be that each show will only cover certain policy areas - the public will be able to ask questions but not heckle or be allowed a chance to reply to the answer given - email questions from the public can be sent in, but will be filtered by journalists who decide which questions are asked.

the three party leaders, as with any wannabe MP, should be out in towns and cities facing direct questions from the public, a fact that only two of the three party leaders are doing also.
gordon brown should not be allowed to go through a general election campaign without facing the public who have to live with the policies that he imposes on us all.

i have never in my lifetime witnessed a party leader of any persuation be able to get away with not facing the public directly

* gordon brown was recently on one of the worst council estates in britain, highlighting law and order policies and defending his record, yet when he was on camera, not a single member of the public could be seen around him
* gordon brown was seen on the street this week, again "speaking to the police" - hardly any public were around him and he was flanked by (what i saw) 3 burly bodyguards, 6 flourescant jacketed police officers, 3 top police officers, either the public were kept away or at dinner time in a town centre is like a ghost town!

just two examples of how our beloved leader is avoiding real people.

if gordon brown is happy with his record in office, if he is happy with the policies that he wants to bring in, during the next parliament (what are they again? ive not heard of a single one yet) then why is he avoiding answering questions from the public unscripted?

- going into hospitals and schools on official visits is NOT meeting people, its a stage managed environment in which nobody can ask awkward questions, as they will be in trouble with their employer
- giving speeches in university or school gymnasiums to party activists, is NOT meeting the people
- visiting areas of the country and keeping the public behind barriers 300 yards away as he saunters into a building from his official car, flanked by personal bodyguards and police, is NOT meeting the people!

when was the last time gordon brown walked down a street and spoke to the people he dictates over?
i cant remember the last time i witnessed this!

what is gordon brown scared of?
unscripted questions?
a member of the public tearing a strip off him and proving he is wrong on a subject?

it needs the media and journalists to address this... but then again they will be happy, as they have now secured the tv debates.
as nick robinsons blog demonstrates, journalists of all political persuations are NOT independant, the public should be asking unscripted questions of those wanting to represent us and no one else!