BY now, you should know how I feel about TV debates. Whatever the occasion – be it an election, a leadership contest or, ahem, a referendum campaign, I take a more is more approach.
Some people have been complaining about the televised debates for the Conservative leadership contest. They point out that while smaller parties often don’t get a look in during an election campaign, the Tory candidates for PM have been offered prime-time spots across the various news networks. After all, we don’t get a say in this contest. The final two candidates for prime minister will be chosen by Conservative MPs, with the eventual winner being chosen by party members.
I understand these arguments but I don’t agree with the conclusion. My test for whether a TV debate should go ahead is this: are the politicians likely to find it an enjoyable process? Save for a few masochists here and there, the answer is always a resounding no.
They answer questions in front of an audience because they have to, not because they want to. Which is why they are always a good idea, regardless of the electorate they are trying to appeal to.
I watched last Friday’s Channel 4 debate with a mixture of glee and dread. If you can forget for a minute that the men and women on your screen are all in the running for the most powerful job in the UK, watching them squirm is an entertaining experience.
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Beforehand, I would have put money on Tom Tugendhat giving an assured performance. He’s usually calm and composed in committees and during interviews. But the bright lights of the studio seemed to sap away at his confidence because what he offered was a repetitive, soundbite-laden series of non-answers.
He was also the candidate that snap polls said performed the best on the night, so take from that what you will about the calibre of the other politicians.
Through her sartorial choices, Liz Truss tried to channel her inner Margaret Thatcher. But when she spoke, the audience heard Robo-May, not the Iron Lady. Bland doesn’t quite cut it. At times you forgot she was there.
Rishi Sunak sounded like he had spent many hundreds of hours and thousands of pounds in media training. He was slick and combative but totally devoid of charm.
Penny Mordaunt had a shocker. It was hard to reconcile the woman who had been winning praise previously unheard of since Ruth Davidson was straddling a tank and being proclaimed as the darling of the Conservative Party, with the uncertain, easily flustered woman we saw on the stage.
As somebody who up until she appeared on the debate was deemed a front-runner in the competition, she was the one who faced the most challenge from her fellow candidates.
Afterwards, in a now-deleted tweet, her team put out a bizarre statement which read: “The top 180 innovations that we have had. How many are used in the NHS? None.’’
Your guess is as good as mine, folks.
Kemi Badenoch went into the debate with the least to lose and the most to gain. While she does have the backing of some senior Tories, such as Michael Gove, she is still a virtual unknown outside of the Conservative Party.
While her answers were light on detail and substance, she did manage to make sure that she wasn’t sidelined in favour of her more well-known colleagues.
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It worked, and subsequent polls have indicated she might be one to watch when Tory MPs begin the next round of voting today.
That was the first television debate but there are more planned. The contenders will be dreading each and every one. The blue-on-blue fighting will only intensify as they edge closer to the top prize.
There is a very real possibility that by the final sparring session we’ll see Tugendhat lob his glasses at Sunak in a fit of rage, as Mordaunt and Truss engage in a furious thumb war.
I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but for the viewing public, this is as good as it gets. The circus is in town and we should enjoy it in all its ridiculous glory while we can.
As soon as it packs up and leaves, and the winner is chosen, then we’re on to the next stage: when the new clown is in charge.
Scottish independence wasn’t mentioned in the Channel 4 debate, but it is sure to come up. When the candidates are asked the question, we’ll see five people give five answers that all amount to the same thing.
When arguing against Scotland’s right to choose its future, a few of the wannabe prime ministers might sound conciliatory and reasonable. Others might go for the eat-your-cereal approach.
Regardless, we will know what they are really saying. The UK isn’t a voluntary union of equals for as long as a new prime minister, chosen by a tiny minority of the population, can block our right to a vote.
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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