What Took So Long? The Late Arrival of TV Debates in the UK General Election of 2010

Abstract

So spoke a winning John Major of himself and a losing Neil Kinnock in 1992 (Cockerell, 2010). He demonstrated a consistent belief in the theory five years later, when — behind in the polls — he eventually spoke up in favour of election debates between himself and Tony Blair. Perhaps the ‘trick’ in 2010 was that the debates only happened because none of the party leaders was confident of victory. At least since the legendary encounter between Kennedy and Nixon in 1960, British general elections have tiptoed into the foothills of discussions about holding debates, only for one or more of those involved to trip over the complicated undergrowth, fall out with each other — or simply reassert selfinterest. There is no discussion here of the debates themselves, or any conclusion about whether television election debates are right for the UK or not. This chapter looks at the main hurdles that stood in the way of debates for fifty years and how and why they were overcome at this election. In its conclusion, it briefly assesses the impact of the debates from an audience perspective. But it also analyses some of the objectives of both the broadcasters and the political parties and offers a firsthand account of the negotiations which brought about this UK first.

Every party politician that expects to lose tries that trick of debates and every politician who expects to win says no.