Eddie Barnes: The Great Debate: Barnes v Maddox (3)
Fair enough David, I think you've proven that there is no easy alternative to the straight Cameron/Brown/Clegg debate being proposed by the TV networks. I would agree with that. But I haven't changed my mind on the fundamental wrong-ness of the proposed debate.
However, having read some of the streams on this debate on the Steamie, particularly those of "DougtheDug", it also seems that whatever you and I think is right or wrong is pretty irrelevant. As he says, this is a legal matter now, and it's a question for the courts to decide. So the Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday will be looking into this over the coming days to find out what the legal views are. We'll also be asking the main broadcasters for some more details as to how they think they can square this circle. So far all we've had are some vague assurances that consideration will be given to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. And from the conversations I've had with the broadcaster's press offices, it seems pretty clear that that is about as far as they've thought about it. The BBC admitted it was "complicated" but then was unable to say anything more.
Answers need to be forthcoming, and we'll try and get some.
However, having read some of the streams on this debate on the Steamie, particularly those of "DougtheDug", it also seems that whatever you and I think is right or wrong is pretty irrelevant. As he says, this is a legal matter now, and it's a question for the courts to decide. So the Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday will be looking into this over the coming days to find out what the legal views are. We'll also be asking the main broadcasters for some more details as to how they think they can square this circle. So far all we've had are some vague assurances that consideration will be given to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. And from the conversations I've had with the broadcaster's press offices, it seems pretty clear that that is about as far as they've thought about it. The BBC admitted it was "complicated" but then was unable to say anything more.
Answers need to be forthcoming, and we'll try and get some.
Labels: Eddie Barnes, tv debate
posted by Administrator at
16:58
1 Comments:
Look at what David Maddox does in his argument. He gears everything to a specifically UK wide debate. He negates the fact that the SNP form the Scottish Govt, currently within a UK setting, to say that they should get 3 minutes 36 seconds, compared to the BNP's 7 minutes 27 seconds, the UKIP's 18 minutes 22 seconds, and the Tories 26 minutes 3 seconds.
He just sees things from a UK perspective, he doesn't see that a debate with those time lines allocated in a Scottish context would be ridiculous.
It is going to be very very hard to hold a UK wide debate within the context of a devolved UK. In fact I think it will be largely impossible, and only those people, such as DM, who haven't really understood what devolution is all about (which includes the BBC and Sky to be fair)think that it would be an easy thing to do.
There are roughly ten times as many English people as there are Scots. DM seems to view that as justification for forgetting the somewhat salient point that those greater numbers mean very little these days when it comes to many of the pertinent issues of the day.
We are no longer a unitary state and pretending we are is just denying reality.
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