Kirsty Strickland: Why we need more leaders’ TV debates as election nears

I have declared my personal interest from the outset because I am committed to transparency in public life – which is more than can be said for some elected representatives of the Conservative Party.

I’ve taken my bias out of my handbag and put it squarely on the table in front of you, and with that out of the way, here’s why I think we need more TV debates in these final weeks of the Holyrood election campaign.

As far as I can see, the only argument ever made against holding TV debates is that they don’t change the minds of many voters. I’d gently suggest that it looks like that ship has already sailed.

Polls show the main factor in how voters decide which party to back is – you’ve guessed it – independence. No would-be SNP voter is going to watch Douglas Ross for an hour and decide to switch their vote to Tory. And vice-versa.

But TV debates don’t need to be revelatory or even particularly interesting for them to still be worthwhile. They are a debt to be paid to us, the voters. Politicians don’t like them. They take a lot of time and energy to prepare for. Parties don’t have much to gain from them but one mis-step or awkward moment can come to define a campaign.

In recent years, TV debates have been the subject of tortuous negotiations and tantrums during UK General Election campaigns. You’re more likely to see a big chicken chasing a Tory or Labour leader around than have them both appear on a main-party leaders’ debate.

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Thankfully, we don’t have that problem in Holyrood elections. It helps that Nicola Sturgeon – as the incumbent and therefore the person with the most to lose – is always willing to appear. In this election, we have Anas Sarwar and Douglas Ross as new party leaders looking to make their mark.

Willie Rennie, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater are always up for them too.

So why have we confined ourselves to only two televised debates across the whole campaign? One Malteser is nice, but a whole box of them is better. If the whole box is there for the taking, it seems daft to restrict ourselves unnecessarily.

The coronavirus crisis has forced this Scottish Parliament election to become a campaign like no other. There are no walkabouts or big events for journalists to cover. Despite the rules being changed on leafleting, this is still a largely

online-only election. Which is probably why it has been so incredibly dull.

It will be interesting to see if turnout suffers as a result. We know a record number of people have registered for a postal vote but I wouldn’t be surprised if in-person turnout is down on previous years.

We’ve been told an SNP victory is a dead-cert and you get the sense that we’re all just going through the motions now and counting down the days until it is over.

Usually, my non-political pals get in touch to chat about politics around election time. That’s not happened this year. I’ve had more messages about Line of Duty and what I think of Martin Compston’s new beard (excellent) than about the upcoming vote.

For political geeks and party activists, elections can be thrilling and all-consuming. But everybody else only really takes notice in the final few weeks of a campaign.

TV debates are for those people. They are an accessible, easily-digestible way to see what different parties are offering and to get to know the leaders.

The BBC’s election debate last month wasn’t great. It was dull and riddled with tech glitches. Do I think it should host another one? You bet I do.

STV’s debate was infinitely better. The format was far more interesting and there were moments of genuinely interesting discussion. They should host another one too and give Colin Mackay a pay rise while they’re at it.

Of course, TV debates aren’t the only thing that broadcasters offer. In the coming weeks, BBC Scotland will host a series of election-themed programmes. Debate Night is on every Wednesday and a new show – The Campaign – goes out on Mondays and Tuesdays.

There will be the obligatory comedy take, too, which this year comes in the form of Scot Squad’s Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson quizzing politicians in Scot Squad – The Chief Does Democracy.

STV’s Mackay will be doing one-to-one leaders’ interviews on a series of Scotland Tonight specials. Those, in particular, I’m sure will be worth watching.

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But there is room for more; more tetchy exchanges between party leaders, more tech gaffes and more opportunities for politicians to say something that will make them the subject of ridicule on Twitter.

Would another set of debates change minds? No. Would they be brilliant television? Probably not.

But they might just breathe some life into this dreary campaign and that’s as good as reason as any.