The Negative Effect of the Media on Elections

In the penultimate episode of the series, we interview one of the deputy editors of the pioneering prime ministerial television debates in 2010 and a producer of Jeremy Paxman’s piercing interviews with Cameron and Miliband, to discuss the power of old and new forms of media. Do performers make the best politicians? Are the Press as powerful as people think? And what role, if any, did social media play in this election? Then in the week that saw new MPs jostle for seats in Parliament, the regular team discuss the historic twists and turns of unionist politics, the SNP strategy, and the on-going Labour leadership contest. Do ambitious politicians really think five or ten years ahead, and if so, what does that mean for our democracy? Posted 20/5/15