Multi-nation debate?

So it has been decided, the SNP and Plaid Cymru are to be excluded from the TV election debates. As expected Alex Salmond has all guns blazing and is full of bluster. But does he have a point?

He is in his favourite position: all the big boys have ganged up on him and its not fair so he'll huff and he'll puff and he'll try to blow their house down. If he's one thing, he's predictable. Sometimes though there is a valid point in all his bluster.

The key argument is that by not including the SNP in the TV debates Scottish voters will not get balanced coverage of the parties platforms. The average Scottish voter will get their political news in small doses: through coverage in the tabloids and in "soundbite" clips on TV news. They probably don't watch political shows like Newsnight or Question Time and they probably won't watch the debates. This makes it even more important that the full length debates contain the full range of Scottish political opinions because in the end they'll be whittled down to a few snappy quotes. No inclusion of an SNP viewpoint, no snappy quote.

Worringly, these debates show a move towards a Presidential form of electioneering - alien to the great British parliamentary tradition. The main justification for excluding the SNP (excluding Alex Salmond needs no argument) is that they have no hope of forming the next government or of nominating the next Prime Minister. But let's not forget that a General Election is not one election but a series of local elections to chose representatives in parliament. In Scotland, the SNP is currently first or second in 27 out of 59 seats (second only to Labour's total) so voters have a choice between one of the three main parties and the SNP. The voter must make an informed choice about who he/she wants to be their MP.

This is not to say that the SNP (or indeed Alex Salmond) should necessary be included in the UK debates on an equal footing but that some sort of middle ground must be found. The debates were decided behind closed doors without the inclusion of the SNP, Plaid Cymru or any other minority party. Maybe a solution might have been to allow them to ask questions of the candidates during the debates but not actually answer questions themselves. I don't have the solution but I know that the debates as they stand will not be fair and balanced for voters in Scotland.

Maybe it should be "And now the UK General Election debates except for viewers in Scotland where they have tonights episode of River City..."