Yellow Belly Dave finds another excuse to bottle out of TV debates

Yellow Belly Cameron is still trying to bottle out of the televised leaders' debates by demanding the TV companies invite more party leaders to take part.

Cameron's first excuse for bottling it was that the Greens weren't invited. He said that you can't invite some "minor parties" like UKIP and the Lib Dems (two of the four parties that OFCOM have ruled are major parties) and not others and he wouldn't take part because it wasn't fair.

So the TV companies hedged their bets and invited not only the Green Party but the SNP and Plaid Cymru as well to the first two debates which made a slightly farcical 7 parties involved in the TV debates, two of which only contest elections in Scotland and Wales. Now he's demanding that the DUP be invited to represent Northern Ireland because it's not fair that Scotland and Wales will be represented in the debates but not Northern Ireland.

He's got a point about it being unfair but the answer isn't to drag an eighth party in to make sure Northern Ireland is represented, the answer is to include only the parties that have a chance of winning a seat in the British parliament and are contesting elections in at least three of the member states of the UK. There is already a separate Scottish leaders' debate planned so do the same for Wales and Northern Ireland with the parties that have a chance of winning seats there and then there's no need for the UK leaders' debate to descend into farce.

Cameron isn't interested in what's "fair", he doesn't want the debates to take place. If he has no way of squirming out of taking part he wants to get as many parties into the first two debates as possible so hardly anyone gets a chance to say anything and half of what is said is irrelevant because of devolution. He wants the SNP and Plaid and the Greens involved to saturate the left wing representation on the debates. The DUP will make no difference to any of the other parties because Northern Irish politics is so completely alien to English, Scottish and Welsh politics and only UKIP contest elections in Northern Ireland (the NI and Scottish Green Parties are separate parties to the Green Party of England & Wales).

Demanding the DUP be involved is just Cameron making unreasonable demands on the TV companies so he can try and get out of the debates. The TV companies should go back to the original plan of just the four major parties (or the four major parties plus the Greens) and  empty chair Cameron if he doesn't turn up. If he wants an excuse not to take part then give him an excuse.

David Cameron still bottling out of TV debates

David Cameron has told the BBC, Sky, Channel 4 and ITV that he won't be "bounced" into televised election debates by them agreeing to do what he said they had to do for him to appear in the televised election debates.

Cameron bottled out of going head to head with Nigel Farage live on TV using the excuse that the Greens weren't invited to take part. He said if one minor party was invited then all the minor parties should be invited to take part. He specifically named the Lib Dems and UKIP as minor parties despite OFCOM ruling that both are major parties and should have the same amount of regulated media time as the Tories and Labour.

The four broadcasters responsible for the televised debates have announced changes to the format of the debates to accommodate David Cameron's diva demands and have invited the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Green Party to the first two debates with a third one reserved just for him and David Miliband's brother. But despite caving in to demands, Yellow Dave is still trying to bottle out of the debates.

If Yellow Dave doesn't turn up, the broadcaster have said they will replace him with an empty chair.

Nigel Farage's letter to yellow belly Dave

Nigel Farage has written an open letter to David Cameron telling him to stop trying to chicken out of the televised leaders' debates and that if he does chicken out the other leaders will be pressing the media to continue without him.

Dear David

In 2010 the televised leaders’ debates provided an unprecedented opportunity for voters to see the party leaders debate the critical issues facing our country. The debates were watched by more than 20 million people and enthusiastically endorsed by all those who took part, including yourself.

In recent days, you have announced that you are unwilling to take part in debates as proposed by the main broadcasters for the 2015 General Election. I believe it would be a major setback to our democratic processes if these debates were not repeated in 2015 because of one politician’s unwillingness to participate.

I hope you will agree that the decision as to who should take part in the televised debates should not be in the hands of any party leader, each of whom inevitably has their own political interests to defend. It must be a decision independently and objectively arrived at.

As you know, the broadcasters, who have strict obligations of political impartiality under the BBC Charter or their Ofcom licences, have together made such an objective determination. While each of the other parties invited to take part in the debates has their own views on the proposal and the levels of participation offered and will continue to make their case in this regard, we all accept the independence and impartiality of the broadcasters and have committed to take part in the debates.

It would be unacceptable if the political self-interest of one party leader were to deny the public the opportunity to see their leaders debate in public. Therefore, if you are unwilling to reconsider, the three party leaders who have committed to participate will ask the broadcasters to press ahead with the debates and provide an empty podium should you have a last minute change of heart.

These debates are not the property of the politicians and I do not believe the public will accept lightly the prospect of any politician seeking to block them.

Yours sincerely

Nigel Farage Leader, United Kingdom Independence Party

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