TV debates get our vote — first-timers

THE future of Britain is hanging in the balance as the nation prepares to go to the polls.

For the first time the three main party leaders appeared in a trio of televised debates — which gave us a chance to learn more about each party’s policies. But did these turn the election into a personality contest rather than concentrating on real issues? Reporter DAWN MARSDEN spoke to first time voters taking politics at A-Level at Blue Coat School, to see if the hard-hitting election campaign has influenced their votes.
George Huston said: “After watching and being interested in politics for a long time and seeing things on the news it is good to be able to finally have my say and cast a vote.

“This year’s campaign has been interesting and I have been taking a good look at each party’s policies.

“I have watched all three leaders debates and they have opened my mind. They haven’t changed who I will vote for but it is good to see how they each respond when put on the spot.”

Alexandra Sutton said: “I am definitely going to use my vote. I have really enjoyed the campaign and have been following the debates on TV really closely.

“It has been interesting to compare the debates here to the presidential debates in America when Obama was elected.

“The debates gave the public the chance to scrutinise the leaders and even though I had already made my mind up, it was good to see what the other two had to say.”

Ben Hayes said: “I think the election campaign goes on too long and people start to get sick of it and lose interest towards the end.

“The three leaders start to blend into one and it makes you want to switch off.

“The debates have made a big difference and given people something to focus on and help them decide who they want to run the country.

“It’s real interaction rather than staged soundbites — much more realistic.”

Jenny Parkin said: “The debates have helped my friends to decide who they want to vote for as they had not really paid much attention to politics before.

“Party leaders were able to set their policies out clearly and debate them live.

“The debates have confirmed who I want to vote for but I think some people will have changed their minds after watching them.”

Tamsin Franklin said: “From not really knowing very much about each party at the start of the campaign, people now have all the information they need to make their choice.

“The way the debates have been presented allows the public to get a fair and accurate representation of them all.

“The debates take away the bias as each party leader got a chance to speak and push forward their policies as well as contesting the ideas of the other two.”

Tom Bamford said: “If it wasn’t for the TV debates, I would not have looked into the policies of all three parties.

“I would probably have just voted the same as the rest of my family without examining things for myself. The debates have been good for people my age to get a good idea of what each party stands for.”


A full round-up of Thursday general election results, party reactions and pictures will appear in Friday’s Evening Chronicle. The local election also takes place on Thursday but the results will not be counted until Friday morning. We will carry all the results as they are announced on the Chronicle website at - www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/elections/ - from Friday afternoon, with a full results package in Monday’s paper.

 Meanwhile Catch up with the candidates at www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/elections/