The debate matters to the politicians, not the people.

Brown has finally agreed to parade himself in front of a camera in a series of American-esque TV debates. Is this good?

Well, it certainly brings another level to the pre-election PR campaigns. It’s a big chance for the main three parties to compete for the best headline-grabbing soundbite they can. If Brown performs well, there could be a chance of a reasonable Labour recovery. If he doesn’t, it’ll spell the end of his career as his leadership will be overturned – if this hasn’t happened before the debates anyway. We’ll hear endless drones about Tory cuts, countless snorts of Labour spending, and some general Lib Dem white-noise in between. There’s everything to play for if you’re LibLabCon.

The debates will not provide anything conclusive on policy. They will be generic slogans and drivel, which we’ve all heard before, except it will be three for the price of one. Ultimately, once again, PR will define political success. All the TV debates will do is offer yet another platform for meaningless, vote-winning (or losing) bullshit.

I’d rather just see a fight to the death, like the good old days.