Across the pond

Remember, UK voters, it was David Cameron, who challenged Gordon Brown to have TV debates. Brown, who was then facing cabinet revelts about his leadership, agreed to them. He also agreed to Sky Television, part of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, as being host to one of those debates.

This decision, shows Brown’s weakness at the time, when many of his own cabinet colleagues, were urging him to stand down and pass on the leadership to the next generation. It also shows Brown’s belief that it was the Sun, who brought Tony Blair to power. It totally ignored the fact that it was the Murdoch media in the US, which launched the most racist slurs against Obama in the US election. Murdoch’s Fox Television pullled every dirty trick in the book to try and get Obama elected.

Nevertheless Brown agreed that one of the TV debates should be hosted by Sky Television, which urges viewers to pay for television. Mostly Murdoch viewers watch sport or sex, in which Murdoch press and television excels. He chose Sky, against such channels as Channel Four, which is available to viewers who do not pay any money at all to television tycoons like Murdoch.

The first TV debate attracted an audience of 9 million. And it changed the agenda for this election, because it showed a surge for Clegg and the Lib Dems. The second debate on Sky, on which my verdict was a draw for all three candidates, did not change this polll verdict.

Unsurprisingly, because the Sky debate attracted only 4 million viewers. The ITV audience was swelled, because it followed Coronation Street. And television research shows that a lot of viewers don’t swicth channels. They  continue to watch the channel they are tuned into.

Viewers interested in serious politics do not usually tune into the Murdoch channels.Viewers love his sports coverage, and the men of the family love his sexy stuff. But politics is boring.

The third TV debate is hosted by the BBC,  with its verteran presenter David Dimbleby in charge. Dimbleby is veteran of running programmes, which give a voice to ordinary members of the public. But he is also a deeply conservative personality. Like his father, Richard Dimbeby, he sees stable governments as those who respect the monarchy as underlying the Brithish constitution.

What he will do on the night I am not sure. He might behave, like Alastair Stuart in the first TV debate. Follow the rules scrupously, Or he might, like Adam Boulton, act according to his own imperatives.

Which are  Conservative rather than Labour. And which are that our two party system brings ‘strong’ government, whereas coalitions mean instability.

And though David Cameron is pledged to bring the BBC into line if he gets power, he knows that Cameron will not urge David Dimbeby, now well over nomal BBC retirement age, to retire to look after his garden. Because, of course, his personal politics, are not in any way left-wing.

The fact that he is still there as BBC polical star, should be evidence enough, that the Tory press repeated slur that the BBC is a left-wing conspiracy is not backed by the evidence.