The election debates in 2015: The view from the living room

Abstract

Claire Emes and Josh Keith reflect on the impact of technology on politics in terms of audience participation during the leader debates. Although social media had been a factor in the 2010 campaign, notably in evaluating the rival politicians’ performances during their live broadcast encounters, the same platforms had seen significant growth in their reach and impact in the period leading up to the 2015 election. This chapter explores how some of the electorate experienced the debates using a variety of techniques including the so-called ‘worm’ and focus groups designed to capture reactions to leaders and their interventions - positive or negative - from undecided voters. The research was complemented by tweet analysis and also consideration of the views expressed by an online community representing a cross-section of 2000 voters.