The last televised leaders' debate ahead of the UK General Election was aired as part of BBC Question Time last night. The complaints from parties, and ever-changing proposals by broadcasters in the lead-up to the first debate in March may have helped give the events publicity and elevated their importance, but 2015 will more importantly be remembered as the year in which party ideals and public feeling were broadcast and shared via non-traditional methods. Short video clips, Twitter conversation, online polls, Instagram accounts - during this election more than any other the internet has provided a platform for sharing, criticising, liking', and shaming, and for attracting and dissuading voters as well as gauging public feeling.
Advertising by political parties on the TV and radio is banned in the UK, and Ofcom sets guidelines on the minimum requirements for short party election broadcasts, and sets rules to ensure due weight and impartiality is given in broadcaster coverage of the elections. However, with more people using a tablet, phone, or computer as a primary means of content consumption, and choosing the internet over linear broadcasting, the importance of televised party broadcasts is waning. In February, for example, the BBC reported that the Conservative Party was spending over £100,000 a month on Facebook. A quick look on the site at the pages of Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and UKIP reveal well-stocked video libraries, and the three main parties also have YouTube channels: Labour leads the pack here, with 731 featured videos, compared to the Conservatives' 173 and the Lib Dems' 565.
Twitter has also been used as a major outlet for drumming up support by the main parties, and a channel for broadcasting content. Again, Labour supporters seem to be the most engaged with social media, with the party's page boasting 208,000 followers, compared with the Conservatives' 154,000, UKIP's 101,000, and the Lib Dems' 93,800. During the Question Time debate last night, the Twitter hashtag #bbcqt was used more than 275,000 times.
Politicians are not only using their own social media outlets to garner support - Labour's Ed Miliband took part in an interview with Russell Brand, which was broadcast on Brand's YouTube channel. The Brand/Miliband short has been viewed 885,320 times, and received 16,049 likes' on the site. Perhaps more importantly it has also generated 7,226 comments so far, a sign that just as the issues raised in a traditional TV broadcast may have been discussed afterwards at the pub, newer forms of content sharing still generate, and provide a space for, discussion.
With less than a week to go before polling stations open, and no more TV airtime for debates, all the parties will no doubt be turning to social media sites to persuade those final undecided voters, and try and maintain faith in party followers. The election night itself will be a Twitter storm, with solutions employed by the broadcasters to read and analyse social media interactions to provide a country-wide commentary of proceedings like never before.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
The last televised leaders' debate ahead of the UK General Election was aired as part of BBC Question Time last night. The complaints from parties, and ever-changing proposals by broadcasters in the lead-up to the first debate in March may have helped give the events publicity and elevated their importance, but 2015 will more importantly be remembered as the year in which party ideals and public feeling were broadcast and shared via non-traditional methods. Short video clips, Twitter conversation, online polls, Instagram accounts - during this election more than any other the internet has provided a platform for sharing, criticising, liking', and shaming, and for attracting and dissuading voters as well as gauging public feeling.
