
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...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
19/04/2026
Now available in VST3, AU and AAX formats
Waves have recently released an update that extends their vocal-alignment plug-in's capabilities to all DAWs -...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/04/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced that AccuWeather , the most trusted source of wea...
19/04/2026
Calrec (Booth:C6907) and Grass Valley (Booth: C2408) are today announcing a long-term broadcast audio technology partnership at NAB Show 2026. The companies are...
19/04/2026
Ikegami announces a further expansion to its range of on-camera viewfinders. Scheduled for introduction on Ikegamis Central Hall booth C3819 at the April 19th -...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/04/2026
Wuppertal April 19, 2026
Riedel's SimplyLive Solution Powers Centralized V...
19/04/2026
Wuppertal April 19, 2026
Bridge Digital and Riedel Build Campus Wide ST 2110 N...
19/04/2026
Wuppertal April 19, 2026
Riedel Showcases Next Advances in IP-Based Production at NAB 2026MediorNet HorizoN ST 2110 MultiViewer App, SmartPanel Commentary Con...
19/04/2026
Harmonic's Cloud-Native VOS Media Software Lowers Costs by Unifying Media Playout to Delivery on a Single Platform SAN JOSE, Calif. - April 19, 2026 - Harmo...
18/04/2026
MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Systems has begun shipping the C16-AM-12G audio mo...
18/04/2026
FOR-A America is set to detail AI functionality for its software-defined IMPULSE...
18/04/2026
Cobalt Digital and SineSix Media have announced a partnership to integrate the v...
18/04/2026
The ATSC, the broadcast standards association, is highlighting the status of the ATSC 3.0 internet protocol-based broadcast standard at the 2026 NAB Show. The e...
18/04/2026
Bolin Technology has introduced a new range of hardware for live production envi...
18/04/2026
KMH Integration is participating in the 2026 NAB Show, focusing on its AV Casti...
18/04/2026
Appear has appointed Mike Burk as vice president of business development for North America. Burk brings over two decades of experience in the broadcast and live...
18/04/2026
Skyline Communications is showcasing its DataMiner platform and the new DataMine...
18/04/2026
Telos Alliance is exhibiting its portfolio of broadcast audio products at the 20...
18/04/2026
TAG Video Systems has announced an integration with the AWS Elemental MediaConne...
18/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced DaVinci Resolve 21, with a public beta available now for download. The update will be demonstrated at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N2502...
18/04/2026
Calrec (Booth C6907) and Grass Valley (Booth C2408) have announced a long-term broadcast audio technology partnership at NAB Show 2026, integrating Calrec's...
18/04/2026
Free software mixer now in public beta
Blackmagic Design are best known for their high-end video hardware and DaVinci Resolve editing software, but the latt...
18/04/2026
The first signs of spring in March led to Poles spending significantly less time in front of their screens, leading to a sharp 22-minute drop in average viewing...
18/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/04/2026
Clear-Com announced FreeSpeak Cell , a cellular-based wireless intercom system that uses LTE and 5G infrastructure to support large-scale production communicat...
18/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/04/2026
New York, NY, April 17, 2026 -- TAG Video Systems has announced an integration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elemental MediaConnect Router. The integration bri...
18/04/2026
Pro Sound Effects (PSE), the leading provider of professionally recorded sound effects for film, television, advertising, and technology today announced the lau...
18/04/2026
Fincons Group, a multinational IT business consulting and system integrator firm, announced today that it has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Enterta...
18/04/2026
Adobe extends leadership in video: unleashing new AI-powered creation in Firefly...
17/04/2026
The World Fencing League (WFL) has announced DAZN as its primary global streamin...
17/04/2026
ARRI Releases ALEXA 35 SUP 6.0 and LPS-1 SUP 1.3 Software Updates
ARRI has announced software updates for its ALEXA 35 Live camera and Live Production System L...
17/04/2026
Sennheiser has announced Spectera Studio, an offline system planner for its Spec...