To think the 7 leaders debate will be an awful debate.

[Megatronmum]

How can you have a 7 way debate. Why are Plaid Cymru, the SNP and Greens part of it . I think it's Cameron trying to avoid a head to head with Miliband.

I think it's great that we're moving in this direction. The days of binary politics are over. Yes, tonight might be a shambles because it will be the first time and no one is used to this kind of forum. The success will hinge more on the skills of the chair than the individuals speaking.

Scandic countries manage okay with this.

The whole idea of leader debates is stupid and should be scrapped. A handful of blokes ranting and trying to trip each other up doesn't make for good politics or a sensible election. There's no sensible way of determining who should be in and who should be out. There's no sensible way of determining who "won", and finally there's no sensible debate on policy. And finally, there's no certainty that whoever wins the election will be in charge for the full five years. We elect parliaments, not presidents, and it's up to parliamentary parties as to who becomes prime minister.

But there are 3 women in tonight's debate toad which is a huge step away from blokey politics (although Farage will be there and he seems to be uber-blokey).

I'm not sure these debates are watched by many genuine undecideds, and I agree with you on the tedious debates over who 'won' - on Twitter the various party devotees will be overflowing with praise for their own leader, regardless of how other people have viewed them, and then there will be polls trying to extrapolate the reactions of 1,000 people into the view of the entire country.

But at least they are happening - rather than seeing staged speeches and interviews, people will get to see the various leaders answering questions and interacting with each other. I think most people who vote will either be firm devotees of one party, or will vote on the basis of the issue most important to them - and that will vary from person to person. Some people will be voting tactically. But at least we are getting the opportunity to see politicians answer (or see them fail to answer) questions.

All the leaders in tonight's debate could have a significant say in who becomes prime minister - either by being a frontrunner for the role, or by leading a party whose support may be needed. We may end up with a minority government or a weak coalition, and then the party leaders will potentially have the power to bring the government down, or to choose not to in return for concessions. So in the current situation, we should have the opportunity to see more of the party leaders in debate. Other countries manage multi-party debates - I don't see them as the main focus of the election, but they are important to a lot of people.

I think staged speeches are actually a good deal better to be honest. If, for example, a would-be PM wants to set out their view on how immigration is to be controlled, they need a bit of time to explain even the overview, let alone the detail, of what they propose. Even an interview is better, because at least the interviewer is only going to be questioning one politician at a time. Basically, there is time for the detail to come out, and the listener / viewer has adequate time to think about it properly.

By contrast - TV debates - a mass of soundbites, accusations, exaggerations and grandstanding. It turns the whole thing into a circus. Personally I reckon that if there must be debates, the audience should be allowed to bring in eggs and rotten fruit to pelt the participants. Then perhaps it would be worth watching.

Of course the party leaders might have a signficant say in who becomes PM. But that doesn't support your point. Rather it means that you should actually work out what your local candidates want to do, and vote for the candidate you prefer. In other words, you'd do better to switch off the television, go online and read the various manifestos.

Well I would agree people would be better reading the manifestos, and people could seek out a range of speeches - but a lot of people will prefer this version with everyone there, and maybe it will prompt some people to go and look up more info on policies.

And for people who haven't seen much of the other leaders, this is a good chance to see them.

It would be silly to have had debates in 2010 then none in 2015.

Many people don't bother to read newspapers / find out about parties, but they do watch television. So the debates can be a good way to get the message across.

I'm hoping and praying that wee nippy sturgeon gets a difficult time from the other parties. She needs shutting up.

I'm hoping and praying that wee nippy sturgeon gets a difficult time from the other parties. She needs shutting up.

Thoughtful contribution to the democratic process there, frankie80...

Actually, there are loads of people - and not just in Scotland - who think that Nicola Sturgeon speaks a lot of sense.

Can any one tell me why the DUP from northen irland are not included I think it's a bit unfair of your going to have the other yo nantioal parties

To be honest I think all I will show is how crazy the snp and UKIP are the green lady really dosent fair well In these types of things

I would dearly love it if, just before the debate started, it was made clear that any party leader promising anything as part of their 'sound bite' - whether on tv or in a manifesto, would be legally obliged to deliver it, in full, should they become the next party in power.

I don't really case what any of them say right now, they're out of control, all of them, and have their own agendas that have nothing to do with representing the people of the UK. They should be made to.

I'm not voting Conservative or UKIP, come what may.

It will be awful we have had them for recent elections in Ireland. It is designed so incompetent politions either in terms of ability to make s point or inept policies can hide in the relative safety of numbers. The question then becomes which one of the incompetents pushed for such a large number to debate

Have you met her sconequeen, because I have, and she's absolutely horrid and I'm not just talking about her policies, I'm talking about her personality and manner of speaking to people in general when she's not around a camera.

99pokerface How exactly are the SNP crazy? They are a progressive left-of-centre party, committed to social justice and very much against austerity measures, and they have been doing a very good job of governing Scotland. And they are about as far away politically from UKIP as it is possible to be, so it does not make sense in any way to lump the SNP and UKIP together.

frankie80 No I haven't met her but I know lots of people who have. I have never heard that kind of comment about her from anyone else but obviously you are entitled to your own opinion. However, politics shouldn't be about personalities, it should be about ideas, and, in my opinion, the SNP and the Greens are the only parties showing imagination and offering a positive picture of how life could be different at the moment.

I think Cameron was absolutely right not to take part in a 4 way debate - that's the media taking charge, not facts about who had MPs already or who might be a real influence on the way people vote.

I'm not watching any of the debates though because of the really poor standard of media coverage though - it's all about soundbites and personalities. I'd certainly watch any programme that actually set out clearly for undecided voters what the party's stance was on all the major topics. Too many of the TV pundits think the shows are all about them, and seem to forget the policies.

Totally irrelevant piece of pantomime.

I gave up watching beauty contests in the 1970s.

Her and her followers nearly broke up the union in my view is madness they are far left in their views and any eextreame is a crazy game to play the are the exact opposite to UKIP extremes are rarly good

Nicola sturgeon comes across as really caring and genuine.

I've met Nicola S. Perfectly nice.
I think saying someone needs "shutting up" is the kind of comment that doesn't get directed at men.

Think it rather funny that Cameron's lecturn will be on the FAR RIGHT of our screens....

I too want wee nippy Sturgeon to be given a hard time. Loathsome woman.

Iggi it's basically saying put in her place. Very sexist if the poster was male.

I've met her frankie and watched her speak. She was very nice and spent time before and afterwards taking photos with anyone who asked her. From what I've seen she's intelligent and well-informed, I enjoyed hearing her speak. She isn't my favourite politician by any means but so far I've found no reason to dislike her.

iggi999 Salmond needs shutting up too. Horrible sh*t stirrers the pair of them.

So you've met Sturgeon. Were cameras around by any chance?

As for the debate I'm not watching it, I've already made my mind up. I guess I don't see much point in it either.

I would have loved the DUP to be involved. Having to move away from talking about flags and marches and focus on stuff that actually matters - would have been interesting to see!! They did want to be involved but ofcom ruled against it.

Er, no, or I wouldn't have mentioned it given your earlier post.
With immoral men like Cameron and Farage on the platform I'm amazed anyone has time to both getting cross about Sturgeon.