Live General Election Debate

19th Apr 2010

On Thurs­day 29th April, Red­brick Online will bring you the lat­est from the live BBC debate which is themed on the econ­omy. Cov­er­age will start from 2:00pm where we will bring you the Polls, key facts from the three Party Lead­ers and share your comments.

Stu­dent reflect on events on campus

With Vice-Chancellor David East­wood describ­ing the debate as being a ‘major coup’ for the Uni­ver­sity, a quick-fire sur­vey sug­gests that stu­dent opin­ion is divided.

Whilst all the stu­dents asked stated that they would watch the debate, and some stated that they were excited that it would be tak­ing place on their doorstep, oth­ers were dis­ap­pointed that they felt detached from the showpiece.

Steph Green, a First Year Eng­lish and Drama Labourite, is in agree­ment with the Vice-Chancellor, and told us that the debate ‘puts Birm­ing­ham on the global stage, as it feels a poignant moment in our his­tory as this is one of the biggest cam­paigns in liv­ing memory’.

By con­trast, Michael Lapham, a Third Year Social Pol­icy stu­dent, crit­i­cises the lack of oppor­tu­nity for stu­dents to be able to play their part, by stat­ing that ‘there was no prior warn­ing for stu­dents, and the fact that it is tak­ing place at the Uni­ver­sity a bit of a red her­ring.’ How­ever, he stated that his vote could be influ­enced by the debate this evening.

Bee Tow­ers, an unde­cided voter study­ing Inter­na­tional Rela­tions, said it was ‘quite excit­ing to be involved in some­thing so big that has such an impact nationally.’

Photo cour­tesy of BBC