Thank goodness we only have to watch one TV debate

The treasurer of one of Manchester’s Conservative clubs is a lifelong Labour voter who votes only as a mark of respect for his father, who always voted Labour. He’s one of the few club regulars we met who bothers to vote, but he never watches the news and takes pride in knowing nothing about politics. I was in Manchester looking for disaffected voters with the World Service’s political correspondent Rob Watson; Manchester Central had the lowest turnout at the last election. We talked to a lot of people who had a similar attitude – ‘I’d rather be a hypocrite than powerless’, said one man in Wetherspoon’s. It’s a bit like doing jury service with earplugs in, but the consensus is that disengagement is never the voters’ fault.

It’s all a bit unfair, and perhaps politicians should defend themselves a bit more robustly. As it is their craven appearances on television tend to put more people off.