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THE BBC’s hyped-up leaders debate last night only showed what a poor excuse of a format it really is by now.

It’s a tired, clapped-out exercise in truth which fails to really educate, inform and engage people in the political choices that they need to make at an election.

Which always shies away from providing any opportunity to fully explore various issues and policy nuances in any depth at all.

The BBC, being the BBC, put propaganda in the form of entertainment and controversy ahead of anything else, and that was duly provided by Abolish Leader, Richard Suchorzewski.

A pompous buffoon if ever one has appeared on screen, he seemed to have more camera time than anyone else on the set, despite several cringe-like utterances of his.

If one was a complete cynic, you could be tempted to believe that the whole purpose of Abolish is simply to shore up the mainstream unionist vote in Wales.

It’s certainly the case that their leader’s performance last night made Andrew RT Davies appear statesmanlike, despite his odd cardboard cut-out look.

To be fair to RT, he put on a fairly solid performance, whilst Labour’s Mark Drakeford – although sticking to his brief doggedly – looked completely washed out, and ready for a long break.
Adam Price showed his usual verbal flair, and made some excellent points about the lack of support for the hospitality sector and the need to bring health and social care together.

But when he goes into that kind of reverie state of his about ‘the sunny socialist uplands’ awaiting us in a new Wales, it’s then you suspect that most viewers switch off from what he has to say.

The least said about Jane Dodds, and her habit of fawning over the Zoom questioners, the better, and one just had the feeling that this was a farewell appearance from the Lib Dems in Wales.

Altogether, the whole debate was an unsatisfying experience all round, and a poor advert for Welsh democracy.

A spokesperson for Gwlad said the BBC had bigged-up Abolish for political ends, whilst at the same time, ignoring smaller nationalist parties like Gwlad and Propel.

‘You have to ask yourself, why this blatant bias from the BBC, and what is their agenda with all this?’ he said.

‘Why are they pushing one agenda so forcibly and not allowing other alternative nationalist voices to be heard?’

‘They are certainly doing no favours to democracy or to Wales as a nation with this kind of behaviour.’