FOR the first time in history, the public will be able to watch the leaders of seven of the UK’s political parties debate head-to-head.

Channel 4 and Sky News will stage the debate on Thursday, April 2, which will feature David Cameron (Conservative), Ed Miliband (Labour), Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat), Nicola Sturgeon (SNP), Nigel Farage (Ukip), Natalie Bennett (Green) and Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru).

But will viewers benefit from a wide range of views and arguments, or suffer an overly-complex mêlée of egos and political point scoring?

To find out, the politics blog 50for15 will be coming to Stroud to hold a focus group on the TV deabte.

In the Crown and Sceptre in Stroud, a group of voters of all persuasions and none will watch the TV debate together, and the three oxford graduates from 50for15 will document the viewer’s reactions.

Questions put to viewers will seek to judge what impact the debate has had on them; if the politician’s arguments changed anyone’s mind and if the debate was relevant to the everyday concerns of Stroud’s residents.

They will also find out if viewers judge each party purely on the performance and public persona of its leader, if they came away well informed, or if the debate just seemed like a lot of hot air.

If you would like to be involved in the focus group, please contact 50for2015@gmail.com

50for15 will be live-tweeting the event, and a posting a video on their YouTube channel the next day.

50for15 is a non-partisan politics blog about the general election that focuses on 50 marginal constituencies. It aims to aim to raise awareness about the general election among voters in key marginals and more widely.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1419391868363821/