Chancellors' debate fuels Twitter battle
Updated on 30 March 2010
The online buzz circling Channel 4's Ask the Chancellors debate last night fuelled the largest political battle in the blogosphere since BNP leader Nick Griffin appeared on BBC1's Question Time.
As the curtain fell on the live television debate between the three would-be chancellors, online commentators picked up the gauntlet spawning an average of four comments a second on Twitter, according to Tweetminster which tracks politics in the media.
In the first big social media event of the election, Channel 4 estimates that the debate generated 20,000 Tweets between 8 and 10pm last night - hitting the number one trending topic in the UK and London on Twitter, and number three worldwide.
The second most tweeted event in UK politics, #askthechancellors remained the number two trending topic on Twitter in the UK this morning. It is still attracting up to three tweets a minute, Channel 4 estimates.
The clash over economic plans between Chancellor Alistair Darling, his shadow George Osborne and Liberal Democrat spokesman Vince Cable was the second largest Twitter event around UK politics after Griffin's Question Time appearance, Tweetminster said.
The number of comments surpassed those tweeted on the European Union elections, the Iraq Inquiry and last week's Budget.
"This is what a social media election looks like," @MatthewWells said on Twitter, "Led by TV, picked apart on the digital back channel".
The television debate alone drew 1.8 million viewers – 750,000 more than watched last week's Dispatches - but it was the social networking furore surrounding it that has captured the attention of commentators, voters and politicians alike.
In a new battleground for election candidates, 376 constituencies are now represented on Twitter, according to Tweetminster.
The 10 most influential electoral candidates - not including high profile characters such as the Mayor of London or the Prime Minister's wife - include Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and foreign secretary David Miliband.
Loyal colleagues were quick to show support online last night, with Conservative chairman Eric Pickles tweeting: "George Osborne clearly won the first half hour of the debate".
Meanwhile, Vince Cable's fellow Liberal Democrat Susan Kramer added: "Vince brilliant but amazed that George is most dull!"
In the blogosphere today, techdigest said the debate was "just the beginning" of online activity surrounding the General Election. "The leader debates are sure to be a really exciting brawl on Twitter as die hard hacks champion their men in a bid to influence floating voters", the blog said.
However, it was ordinary folk, rather than journalists or spin doctors, that overwhelmingly generated an X Factor-style buzz around the debate, with tweeter rich_w commenting: "#askthechancellors sets a very high standard and level of expectation for the leaders’ debates, doesn’t it?".
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne drew the most commentary on Twitter before, during and after the debate - while a misspelt 'George Osbourne' trended in the UK.
"This implies that a large number of tweets came from many people who don't usually tend to tweet about politics," Tweetminster said, "and who are not supporters of the Conservative party."
Posing the question 'Can Twitter predict the election', Tweetminister is tracking activity on Twitter in the run-up to the General Election to see if the two correlate.
Currently, the Labour party is the most frequently mentioned, with 35 per cent of tweets. However, the Conservatives run at a close second with 34 per cent, with the Liberal Democrats generating 22 per cent of tweets.
This would translate into a Labour majority of around 14 seats out of the 376 constituencies represented on Twitter, the group says.
Alberto Nardelli, co-founder of Tweetminster, said: "The Chancellors' Debate officially kick-started the election campaign in great style. The TV debates, alongside many other "new variables", such as Twitter, are likely to have an strong influence on the outcome of the election. We will only know the importance of such an influence on May 7th though."
