Scottish Election: rating the debate

You are cordially invited to take part in Thursday night’s Scottish election leaders’ debate, from the comfort of your living room. 38 Degrees has a tool that helps us all give our verdict on how politicians perform in TV debates – and it’d be great if you tried it out.

You can use the 38 Degrees opinion tracking tool (known as a “worm”) on your computer or on your mobile phone while you watch the telly. It has three buttons that you press as many times as you like during the broadcast: one for when you like what the speaker on the screen is saying, one for when you don’t and one for when they’re just not making any sense at all. A “worm” at the bottom of the screen records how all members are voting. If lots of us like what’s being said, the worm goes up. If lots of us don’t, the worm goes down.>

It’s a bit like shouting at the telly. Except more satisfying. Because if you use this tool, your opinions will be heard far beyond your living room – along with those of thousands of other Scottish 38 Degrees members.

It’s easy. It’s free. You don’t need to install anything. There’s no app to download. When you follow the link below you’ll be taken to a page and asked to sign up. On the night, we’ll send you a reminder via email with a link to the 38 Degrees worm. It’ll look something like this:

The worm works on mobile device (phone, tablet, iPad, etc) or on a desktop computer. (Did I mention it’s dead easy to use?) So, what do you think, fancy trying it out?<

The debate is on BBC1 Scotland at 9pm on Thursday and by taking part, you can be more than just a spectator. Your views will be counted towards the overall 38 Degrees people-powered debate verdict – made available to every newspaper, TV and radio journalist. (We’ll also be posting a blog giving the results on our website.) Politicians and journalists will be paying attention to what 38 Degrees members think – they’re always hungry for information about how party leaders have performed at debates.

The worm can help make sure politicians hear us at moments like this during the election – and remind them of the power of our voices so they take us more seriously after they’re elected.

38 Degrees members in Scotland have been very clear that there’s a need for this kind of service. In the election survey, 12,500 Scottish members voted that we should do something like this. So let’s do it!

Who was the star of the night? Who was sleekit? Who was a bampot? It’s up to you.