This debate was unlike the other TV debates: there were no middle-aged men going on and on about pensions and currency and currency and pensions.
Instead, the BBC invited pupils from every secondary school in the country to question a panel of Scotland's leading political figures, plus an MP from Bradford.
The massive Hydro stage dwarfed the politicians: Harvie, Sturgeon, Davidson and Galloway sat in their chairs looking small and vulnerable in front of the huge arena packed with thousands of teenagers.
Yet, despite the crowd and the youthful energy, it got off to a very quiet start. The students were in school uniform so perhaps they'd been warned by the headmaster to be on their best behaviour because they'd be representing the school. We can all remember those warning talks from our own schooldays where 'just don't show us up!' was the pleading subtext. The students were quiet and obedient. There was no raucous booing. No heckling and flapping of hands as you get with Question Time or the other referendum debates. 'That was really helpful, thank you' answered one young lady. What polite children!
It took the corrosive George Galloway to break the accord. It was his booming arrogance which prompted the young'uns to metaphorically shrug off their school blazer and kick it into a muddy puddle.
He was asked about jobs, an issue which must haunt these pupils as they see those who're just a few years ahead of them unable to find decent work, or a permanent contract. They may be stacking shelves or in a call centre on the minimum wage with - and here's the crucial point - little prospect of anything else. Most of us have done our stint in these miserable jobs but often as a glad stepping stone to something better. That hope seems to be dying.
Galloway ignored the question, speaking not of jobs but of borders, share prices and banks and he did it in halting, broken sentences as though not trusting these young people to understand either his arguments or his bizarre need for indoor millinery. He was just too intent on the role he was playing to step out of the persona and address the reality. He was a ridiculous figure onstage. With his tilted trilby and microphone all he needed was a single sequined glove. Dying to be seen as 'the maverick' his signature Jackson tune would surely be Off The Wall but many Scots might prefer Beat It. It took just 12 minutes for the young people to see through him and start to boo. At this point the debate came to life.
With Galloway booming and blustering, Patrick Harvie tried to deflate him by bringing up his despicable comments on rape. He roared back 'have you no decency?' His anger showed how uncomfortable he is when forced to veer off course, proving again that he is simply about display and performance.
At times Nicola Sturgeon almost matched him in her shouting, but her raised voice seemed provoked by passion not the vanity of a man in a carefully angled trilby. 'It's our pound!' she shouted, and 'We are not subsidised!' Perhaps the size of the venue tricked the panel into thinking they had to shout but, whether the increased volume was prompted by the sheer size of the Hydro or by feeling and anger, it still raised the temperature of the debate and made the politicians (three of them, at least) seem human. We normally see them being sleek and prim and ever so careful. This is relatively easy when they're in a studio with their powdered faces and fixed expressions, but in the cavernous Hydro this vanished and it was invigorating. The size of the venue even prompted comical directions from the stage. James Cook had to call for questions from 'the man clapping with your hands in the air' or 'the boy pointing at your own head!'
A question on oil then sparked a bad-tempered segment. 'The oil will be gone' Galloway yelled, finger pointing. 'Westminster has been telling us it's about to run out since it was discovered', said Nicola Sturgeon and reminded the audience that most successful countries don't have any oil.
Common sense followed, with a girl asking 'how can you claim we're better together when 1 in 3 children live in poverty?' An excellent question but she was brushed aside by James Cook and back we went to oil.
There was much about oil and bankers and tax in this debate, which surprised me. I thought young people's concerns would different from the usual questions, but no.They weren't stuck on tuition fees or job opportunities but branched out into the bigger picture and were perfectly coherent and confident in doing so. Neither were they tainted with the weariness and cynicism which plagues so many of us in political debate which suggests our bright young people should have the vote in every election.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article