The topical radio panel show, hosted by Gordon Brewer, featured West of Scotland MSP Stuart McMillan (SNP) Jo Swinson, MP for East Dunbartonshire (LibDem), Jackson Carlaw (Conservative), Brian Donohoe (Labour), and Paul McNamee, editor of the Big Issue.

Host Gordon Brewer, whose family hails from Boghead Road in Dumbarton, said it was good to involve all areas of Scotland in wider political debate.

He told the Reporter: “I think these debates are useful, whether they change people’s minds or not I don’t know, but I hope they might.

“I was born in Dumbarton, my father’s from Boghead Road, and it’s an important place. We try and get around as many different areas and communities as we can. It’s important for the programme, to do it from Glasgow and Edinburgh would deafeat the purpose.” When asked about the amount of young people involved in the debate, Mr Brewer admitted they struggled due to timing.

He said: “The fact we’re a live programme on a Friday limits who can attend and decides what the audience will be. We do get a lot of older people. What we also get and encourage, is school students to come along and we welcome that. I’ve found that youngsters are very engaged.” The audience, made up of members of the public, asked questions about renewable energy, the Penrose inquiry, and a possible SNP/Labour coalition after May 7. Much of the debate was taken up with political back and forth between the SNP and the Conservatives over who would form the government.

When one audience member stated the SNP should tell their supporters to vote Labour or there would be another five years of Conservatives, there were laughs from the audience with one man shouting ‘never’, before being told to be quiet. Brian Donohoe, Labour MSP for Ayrshire at one point referred to Jackson Carlaw, as ‘Carlaw’ and had to be reminded that, that was in fact not his first name.

Paul McNamee, from the Big Issue said although he’d sat on the panel before ‘had rarely seen so much bile between the politicians’.

One audience member outside the theatre said he enjoyed the experience but felt the whole process took too long. He added: “Asking every opinion on every single topic meant it was 15 minutes of political chatting before you could move on.” The last question to the panel was what new improvement would they add to the famous Dumbarton Rock, however none of the panel members managed an answer.