POLITICIANS were urged yesterday to stop bickering over TV debates in the run-up to the 2015 election.

Most people expect that the TV debates first held in 2010 will happen again before the next general election, declared the House of Lords communications committee.

But the debates may not happen if political jockeying continued over who might appear on the podium and how often, it warned.

But peers rejected demands for the establishment of an independent body to organise and arrange the debates.

Committee chair Lord Inglewood urged broadcasters to work harder to inform voters about the election issues and encourage the public to be more interested.

“We already know that 87 per cent of 18-24 year-olds — traditionally the demographic most likely to experience voter apathy — said that the debates led to them discussing the election and relevant issues with their peers.”