Channel 4 did a reasonable job of exploring some of the issues that the election campaign and leaders debates have failed to tackle adequately (although I am biased ‘cos I was on the panel).

You can watch it at

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/election-uncovered-what-they-wont-tell-us/4od

And here’s their promotional blurb (and BTW I’m not an economist):

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Do the political parties’ pre-election promises add up? Are they even possible? Can the health service budget truly be ring-fenced? Can the deficit really be paid off without major tax rises? Will our jobs and pensions be protected after the election?

Presented by Jon Snow, this programme examines the reality behind the pledges, assembling its own ‘think tank’ of the kind of people who have made these decisions, and who know what we’re not being told.

The findings of an exclusive poll are also put to the experts, as well as a hypothetical ‘crisis’ scenario in which the economy tips the country to the brink.

The guests on the programme:-

Three former cabinet ministers: Michael Portillo, Shirley Williams and Lord Charles Falconer.

Former senior civil servants Sir John Gieve and Sir Richard Mottram.

LSE’s social policy expert Professor Howard Glennerster.

Expert economists Colin Talbot, Professor of Public Policy and Management, Manchester Business School, and Dr. Linda Yueh, Oxford University.

Journalist Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer.