In a sign this will be at least as acrimonious as any previous election, Keir Starmer's rejection of Rishi Sunak's challenge of six television debates has been described by Tory chair Richard Holden as "chickening out" (even though the Labour leader has offered two, one each on the BBC and ITV).
Labour says it "won't be tearing up the format established in previous elections just to suit this week's whims of the Tory party". However, that's a little disingenuous because there never has been an established format (quite the opposite, and Sky News has usually had a share of the action). The Euros football tournament will also consume a significant amount of broadcasting time. For all concerned, television debates can be a mixed blessing...
Will we have TV debates?
Probably. For its first few hundred years, British democracy managed without such quasi-presidential debates, and they've only become a habit since 2010. There seems to be something in them for both major parties; smaller parties are yet to fight for a place in the limelight, which can complicate arrangements.
What will they be like?
Their weekly clashes at Prime Minister's Questions suggest a Sunak-Starmer debate might be predictable and, frankly, a bit dull. Both could emerge as equally underwhelming losers, as happened in the two 2019 debates between Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson, at which the only real excitement was when Corbyn revealed a "secret dossier" suggesting the Tories wanted to sell the NHS to American interests.
When are prime ministerial debates not prime ministerial debates?
This story is from the May 25, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the May 25, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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