General Election debates on TV Who is taking part in the next one hosted by ITV?

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THE General Election campaign will see debates on ITV, Channel 4 and the BBC between Jeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson and other party leaders.

So when are they, how can you watch, and who will be taking part?

Johnson and Corbyn will go head-to-head on November 19

When are the leaders’ debates?

The first debate was between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on ITV on November 19.

This was followed by aBBC Question Time Leaders’ Special, hosted by Fiona Bruce.

Conservative, Labour, SNP and the Lib Dem party leaders took questions from the audience on November 22.

Further TV General Election coverage will include:

  • November 28: Emergency on Planet Earth: The Debate on Channel 4 with all the leaders except the PM. The broadcaster said it will “empty-chair” Johnson in the live one-hour leaders debate
  • November 28: Sky News proposed a debate between Johnson, Corbyn and Liberal Democrats leader Jo Swinson, but later cancelled it
  • November 29: BBC will host a live debate with figures from the seven major political parties in the UK – Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems, Scottish National Party (SNP), Greens, Plaid Cymru and the Brexit Part
  • December 1: ITV host a debate with seven of the parties in the General Election campaign. The parties include the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, the Brexit Party, the Greens and Plaid Cymru.
  • December 6: BBC live head-to-head debate between Johnson and Corbyn, hosted by Today presenter and former BBC political editor Nick Robinson
  • December 9: BBC Question Time. Emma Barnett will host an Under 30 special
ITV has said they will also hold a multi-party discussion

What happened in the ITV General Election debate?

A snap election debate poll saw a narrow win for Johnson over rival Corbyn in the head-to-head.

Corbynrefused nine times to say whether he would back his own Brexit deal in a bruising TV clash.

The PM repeatedly pressed the Labour boss to answer in their first live debate ahead of the December 12 poll.

The debate on November 19, hosted by Julie Etchingham, also saw the leaders clash over the NHS.

Corbyn accused Johnson of a plot to “sell out” the NHS to Donald Trump.

Boris replied: It is completely untrue.

The only reason this comes up is because Mr Corbyn is trying to conceal the void at the heart of his Brexit policy and refusing to answer the question of which side he will take.”

Jo Swinson will not be included in the debate

Why was Jo Swinson not included in the ITV head-to-head debate?

The Liberal Democrats launched a legal challenge over ITV’s decision to exclude leader Jo Swinson from the debate between Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson, and are reportedly considering doing the same against the BBC.

Following ITV’s original announcement, Swinson tweeted: “Scared, boys?”

Speaking outside the High Court after filing for a judicial review, party president Sal Brinton said: “People know more about where they stand on Brexit than for which party they will vote for.

“So it is vital for our democracy to have both sides of the Brexit debate represented at the top table of the leaders’ debates.”

In a letter earlier sent to ITV’s chief exec, she wrote: “Voters of this country deserve to hear from a Remainer on the debate stage, not just from the two men who want to deliver Brexit.

General election timetable

“There is no reasonable justification for excluding Liberal Democrats from the debate. Liberal Democrats are the strongest national party of Remain.

“We secured more votes than both Labour and the Conservatives in the European elections earlier this year and have enjoyed fantastic local and by-election successes across the country.”

The Lib Dems have vowed to cancel Brexit if they win the election.

An ITV spokesperson said: “ITV intends to offer viewers comprehensive and fairly balanced General Election coverage.”