In depth: Prime ministerial debates
Gordon Brown v David Cameron v Nick Clegg
Also In The News
|
At least three powerful explosions and gunfire erupted near the US consulate in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar earlier today. |  |
Tuesday, 06, Apr 2010 01:16
The most important election in a generation could be determined by an unknown quantity and alien concept to UK politics.
By Matthew Champion.
With confirmation that the general election will take place on May 6th, the dates for the three live televised debates between the main party leaders have also been announced.
Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will go head-to-head in the 90-minute programmes on April 15th, April 22nd and April 29th.
The first debate, to be broadcast by ITV and hosted by Alastair Stewart, will centre on domestic affairs and be filmed in the north-west.
The second, produced by Sky and hosted by Adam Boulton, will turn to international affairs and be filmed in the south-west.
And the final debate, filmed by the BBC in the Midlands and presented by David Dimbleby, will deal with economic affairs.
The lengthy terms of the debates, including 76 clauses, were agreed earlier this year, and marked a new era in UK politics.
While similar debates have been a staple of the US political scene throughout the post-war period, ranging from state representatives to presidential nominees, such debates have never featured during a UK general election campaign.
They will see three 200-strong audiences, selected by pollster ICM to be representative of the whole country, put questions to the leaders in person, while questions can also be submitted in advance online or via email.
Applause and heckling are banned, while leaders will be limited to opening statements of one minute and closing statements of 90 seconds.
Each leader will have one-minute to answer questions, while their opponents will have the same time to respond.
It is unlikely, in the earlier debates at least, that either of Brown, Cameron or Clegg will go for the jugular, with all three men wary of appearing aggressive. The chancellor's debate featuring Alastair Darling, George Osborne and Vince Cable screened by Channel 4 last month was a relatively sedate affair, with all three wary of slipping up more than anything else.
But as the campaign enters its final days, and the polls become clearer, we could see more desperate measures employed by the leaders' advisers. Labour and the Conservatives have already hired former aides to US president Barack Obama to help prepare for the debates.
The early expectation is that the more videogenic Cameron has the edge over his opponents, although Brown's team will be desperate for the prime minister to display the full breadth of his understanding of policy without getting into the knots he finds himself in during prime minister's questions.
The big winner from the debates could just as easily by Clegg, who has earned the enviable position of being put on an equal footing with the main party leaders.
Paddy Ashdown said he would have killed for a comparable opportunity during his time as Lib Dem leader.
But the biggest issue for Clegg's advisers will be whether viewers will know who he is.
inthenews.co.uk will be covering the three leaders' debates live as they happen.