EVEN when Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn agree to debate Brexit – there is a disagreement.
After No 10 stonewalled questions about whether the Prime Minister would or would not face the Labour leader in a televised debate about the UK-EU divorce plan, she finally announced: yes, she would.
Then on Thursday, it was revealed Mrs May had agreed to take part in a BBC 1 prime-time debate on the evening of Sunday December 9, just two days before the crunch “meaningful vote” in the Commons.
But, as with every other aspect of Brexit, there was a snag.
Mr Corbyn prefers ITV’s offer as, airing it at 8pm on the Sunday evening, would avoid an unpopular clash with the final of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
The Labour leader quipped in an interview with the channel’s This Morning: “Maybe I want to watch it myself as well.”
Yet, a head-to-head on ITV at 8pm on December 9 would clash with Sir David Attenborough’s popular Dynasties and any earlier the Brexit showdown would be up against either Dr Who or Strictly Come Dancing.
The Corporation said it was “delighted” at the PM’s participation in its programme.
A spokesman explained: "We have been discussing debate formats with both parties and will announce further details soon."
He added the BBC hoped "to hear soon from the Labour Party" on whether Mr Corbyn would sign up too.
But on This Morning, the Labour leader noted: "The ITV offer seemed a sensible one. It reaches a wider audience and the timing looked good to me because it's not inconveniencing people who want to watch other things later in the evening.
"One should always have respect for the viewers and also we want to get the widest possible audience," he declared.
No 10 is believed to prefer the BBC programme as it would be the most "rounded" and focused on the PM's deal and not the wider political situation.
Initially, the Corporation suggested a debate on Thursday December 6 but Mr Corbyn’s office said it preferred the Sunday night, which Downing St was happy to agree to.
However, one person who is not happy is Nicola Sturgeon, who has been frozen out of the televised event.
The First Minister tweeted her displeasure, saying: “If this or any Brexit TV debate goes ahead without all options - including that of remaining in the EU - being included and given a voice, it will be an absolute travesty of democracy."
Her SNP colleague Ian Blackford, the party’s leader at Westminster, said a May-Corbyn debate would be a “pretty narrow" one and that it was “disrespectful” not to have the third party involved.
Noting how the Conservatives and Labour both supported Brexit in the 2017 election, the Highland MP insisted: “We have a distinctive voice and it should be heard.”
Equally incensed is Sir Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat leader, who said: “May is running scared of the real opposition. A debate shouldn’t take place between two cosy Brexiters.
“The public demand the full facts and figures on the cost of Brexit. They also deserve to hear all the options. A People's Vote, including the option to remain, is the only real alternative. I will make that case anytime, anywhere,” he declared.
The Lib Dems are now consulting lawyers to see if their exclusion breaches the Ofcom code.
In a letter to Lord Hall, the Corporation’s Director General, Sal Brinton, the party’s President, wrote: “The Ofcom Broadcasting Code emphasises the need for ‘due impartiality’ and ‘an appropriately wide range of significant views must be included and given due weight’ in such proposed programmes.
“This is something that could not be achieved in a head-to-head debate between Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May without a Liberal Democrat representative,” she added.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel