Tories challenge Starmer to a record six TV debates

47 comments

1. Conservatives need the debates, Labour just need to sit back and watch the Tories eat themselves .

   ….Watch as Starmer agrees to do them all.

2. Pretty bold move given how generally unlikeable and off-putting Sunak is.

3. Would be nice to see a long form debate with a hands-off moderating style.

   For the most part, I still don’t really know anything about where either stands beyond the broadest of strokes. For people who are campaigning to lead the country, it hardly gives me confidence in either one.

4. Why would they want sunak want to debate, he seemingly can’t ever remember the questions or topics… All he ever talks about is the labour party

5. Starmer wont do 6. Nor should he.

   Same as in 2019 for Boris.

   The party behind in the polls has nothing to lose, whereas one slip up from the leading party can cause a poll change

6. Oh please I would love to see Rishi get humiliated

7. Which of the broadcasters would want to schedule a debate every week? Especially in an election where so many people have firmly made up their minds and won’t watch anyway.

8. Why does this remind me of Michael Jackson promising to do 50 live shows in 2009.

9. Is it weird that I really want some more in depth questions asked of them, about their actual core beliefs rather than soundbites about how they’ll fix so and so? I want to know what their ideal future is, if they could change everything, what would they do? Realistic plans are great but I want to understand the vision underpinning their choices.

10. Good god no. Hasn’t the country suffered enough?!

    Have 2 or 3 in-depth debates with actual questions and no bullshit “independent ‘oops I forgot to mention I run 5 Tory Associations’ voters”

11. If we could have a TV debate where leaders can actually finish their sentence before they get shouted over, I might watch. Instead they’re just a massive waste of everyone’s time.

12. Starmer should just answer the same thing to each question: “Well, if you were going to implement Policy X then why didn’t you do so at any point in the last 14 years?”.

    They should be pretty easy debates. Economy? Cost of living crisis, soup kitchens, recession and the Truss debacle. Immigration? Highest it’s ever been. Strikes? Already happened in pretty much every unionised sector. Crime? Zero point in reporting them, the police no longer have the resources to do anything. NHS? Being run into the ground on ideological grounds. Public infrastructure? Potholes and sewage. Trust in public institutions? Post Office, blood scandal, PPE fraud, Boris lawbreaking… and so on.

    We have hit a truly low ebb nationally, under those Tory government years.

13. mmm wondering how many of them will be seeded with you know those everyday hi-viz wearing tory councillors.

14. At least a couple of them over a few pints in a pub or i’m not watching

15. Wasn’t Starmer a lawyer? If there’s anything he should be good at it would be debates. I say should but all I’ve seen so far are asinine gotchas and one liners flung in PMQs.

16. There is nothing to debate, the last 14 years is the mic drop. The whole country is beyond fed up.

17. Going out with a bang are they. He will wipe the floor with the tories

18. Tories are just looking to ask that one question that Starmer can’t answer properly and it will be fucked the media will jump on it

    Where it gets difficult for Rishi is a lot of people who don’t watch PMQs will watch this and will actually see what a clown he is when he gets asked questions.

    He doesn’t have the personality of a Trump or Bojo who can just waffle shite and ignore the question no matter how media trained he is he looks, acts and sounds like a liar to most people.

    I suppose the classic tactics from the BBC where they interrupt when Starmer is on top will get used

19. Wait… Rishi wants to have 6 debates?

    Against a barrister?

    Good luck

20. Just a tip….DO NOT take on Starmer if you want to keep over 100 seats. It’s not like PMQ where you can ignore every questions and then repeat the same priorities (4 of which failed and one is sketchy at best!) or press the Corbyn button. Any decent host will make him look so shifty and Starmer will make light work of him

21. Hope Starmer does not rise to such bait, there is no need to engage in that kind of circus.

    I still remember Ed Miliband’s Question Time in 2015 where two tory plants tried to maul him and the BBC just let it happen. Unforgivable considering where we are as a country now.

22. Starmer SHOULD be able to walk a debate, as he’s done it for most of his working career but as with everything that’s been said, he’s walking a tightrope as anything and everything will be used against him.

    I don’t get why this election has turned into a 2 party thing, Red or Blue, yes or no. the LibDems, Greens, even those fuckers over at Reform need to be involved.

23. Isn’t Starmer a barrister by trade? Should be fun lol

24. Remember when Boris refused to do any interviews? And hid in a fridge?

25. Watch him change his mind on the same topics between each one.

26. Sunak is a poor debater, bad at thinking on his feet, and looks silly at a podium. Also comes across as irritated and smug if challenged. 

    Starmer is a silk on merit (not a political KC like those made Lord Chancellor or Attorney general), and generally looks more comfortable at PMQs.

    Why do they want to put us through this?

27. Last time, the Tories ran away from the debates and from a grilling from Andrew Neil because it could only harm them. Now they are so far behind they are signing up to anything.

28. Starmer should avoid these “debates” like the plague.

29. “Prime Minister Sunak. Why did you launch our nuclear arsenal at Switzerland?”

    “We have a plan. The plan is working. Labour doesnt have a plan and we will be going back to square one.”

30. Well they 14 years so any incredible ideas should have been implemented within this time

31. I do think labour will win this time around but I cant help but think the Tories are intentionally going to self sabotage to dodge whatever it is that’s caused them to call the election early. They want out so they can blame what’s coming on Labour it feels like

32. I bet he would do half, maybe all just because he may find them quite boring lol

33. I’ve been waiting 9 years since Cameron refused to debate for the favour to be returned. Starmer should agree to the debate publicly and then drag his heels behind closed doors. It will be delicious to see the complaining.

34. This is such a pathetic trap. Starmer should avoid any debates at all with the Tories at all. I’d rather he was championing his policies up and down the country.

35. I know some people think it’d be a bad idea, but I think Starmer would tear Sunak to pieces in any reasonably moderated debate.

    Just make sure the rules are fair and don’t agree to any that enable it to descend into a shit show.

36. All Starmer has to do is keep asking what the Tories did with the extra £350million per week that were saved by Brexit.

    I have a horrible feeling that he’ll do something to fuck it up though

37. Is there absolutely any way that we, as the general public, can demand they do six wrestling matches instead?

38. And what about the other parties? Why have we ended up like the Americans where we’re only shown 1 of 2 choices? It never used to be this way.

39. Lots of people are rightly pointing out what a bad idea this is for them, but I think that Sunak just legitimately likes debating & fancies himself as good at it – my first exposure was when he subbed in for Boris during the 2019 campaign. It’s dick-stroking narcissism at its finest.

40. Why – *in the world* – would we hold six TV debates?

41. I wonder if Tories would be interested in getting UK back into the EU. I would probably think twice if they really promised to that

42. Starmer doesn’t need to – we all remember Johnson swerving the Andrew Neil one, ran scared after he tore Corbyn apart.

43. Why bother when the damage done by the Tories is irrefutable? Everyone knows who Starmer is and even a geriatric donkey would gain more seats than the Conservatives.

44. Challenging a very accomplished lawyer and appointed QC to a debate strikes me as suicidal

45. Look can we just say that the UK is Tory place. These elections won’t do anything. If they do, I’ll be surprised. Rich get richer and all that jazz

46. Given the speech by rishi was essentially everything is rubbish because of putin…

47. Interesting that a party who are ideologically broken challenges a party who have new ideological chops to this level of debate. It’s the political equivalent of the school yard bully going “go on, punch me in the stomach” to prove they’re hard, then getting immediately winded by the wiry martial arts kid who no one really notices.