The first leaders debate on Tuesday for the U.K. general election due to be held on Dec. 12 was a shambles.
Conservative leader Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn predictably ignored the insufficient time windows they were given to answer questions. Network host ITV News’s Julie Etchingham interrupted the two party leaders with far too much regularity. Making matters worse, the studio audience continually clapped, heckled, and otherwise interrupted the debate with their own noise. ITV made a huge mistake in failing to direct the audience to keep quiet until the end, as in U.S. election debates. Time was wasted.
The result?
What should have been an informative political debate became a festival of abrupt sound bites against the backdrop of clattering studio noise and a set that looked like the bridge of a Romulan Warbird from Star Trek. Johnson stuck resolutely to his talking point that Corbyn has no clear policy on Brexit. Corbyn portrayed Johnson as an aloof and inauthentic leader who would sacrifice Britain’s prized National Health Service for a trade deal with President Trump.
The worst moment came when Etchingham asked the two leaders what gifts they would leave for each other under the Christmas tree. It was a waste of valuable time. Although it must be said, Corbyn came out better by pledging to give Johnson a copy of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. His message: Johnson needed to learn about Scrooge!
As I say, the debate was mostly silly, but there were a few interesting moments.
Asked whether he had found a magic money tree to fund expensive campaign pledges, Johnson observed that Corbyn had found “a money forest.” Corbyn offered a passionate call for action on climate change and had a strong closing statement. Johnson cleverly shifted in response to a question on which foreign leader he most respected. He respects all 27 leaders of European Union member nations, Johnson said, because they gave him a new Brexit deal.
But that was the best of it. Let’s hope the next debate on Friday is better.
