Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn went toe-to-toe in the first televised debate of General Election 2019. Hosted by ITV on Tuesday night, the debate lasted only an hour, but presenter Julie Etchingham was keen on addressing as many issues as possible, from “nastiness in politics” to the NHS and austerity.
In the leadup of what has been dubbed the “Brexit election”, the UK’s planned departure from the European Union was by far the most mentioned issue of the debate.
Both stuck by their respective parties’ line on the issue: Johnson blamed Parliament for a failure to “get Brexit done,” but still held true to a promise that under a Conservative government, Brexit would be in place by January.
Corbyn dismissed Johnson’s claim and condemned Johnson’s deal with the EU, saying it would not protect the jobs of British citizens. He added that under a Labour government, the UK would have another national referendum on Brexit, followed by re-negotiation, and would abide by the national consensus.
Johnson said Corbyn’s answer was disingenuous, stating that Labour was seeking a mandate to rule the nation, but its leader was not clear on what that mandate would be.
Johnson said: “We don’t know on which side he would campaign […] Are you going to campaign for Leave or Remain?”
Corbyn responded, to laughs from the audience: “I’ve made the position clear: we will have a referendum, we will have a re-negotiation, and we would abide by that result!”
Concerns over the NHS
Also debated at length was the state of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). In a poll conducted prior to the debate, The Independent found that the NHS had overtaken Brexit as the most prescient issue on voters’ minds, with concerns over the NHS ranging from recorded longer A&E delays, overcrowding, low staffing, and underfunding.
The Labour leader accused the Prime Minister of conducting “a series of secret meetings” with the US with the hopes of allowing American healthcare firms “full market access for US products to the NHS” in order to achieve a more favorable trade deal with President Trump. Johnson vehemently denied the claim that the NHS was for sale.
Magic Money Tree
Both leaders were asked if their initiatives depended too much on borrowing money from foreign governments.
Etchingham asked: “Have you found a magic money tree, Mr Johnson, and have you perhaps found several Mr Corbyn?”
Corbyn highlighted income inequality and deprivation in the UK to justify Labour’s campaign promises, saying “We are living in a society of billionaires and the very poor, neither of which is right.”
He added: “Yes, we will invest in education, we will invest in health!”
The Two Stooges
In a speed round, many other campaign issues were addressed by both party leaders, with Etchingham asking about Prince Andrew, climate change and favorite European Leaders.
A running them throughout the night was British peoples’ concerns with political divisiveness in UK elections. Both leaders shook hands during the debate, pledging to bring an end to the “nastiness” of the campaign. The debate ended with a seasonal question from the audience: what would you leave for each other under the Christmas tree.
Corbyn offered Johnson a copy of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, while Johnson jokingly offered Corbyn a copy of his “brilliant Brexit deal.”
YouGov polling suggests that more undecided voters found Jeremy Corbyn to have performed better in the ITV debate, with Corbyn holding a 59 to 41 per cent lead over the Prime Minister.
Raven News live-tweeted the ITV debate Tuesday night. Follow Raven News @GoldRavenNews on Twitter.