Conservatives and Labour stumbled without their leaders, while Nigel Farage was characteristically unhinged
“Boris Johnson can’t be bothered to talk to you tonight,” said Liberal Democrats leader Jo Swinson to television viewers across Britain. “He’s leaving it to his cheerleader, Nigel Farage.”
She was pointing out the Prime Minister’s glaring absence during a live debate on Sunday, 1 December, which saw all seven major parties contesting the 2019 UK General Election going head-to-head.
Unfazed by the snub, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage dismissed the event as a “talent show…a competition to see who can be the most politically correct.”
This “competition” saw Swinson and Farage clashing with their counterparts from the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party, as well as senior representatives from the Conservatives and Labour.
The ITV broadcast was only the second time that the electorate got to hear from all seven at once, since the General Election was called in late October.
On the agenda: plans for Brexit, the UK’s relationship with the US, funding of their campaign pledges, nuclear weapons and cross-party collaboration.
They also discussed counter-terrorism measures, in the wake of Friday’s fatal London Bridge stabbings by a man released halfway through his prison sentence.
Farage Fires Off
Most of the politicians were content to stick to their safe, established talking points. Farage, who was participating in his first debate as Brexit Party leader, took a very different tack.
In his typically outspoken fashion, he was a lone voice in demanding that would-be terrorists with the “jihadi virus” should be imprisoned for life, while the rest only went as far as calling for an end to automatic early releases.
He was also skeptical about his opponents’ proposals to battle climate change, claiming they would cost jobs.
He then defended US President Donald Trump, hoping that the “special relationship” between both countries would become “even more special” post-Brexit.
Even as the other parties pointed out Trump’s record of xenophobic and misogynistic comments, Farage drew their ire by asserting that “men say dreadful things sometimes…on a night out after drinks.”
Sunak and Burgon Coast Along
Representatives of the two largest parties–Rishi Sunak for Conservatives, and Richard Burgon for Labour–also had an uneven night.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Sunak came under fire from all sides for holding the line that Conservatives could “get Brexit done…in weeks,” and that voting for any other party would result in further delays.
His opponents took issue with the claim, pointing out that Johnson had only negotiated the arrangements for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, and that the future relationship between the two was still uncertain, and just as open to “delays”.
They also criticised Sunak’s party for wanting to privatise the NHS, citing recently-leaked documents that suggested Johnson was looking to sell it to the US.
Those remarks bore additional weight in the light of President Trump’s visit to London this week, for a NATO Summit.
Sunak dismissed these criticisms as “delusional,” but offered little more.
Burgon, too, did not inspire. He stuck to Corbyn’s script, calling for an end to austerity measures.
He was caught flat-footed twice–once when host Julie Etchingam asked him point-blank if he would personally campaign for leave or remain, in the event of a second Brexit referendum. When Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price challenged him on Labour’s NHS track record in Wales, he could only manage an awkward smirk.
The next multi-party debate will be on Sunday, 8 December, when Channel 4 hosts its “Everything But Brexit” debate. The Conservatives and the Brexit Party have decided not to participate in it.
Raven News live-tweeted the ITV debate Sunday night. Follow Raven News @GoldRavenNews on Twitter.