Theresa May is to challenge Jeremy Corbyn to a televised debate on the details of her Brexit deal, according to reports.
The TV debate would be the culmination of a two-week national tour by May, “who will leave Downing Street to attempt to convince voters across the UK of the benefits of her deal”, says City A.M.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Telegraph adds: “If the Labour leader declines, she will hold a Question Time-style session with a TV audience hosted by David Dimbleby.”
However, a Downing Street source told The Times that a televised debate was unlikely, although no final decision had been taken.
All the same, it appears Corbyn is up for the challenge. “Jeremy would relish a head-to-head debate with Theresa May about her botched Brexit deal and the future of our country,” a Labour spokesperson said last night.
Labour’s thinking is “pretty clear”, says Politico’s Jack Blanchard. Party aides reckon Corbyn’s poll ratings “tend to improve the more people see of him rather than reading about him through the filter of the dreaded mainstream media”, Blanchard explains.
And Corbyn would probably “seek to broaden the debate at every opportunity into a discussion on austerity and the past eight years of Tory-led government”, he adds.
Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald appeared to confirm that theory on BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour.
“It sounds like an attractive offer,” he said. “Jeremy’s asked for debates in the past, so I strongly suspect he’d like to do that... This is a real good opportunity. I’m surprised at Theresa May offering herself for a TV debate. She hasn’t really done particularly well in those sorts of environments in the past.”
But some commentators are questioning the suitability of such a forum, since the public will not be able to have a say directly on any Brexit deal.
The Guardian’s Peter Walker tweeted: “Not sure I understand the idea behind a May v Corbyn TV debate on Brexit deal. What’s at stake for the public? They have no say, beyond – at best – lobbying their MP to vote one way or other. Seems odd given No 10 insist neither election or 2nd referendum are on the table.”
Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer told Sky News that it appeared the PM might be shifting towards general election territory.
The general election theory has also been picked up by some commentators, with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg describing No. 10’s strategy as “a bit like an election, except May is only candidate and MPs are the voters”.
Election or not, the New Statesman’s Stephen Bush believes the touted TV debate is unlikely to happen.
“Essentially I would back Corbyn to win handily if it is a broad QT-style debate on the whole range of domestic issues,” Bush tweeted. But “if it is on the detail of the withdrawal agreement, I would back May to win. My guess is that as neither will want a debate on the others’ terms, [it] won’t happen.”
-
The environmental cost of GLP-1sThe explainer Producing the drugs is a dirty process
-
Greenland’s capital becomes ground zero for the country’s diplomatic straitsIN THE SPOTLIGHT A flurry of new consular activity in Nuuk shows how important Greenland has become to Europeans’ anxiety about American imperialism
-
‘This is something that happens all too often’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How corrupt is the UK?The Explainer Decline in standards ‘risks becoming a defining feature of our political culture’ as Britain falls to lowest ever score on global index
-
Reforming the House of LordsThe Explainer Keir Starmer’s government regards reform of the House of Lords as ‘long overdue and essential’
-
How long can Keir Starmer last as Labour leader?Today's Big Question Pathway to a coup ‘still unclear’ even as potential challengers begin manoeuvring into position
-
The high street: Britain’s next political battleground?In the Spotlight Mass closure of shops and influx of organised crime are fuelling voter anger, and offer an opening for Reform UK
-
Biggest political break-ups and make-ups of 2025The Explainer From Trump and Musk to the UK and the EU, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a round-up of the year’s relationship drama
-
‘The menu’s other highlights smack of the surreal’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Is a Reform-Tory pact becoming more likely?Today’s Big Question Nigel Farage’s party is ahead in the polls but still falls well short of a Commons majority, while Conservatives are still losing MPs to Reform
-
The launch of Your Party: how it could workThe Explainer Despite landmark decisions made over the party’s makeup at their first conference, core frustrations are ‘likely to only intensify in the near-future’
