BBC election debate: Key facts as Johnson and Corbyn prepare for final live clash
PM and Labour leader to be grilled by Nick Robinson in Southampton
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Your support makes all the difference.Prime minister Boris Johnson will go head-to-head with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Friday night in the final televised debate of the general election campaign.
The pair last clashed at the ITV leaders’ debate on 19 November, picking over Brexit, the NHS and austerity in an occasionally heated contest.
Here is everything you need to know about the next instalment ahead of next Thursday’s vote.
What time is the debate and how can I watch it?
The hour-long showdown will be broadcast on BBC One from 8.30pm on Friday evening.
The discussion is being staged in Southampton and will be moderated by former BBC political editor and Today programme host Nick Robinson.
It will be followed by a BBC Question Time special for voters aged under 30 on Monday 9 December.
What happened in their last encounter?
Last time they were pitted against each other, Mr Johnson stressed with some confidence the UK wil definitely be leaving the EU on 31 January 2020, adding: “We have a deal ready to go.”
Mr Corbyn’s stance on leaving or remaining in Europe was put under the spotlight. He pledged a new public vote on the issue while remaining reluctant to be drawn on which side he would campaign for. “I want to bring people together so therefore there will be a referendum,” he said.
The Labour leader also expressed some doubt about the prime minister’s chances of actually realising his January deadline for the UK’s withdrawal from the European bloc.
Mr Johnson also unintentionally drew laughs from the studio audience when he claimed “truth matters”.
Why are the Liberal Democrats, Brexit Party, SNP and Greens not taking part?
Billed as a “Prime Ministerial debate”, this one will follow the format of the earlier ITV debate hosted by Julie Etchingham in the interests of parity.
The Lib Dems and SNP remain angry at the exclusion of Ms Swinson and Ms Sturgeon, two leading anti-Brexit campaigners, from the debate, just as Nigel Farage is annoyed to be shut out.
There will be no empty chairs or melting ice sculptures this time, as there was at Channel 4’s debate devoted to climate change.
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