Conservative leadership candidates will embark on a series of television debates across three leading UK broadcasters this summer.
A total of 11 Conservative MPs so far have announced their intention to run to become both party leader and prime minister, after Theresa May announced that she would stand down on 7 June.
Under the timetable set out by Conservative Party chair Brandon Lewis and other Tory bosses, nominations will close in the week beginning 10 June.
The party hopes to have elected a new leader by the start of Parliament’s summer recess, traditionally at the end of July.
As the various contenders gear up for the big race, the BBC was first out of the blocks with a comprehensive debate plan, with Sky News and ITV also announcing their intention to host similar programmes.
BBC News boss Fran Unsworth said: “The decision being made by Conservative Party members will profoundly affect us all, so it feels right that BBC audiences get a chance to see the candidates debate with each other, and that we scrutinise the various policy proposals they will be standing on.”
Back in 2010, Britain’s first ever televised live debate between party leaders, featuring David Cameron, Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg, were the “cornerstones of that year’s general election campaign, but party leaders have since proved reluctant to take part”, notes The Times.
When are the BBC debates?
The BBC has announced that all the candidates will be invited to a hustings event on BBC One chaired by Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis. The two final contenders – to be chosen by Tory MPs at the end of June – will then go head-to-head in a Question Time Special hosted by Fiona Bruce in July. They will also be invited to take part in one-to-one interviews with the BBC’s Andrew Neil.
What do the other two broadcasters have planned?
Sky News and ITV have also revealed details of planned debates and interviews, although they have yet to announce dates.
On Sky, the final two candidates will go head-to-head in a live debate in front of a studio audience of Conservative voters, with Kay Burley as presenter.
John Ryley, head of Sky News, said: “We’ve consistently pushed the agenda for leaders’ debates for over a decade. This will be another key milestone in the unprecedented political turmoil we’ve been able to witness.”
Meanwhile, an ITV spokesperson told The Times: “Our plans will include both a head-to-head debate and interviews, as well as trusted impartial analysis across our ITV news bulletins.” The broadcaster said it would confirm details of its coverage in due course.
Why have the debates?
The announcements by the broadcasters follow public calls for live TV debates by two of the leadership candidates, Dominic Raab and Matt Hancock.
Health Secretary Hancock wrote to the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky to say it was vital that the competition is a “truly national debate about the future direction of the UK, rather than just an internal-facing party conversation”.
The decision to hold televised debates “could have a big impact on the race”, says Reaction’s Iain Martin. A front runner “may blow up on screen, or seal the deal, [while] an outsider could shine, as Lib Dem Nick Clegg did in the party leaders’ TV debates in 2010”, Martin writes on the opinions and analysis site.
However, some Conservative MPs fear “a debate would descend into a blue-on-blue-on-blue chaotic slanging match and help [Labour leader Jeremy] Corbyn at a general election”, according to Buzzfeed News journalist Alex Wickham.
Will all the contenders take part?
Inside sources say some of the leadership candidates have “grumbled that they were being ‘bounced’ into complying with the BBC’s proposals”, The Times reports. The broadcaster “did not consult with campaigns before announcing its schedule of debates, merely noting that candidates ‘will be invited to take part’”, adds the newspaper.
All three networks’ plans “appeared to ambush some Conservative figures”, agrees the Daily Mail, which says that Tory chair Lewis “has given private assurances to the leadership candidates that the party is not endorsing the proposal”.
Sources claim Lewis has said it is up to candidates to decide whether to take part, the newspaper reports.
Although 11 candidates have put their names forward so far, it is worth remembering that “some of these ‘contenders’ are probably only running in the hope it raises their profile, and secures them a cabinet job in the next administration”, adds Politico’s Jack Blanchard.
