BO JO and Jezza faced off last night in the first TV debate of the election campaign.
Here’s the verdict on who won the ITV showdown.
Which party leader won the ITV General Election debate?
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Leading bookmaker Coral had Jeremy Corbyn the 8-11 favourite to win the clash with Boris Johnson going in at evens to emerge victorious from the verbal joust.
The winner was decided based on a snap YouGov poll that just gave the victory to the PM by 51 per cent to 49 per cent.
Corbyn has refused nine times to say whether he would back his own Brexit deal during debate with Boris repeatedly pushing the leftie to answer.
The narrow win comes with the PM far ahead in the polls – consolidating him as a firm favourite for the General Election.
Chris Curtis, YouGov’s Political Research Manager, said: “Our snap poll shows that the public is divided on who won the debate, with most Labour voters thinking Jeremy Corbyn won, most Conservative voters thinking Boris Johnson won, and very few people changing their minds.
“But given the Conservatives went into this debate in the lead, they will hope the lack of a knockout blow means they can maintain this until voting day.”
More than 1,000 people who watched the debate were quizzed on the question “who performed best” and 51 per cent said Boris.
WHO WON IT
Who do you think came across as more trustworthy?
40% Boris Johnson, 45% Jeremy Corbyn, 15% Don’t know
Who do you think came across as more likeable?
54% Boris Johnson, 37% Jeremy Corbyn, 10% Don’t know
Who do you think came across as more in touch with ordinary people?
25% Boris Johnson, 59% Jeremy Corbyn, 16% Don’t know
Who do you think came across as more Prime Ministerial?
54% Boris Johnson, 29% Jeremy Corbyn, 17% Don’t know
Who do you think performed best during the section of the debate on Brexit?
63% Boris Johnson, 27% Jeremy Corbyn, 10% Don’t know
Who do you think performed best during the section of the debate on NHS?
38% Boris Johnson, 54% Jeremy Corbyn, 8% Don’t know
Who do you think performed best during the section of the debate on Government spending?
50% Boris Johnson, 35% Jeremy Corbyn, 15% Don’t know
Who do you think performed best during the section of the debate on other issues?
39% Boris Johnson, 46% Jeremy Corbyn, 15% Don’t know
Thinking now about the debate, do you think it was right to have two leaders taking part or would it have been better with more leaders?
60% Right to have two leaders taking part, 30%
Would have been better with more leaders 9% Don’t mind either way, 1% Don’t know
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What have debates been like in the past?
Hosted by news presenter Julie Etchingham, last night’s head-to-head marks the first time since 2015 that both the Labour and Conservative party leaders have taken part in a TV debate.
It’s telling on how well leaders perform in these kinds of debates – which can make or break their popularity with voters.
At the last election in 2017, then-Prime Minister Theresa May opted out of the live TV discussion.
ITV also plans to hold a multi-party debate before the election on December 12.
In 2010, the televised debates helped send then-Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg’s popularity soaring as he charmed viewers.
Gordon Brown and David Cameron spent the election campaign saying “I agree with Nick” as they tried to get in on his popularity.
Theresa May’s ill-fated 2017 election campaign was dealt a blow after she refused to take part in the leadership debates.
She sent Amber Rudd to stand in for her. But the move bombed with voters and fuelled criticisms that she was out of touch.
ITV also plans to hold a multi-party debate before the election on December 12.
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When are the other leaders’ debates?
TV General Election coverage will include:
- November 22: A BBC Question Time Leaders’ Special, hosted by Fiona Bruce. Conservative, Labour, SNP and the Lib Dem party leaders will take questions from the audience
- November 28: Sky News has proposed a debate between Johnson, Corbyn and Liberal Democrats leader Jo Swinson
- November 29: BBC will host a live debate with figures from the seven major political parties in the UK – Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems, Scottish National Party (SNP), Greens, Plaid Cymru and the Brexit Party
- December 6: BBC live head-to-head debate between Johnson and Corbyn, hosted by Today presenter and former BBC political editor Nick Robinson
- December 9: BBC Question Time. Emma Barnett will host an Under 30 special
For live news and update from tonight’s debate, stay tuned with our General Election live blog.
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