July 20, 2022
The role of the TV debates – ITV debate disaster, Sky debate cancelled, BBC debate set for Monday
The role of TV debates – the TV debates were the other major component in the Tory leadership race that highlighted the viciousness of this political era. With the ITV debate proving to be a ‘little short of a disaster for the Tory party.’
The ITV debate saw senior Tory ministers and MPs lay into each other publicly, the audience may not be used to this much blue-on-blue arguing.
Some of the highlights include Rishi Sunak accusing Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt of being socialists – not a compliment for a Tory.
Whilst Truss slammed Sunak for raising taxes to record levels.
Penny Mordaunt attacked the others for the cheap personal attacks she had been facing in the days running up to the debate – especially over the trans debate and her definition of being a woman.
Sunak still shone as the strongest in the TV debates, despite most of the criticism being directed at him, his time in Boris Johnson’s government taught him the art of deflecting the questions.
For the right of the party, Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt both had good and bad moments.
The ITV debate had such an underlying nastiness to it, that Tory MPs were begging the candidates to stop. The Daily Express reported that it was not the spectacle being watched by small audiences which worried them but “a vast armoury” of social media clips and GIFs being harvested from the debates for Labour to attack whoever wins and the Conservative Party in general.
Sky news debate cancelled after Sunak and Truss pull out
Following the ITV debate, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss withdrew from the planned Sky News debate – which was set to take place a few days after. This led to Sky News pulling the debate altogether. Sunak and Truss have faced a backlash from the public for this move, but considering the mess that was the ITV debate, there’s no surprise why they wanted to avoid another bashing. One thing is certain, this contest was a ‘little short of a disaster for the Tory party,’ because Labour will go on to use every single blue-on-blue attack made during this debate on the actions of the future government.
Whilst one of them will be in the contest and become prime minister, the Tory party has arguably already lost.
Whoever makes it to the final two will face another tv debate -this one with the BBC.
But pulling out of the Sky News debate was undeniably a mistake on Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak’s part.
TV debates boost voter engagement in politics
One could argue it does a disservice to democracy, because whilst it’s an internal election, the public should still be able to look at what’s happenings in politics. It’s important for Tory MPs and party members to see how candidates perform under scrutiny – there’s also a general election in 2024.
The Independent argues “it would be a good idea to set up an independent commission to allow Ofcom to pit debates on a statutory footing so the parties cannot pick and choose what suits them. Leaders who refuse to attend should be empty-chaired.”
There’s polling evidence that suggests TV debates boost voter engagement in politics – especially and perhaps crucially among younger people. The ITV debate saw the damage done to the party, but not engaging in TV debates could prove more damaging in the long run.
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