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UPDATE: Ed Miliband says “I think they are a positive set of proposals, obviously there will be negotiations.”
Yesterday we reported that David Cameron is still dragging his feet in the negotiations for televised debates before the election next year. In an effort to m0ve things along, several broadcasters have come together to make proposals for a series of debates. They suggest three events:
Cameron v Miliband – “One head-to-head debate between the two leaders who could become Prime Minister – Conservative and Labour. This debate will be co-produced by Sky News and Channel 4 and chaired by Jeremy Paxman. Kay Burley will introduce the programme and present the post-debate analysis. The whole programme will be carried live on Sky and Channel 4 and their digital platforms, as well as having a major presence across social media.”
Cameron, Miliband and Clegg – “One debate between the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat leaders. This debate will be produced by the BBC and presented by David Dimbleby. It will be broadcast on BBC One with extensive live coverage on other BBC TV and Radio networks and online.”
Cameron, Miliband, Clegg and Farage – “One debate between the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and UKIP leaders. This debate will be produced and broadcast by ITV. The ITV debate, chaired by Julie Etchingham, will air on ITV’s main channel and online.”
The proposals suggest that the debates take place fortnightly in the six weeks leading up to polling day at locations around the country. These proposals have been sent in writing to the leaders of the four parties included. The broadcast debates in 2010 were watched by over 22 million people.
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