The first televised debate of the 2024 general election will take place on Tuesday, June 4, putting Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer head to head on ITV. ITV has also announced they will hold a multiparty debate later in June. The BBC will host at least two multiparty debates, as well as the last Sunak-Starmer face-off before polling day.
If voters are hoping to hear party leaders respond spontaneously and authentically to questions, they’re likely to be disappointed. For those who tune in (6.7 million in 2019, down from 10.3 million in 2010), it is not necessarily because they expect to learn anything new about the candidates or their policies. Rather, they are likely intrigued by the spectacle of adversarial conflict.
The parties know this. Sunak’s enthusiasm for having a debate every week of the campaign is probably less to do with any benefit he expects to gain from putting his case to the public than a desire to maximise the opportunities for Starmer to make some kind of gaffe. He can also use the knowledge that Starmer will say no to paint the Labour leader as scared of confrontation.
