2015 United Kingdom general election debates

Aspect of the 2015 United Kingdom General Election campaign July 2015 November 2020 Outdated coverage, unsourced content March 2017 105px 105px|Ed Miliband 105px David Cameron Conservative Ed Miliband Labour Nick Clegg Liberal Democrats 105px 105px 105px 105px Nigel Farage UKIP Natalie Bennett Green (E&W) Nicola Sturgeon SNP Leanne Wood Plaid Cymru ← 2010 debates 2015 2017 debates → The 2015 United Kingdom general election debates were a series of four live television programmes featuring the leaders of seven main British parties that took place during the run-up to the general election. They each featured different formats and participants. The first was a one-on-one programme between David Cameron, Prime Minister (Conservative Party), and Ed Miliband, Leader of the Opposition (Labour Party). The second featured Cameron, Miliband, Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister (Liberal Democrats), Nigel Farage (UKIP), Natalie Bennett (Green Party of England and Wales), Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland (SNP), and Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru). The third debate featured the leaders of the five opposition parties: Miliband, Farage, Bennett, Sturgeon, and Wood. The final programme's participants were Cameron, Miliband, and Clegg. Only the Labour Party's Miliband participated in all four events. The formats and participants were arrived at after a lengthy process.https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-30955379 Election 2015: Seven-party TV debate plan announced BBC News 23 January 2015 https://www.bbc.co.uk/corporate2/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/election-debate-plan BBC - Broadcasters to stick to Election debate plan - Media centre BBChttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-31912311 Politics Live: Campaign countdown - BBC News BBC News Following the result of the election, a survey of 3,019 people, carried out by Panelbase, found that 38% of voters considered the debates to have influenced their voting intention.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32673439 Election 2015: TV debates 'most influential' for voters Emma Thelwell 9 May 2015 BBC NewsOtherlines.tv PDF file Background The first series of televised leaders' debates in the United Kingdom were held in the previous election. Broadcasters proposed another series of televised debates in the run up to the 2015 election, although in a different format. The suggestion was that the debates should take place during the early stages of the campaign, before April.Will There Be Election Debates In 2015, And Who Will Fight Them? 23 October 2012 http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/10/23/tories-2015-election-debates-ukip-snp_n_2004740.html 7 January 2013 Cameron suggested that the televised debates should take place before the campaign itself, as he felt that the 2010 debates overshadowed the rest of the campaign; he was, however, still positive towards them taking place.Cameron: 'I Want Televised Leaders Debates' http://news.sky.com/story/1147902/cameron-i-want-televised-leaders-debates Sky News 30 September 2013https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30997410 David Cameron: Timing vital for TV election debates BBC News 27 January 2015 There was media speculation from individuals such as Michael Crick of Channel 4 News as to who may be included in the debates. He suggested that if UKIP did not receive sufficient coverage, they could make a legal case against broadcasters that under-represent the party, if the leaders of the Conservative Party, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats are included.After Rotherham, Ukip aims to top the 2014 Euro poll 30 November 2012 http://blogs.channel4.com/michael-crick-on-politics/after-rotherham-ukip-aims-to-top-the-2014-euro-poll/2031 7 January 2013Can UKIP become a serious political party? http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2012/09/will-ukip-make-the-transition-from-pressure-group-to-serious-political-party/ 7 January 2013 Prime Minister David Cameron had dismissed the call for UKIP's participation.https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron-dont-put-ukip-in-general-election-tv-debate-8457116.html 21 August 2013 standard David Cameron: Don't put Ukip in general election TV debate 18 January 2013 The Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband said in January 2013 that the composition of each debate was a matter for the media organisations.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9840430/Ukip-could-get-a-place-in-TV-election-debates.html 21 August 2013 The Daily Telegraph Ukip could get a place in TV election debates London Tim Ross 31 January 2013 In the run-up to the European Parliament election, 2014, there were two debates between the leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg and the UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage. According to polling, Mr Farage is reported to have comfortably won both debateshttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26843996 19 May 2014 BBC News Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage in heated BBC debate over EU April 2014 and this prompted further speculation that Farage could or should be invited to take part in the debates ahead of the general election.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2014/mar/27/has-nigel-farage-booked-place-2015-election-debates 19 May 2014 The Guardian Has Nigel Farage booked himself a place in the 2015 election debates? 27 March 2014 White Michael https://www.thetimes.com/article/cameron-ponders-tv-debate-with-farage-in-run-up-to-2015-election-7z0l7drgrwm 19 May 2014 The Times Cameron ponders TV debate with Farage in run-up to 2015 election 4 May 2014 UKIP won the European elections, topping the poll. This further strengthened Farage's case and increased calls for UKIP to be represented in such TV debates.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/european-elections-ukip-set-for-landmark-win-9391409.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/european-elections-ukip-set-for-landmark-win-9391409.html 1 May 2022 subscription live The Independent European elections: Ukip set for landmark winhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-24058104 BBC News 'UKIP could win Euro election', says Barrosohttps://www.ft.com/content/ede4bc38-b8ef-11e3-98c5-00144feabdc0 Financial Times Ukip will win most votes in European elections says pollsterhttp://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-election-britain-idUKKBN0DK0E920140504 https://web.archive.org/web/20151222140435/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-election-britain-idUKKBN0DK0E920140504 dead 22 December 2015 Reuters UKIP to top Europe vote despite perceived racism – polls In October 2014, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky News announced joint plans for three debates, one with just the leaders of the Conservative and Labour parties, a second also including the Liberal Democrats, and a third including UKIP.http://news.sky.com/story/1352008/news-organisations-reveal-leaders-debate-plan Leaders React To Plan For Election Debates Sky News Several other parties represented in the Commons complained at their exclusion from this plan.https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/oct/13/nigel-farage-2015-leaders-debates-bbc-itv-sky-news Nigel Farage invited to take part in 2015 TV leaders' debates Jason Deans The Guardian 13 October 2014 On 30 October the Green Party were informed by the BBC that their requests to be included in TV debates was rejected.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/oct/29/bbc-refuses-include-green-party-televised-leader-debates-general-election BBC refuses to include Green party in general election TV leader debates Patrick Wintour The Guardian 29 October 2014 However, the Green Party did not give up, and were boosted by the existence of a petition in support of their inclusion with over 275,000 signatures.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/260000-people-sign-petition-to-include-green-party-in-election-debates-9856948.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/260000-people-sign-petition-to-include-green-party-in-election-debates-9856948.html 1 May 2022 subscription live 260,000 people sign petition to include Green Party in election debates The Independent David Cameron then said that he would not take part unless the Greens did. As a result of this combined pressure, ITV and the BBC published revised plans in January 2015, including the Greens, as well as the SNP and Plaid Cymru (who only stand in Scotland and Wales respectively). Many of the Northern Irish political parties then made statements requesting their inclusion in the debates. Sinn Féin sought legal advice, while the Democratic Unionist Party wrote to the BBC and ITV demanding their inclusion.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-30949900 Election 2015: NI parties not included in TV election debate plans BBC News 23 January 2015 George Galloway, the sole MP for the Respect Party, also argued for his inclusion, on the basis that Respect then had the same number of MPs as the Greens.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-30953672 Election 2015: George Galloway on Respect in TV debates BBC Newshttp://www.respectparty.org/2015/01/23/george-galloway-threatens-legal-action-to-join-tv-election-debates/ George Galloway threatens legal action to join TV election debates The Respect Party - Peace, Justice & Equality 28 January 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150128151951/http://www.respectparty.org/2015/01/23/george-galloway-threatens-legal-action-to-join-tv-election-debates/ 28 January 2015 dead The DUP's formal complaint was rejected by the BBC.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-31757974 BBC Trust rejects DUP's appeal to be included in TV election debates BBC News 5 March 2015 Planning and negotiations Early proposals and arrangements On 9 May 2014—almost exactly a year before the election date—David Cameron proposed a five-way debate, with the leaders of "all the main parties"which five did he mean?. This would be followed up by a separate "head to head" debate between himself and Labour's Ed Miliband. This itself was an adjustment from an earlier proposal of Cameron for three debates.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/election-2015-david-cameron-suggests-fiveway-debate-between-party-leaders-9347387.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/election-2015-david-cameron-suggests-fiveway-debate-between-party-leaders-9347387.html 1 May 2022 subscription live Election 2015: David Cameron suggests five-way debate between party leaders Morris Nigel 9 May 2014 The Independent During October that year, all four main broadcasters, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky announced joint plans for multi-platform party leader debates in the run up to the 2015 general election. Three debates would have taken place within the six-week campaign period, at a time when the parties were to be setting out their policies, to help further engage the audience with the election. The proposal entailed debates at fortnightly intervals on 2 April, 16 April and 30 April at locations around the UK.https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/leader-debates BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky join forces for party leader debates proposal BBC Media Centrehttp://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/10/13/farage-leaders-debate-broadcasters_n_5975478.html Ukip's Nigel Farage Invited To Take Part In Election 2015 Leaders Debates By Broadcasters The Huffington Post UK 13 October 2014 The First Debate was to be a "head to head" debate between David Cameron and Ed Miliband. The Second Debate was to follow the pattern of the 2010 debates, between the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat leaders. The third Debate would have had the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and UKIP leaders. In January 2015, ITV and the BBC published revised plans for the television election debates to include seven main UK political parties' leaders.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30935369 Election 2015: Broadcasters expected to offer new TV debates plan BBC News 22 January 2015 The revised proposals would see the debates being held on Thursdays: 2, 16, and 30 April 2015, during the general election campaign. The proposals issued were for: Two seven-way debates including representatives of the Conservative Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, Greens, SNP and Plaid Cymru one hosted by BBC, and the other by ITV. A debate that would be 'head-to-head' between David Cameron and Ed Miliband, jointly hosted by Channel 4 and Sky.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jan/22/general-election-tv-debates-seven-parties Revised plan for election TV debates proposes including seven parties John Plunkett The Guardian 22 January 2015 Warnings were given from all the broadcasters that if the leaders failed to turn up an 'empty chair' would be used instead. http://www.itv.com/news/story/2015-01-23/election-debates-to-go-ahead-even-if-leaders-do-not-take-part/ Election debates to go ahead even if leaders do not take part ITV News On 23 February 2015, the broadcasters agreed on three debates:https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/election-debates-order BBC - Order of party leaders' televised General Election debates announced - Media centre BBChttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/feb/23/itv-to-air-first-party-leaders-tv-debate-on-2-april ITV to air first party leaders' TV debate on 2 April John Plunkett The Guardian 23 February 2015 2 April: ITV - Debate between the party leaders of the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, the SNP, the Green Party and Plaid Cymru. 16 April: BBC - A second debate between the seven party leaders above. 30 April: Sky and Channel 4 - Head-to-head debate between the Leader of the Conservative Party and the Leader of the Labour Party. March 2015 On 4 March 2015 David Cameron stated, in what was described as a "final offer",https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31928638 David Cameron 'accepts single multi-party TV debate' BBC News 17 March 2015 that he would only participate in a single debate, involving the leaders of the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, UKIP, the SNP, the Green Party, Plaid Cymru and possibly the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). He also said that the debate must occur before the start of the short campaign, i.e. before 30 March 2015.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2015/mar/05/cameron-ducks-tv-debate-with-just-miliband-reaction-politics-live-blog#block-54f7fca8e4b0260c5f4a09b6 David Cameron ducks TV debate with just Miliband - reaction: Politics Live Andrew Sparrow The Guardian 5 March 2015 His announcement effectively ruled out the proposed one on one debate between Ed Miliband and the Prime Minister, and raised the prospect of Cameron being "empty chaired" in debates involving other party leaders but not him.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31742155 Election 2015: Cameron agrees to just one TV debate BBC News 4 March 2015 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/05/pm-empty-chaired-broadcasters-set-to-go-ahead-debates PM faces being 'empty-chaired' as TV debates are expected to go ahead The Guardian 5 March 2015 Wintour Patrick Conlan Tara Perraudin Frances On 6 March, the broadcasters confirmed that they intended to go ahead with all three debates.https://corporate.sky.com/media-centre/news-page/2015/broadcasters-to-stick-to-election-debate-plan Broadcasters to Stick to Election Debate Plan BSKYB In response to the possibility of Cameron being "empty chaired", Ofcom warned that broadcasters had to be careful about impartiality rules.http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-03-17/broadcasters-offer-to-scrap-two-election-debates-to-persuade-david-cameron-to-take-part-in-one Radio Times - TV news and guide, TV and radio listings, film reviews guide Patrick Foster Radio Times The Telegraph and The Guardian, in association with Google and YouTube, then announced that they intended to hold an internet-broadcast live debate, which was planned to feature David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg, Nigel Farage, and Natalie Bennett, and had issued an invitation to the five party leaders. The debate was to be held on 26 or 27 March (before the short campaign, as favoured by the Conservatives). The Liberal Democrats nominally expressed their intention to participate; however there was concern that the absence of the SNP might prove to be an obstacle.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/debates/11462718/Party-leaders-challenged-to-take-part-in-Telegraphs-digital-debate.html Party leaders challenged to take part in Telegraph's digital debate 11 March 2015 The Daily Telegraphhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/11463804/David-Cameron-and-Ed-Miliband-clash-as-pressure-over-debates-mounts-live.html David Cameron and party leaders indicate they will take part in digital election debate: as it happened 11 March 2015 The Daily Telegraph UKIP categorically agreed to participate. Conservative chairman Grant Shapps expressed that he was in favour. However, without any formal agreement forthcoming, the organisers wrote to David Cameron on 17 March asking for his commitment. The debate did not take place. That day, the Conservatives accepted the offer of a single, 7-way debate to be broadcast on ITV on 2 April, with the other two planned debates cancelled. According to the Conservatives, they were approached with a new 4-programme plan,https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2015/mar/17/douglas-alexander-labours-election-chief-at-labourlist-conference-politics-live-blog Cameron accepts TV debate in April: Politics Live blog Andrew Sparrow The Guardian 17 March 2015 which was reported to be: 26 March on Sky/Channel 4: Leaders' interviews with Cameron and Miliband interviewed sequentially by Jeremy Paxman, with studio audience. 2 April on ITV: Debate with the leaders of the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, Greens, SNP, Plaid Cymru and DUP.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/19/nick-clegg-election-debate-main-parties Nick Clegg backs election debate between the four main parties Frances Perraudin The Guardian 19 March 2015 16 April: Debate with the "challenger parties", i.e. SNP, UKIP, Plaid Cymru, Greens and DUP. 30 April on BBC: Question Time with Cameron, Miliband and Clegg taking questions from audience sequentially. The Liberal Democrats accepted these proposals, but Nick Clegg has said he still hoped for a four-way leaders debate involving the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and UKIP (as the four main parties as defined by Ofcom). However, Labour and UKIP responded that they are only aware of the prior proposal from the broadcasters for three debates, which they still supported. The SNP, likewise, called on Cameron to take part in the three debates previously proposed. Commentators argued that the new proposed format would be better for the Conservatives than having three debates including a head-to-head with Miliband.http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2015/03/exclusive-tories-agree-to-broadcasters-debate-proposal/ Exclusive: Tories agree to TV debate offer Spectator Blogshttp://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/03/tv-debates-will-miliband-and-cameron-ever-meet-screen TV debates: Will Miliband and Cameron ever meet on screen? New Statesman 17 March 2015 Negotiations continued, with the broadcasters offering to include Labour in the 16 April debate.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/19/broadcasters-pile-pressure-david-cameron-second-live-election-debate Broadcasters pile pressure on Cameron over second live election debate Patrick Wintour The Guardian 19 March 2015 A final settlement was reached on 21 March. The agreed schedule was only a slight modification of the 17 March proposal, with the "challenger party" debates now featuring Ed Miliband instead of a representative from the DUP, with resistance from the DUP. The final plan was thus: 26 March on Sky/Channel 4: Leaders' interviews, with Cameron and Miliband interviewed sequentially by Paxman, with a studio audience. http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/battle-for-number-10 Cameron & Miliband Live: The Battle for Number 10 21 March 2015 Channel 4 Press Release 24 March 2015 2 April on ITV: Debate with the leaders of the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, Greens, SNP and Plaid Cymru chaired by Julie Etchingham.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32001383 Election debates agreement reached BBC News 21 March 2015 16 April on BBC: Debate with the "challenger parties", i.e. Labour, UKIP, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Greens, chaired by David Dimbleby. 30 April on BBC: Question Time with Cameron, Miliband and Clegg taking questions from the audience sequentially, chaired by Dimbleby. Impact The controversies around the initial planned exclusion of the Greens from the debates coincided with rapid increases in membership of the Green parties, and increase in their opinion poll ratings.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jan/21/green-surge-party-that-will-decide-election The Green surge: is this the party that will decide the election? John Harris The Guardian 21 January 2015 The party referred to this increase as "The Green Surge", their membership surpassing that of UKIP or the Liberal Democrats by mid-January.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jan/15/green-party-membership-surge-leaders-debates Green membership surge takes party past Lib Dems and Ukip Rowena Mason The Guardian 15 January 2015 Cameron & Miliband: The Battle for Number 10 (26 March) Channel 4, Sky and the BBC News Channel broadcast the first programme on 26 March. Miliband, having won the toss, chose to go second, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/11497752/Last-PMQs-before-the-election-Live.html Election TV debate - as it happened, March 26, 2015 27 March 2015 The Daily Telegraph 29 April 2015 so this programme consisted of Jeremy Paxman interviewing Cameron, Cameron facing questions from a studio audience (moderated by Kay Burley), Miliband facing the audience, and finally Paxman interviewing Miliband. The programme was recorded in Studios 4 & 5 at Sky Studios in Isleworth. Response Average viewing figures for the show were 2.6 million on Channel 4 (11.7% of the TV audience) and 322,000 on Sky News.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-32055903 Politics Live: 27 March - BBC News BBC News Several hundred complaints were received by Channel 4 and Ofcom claiming the programme was biased against Miliband. According to the Evening Standard the next day, Cameron was "widely deemed to have edged ahead"."Miliband puts NHS at heart of Labour's election" by Jo Murphy, London Evening Standard, p. 2, 27 March 2015 A Guardian/ICM instant poll found 54% thought Cameron had won to 46% for Miliband, while a YouGov "Instant Reaction" survey found 51% for Cameron and 49% for Miliband. A subsequent regular YouGov poll found that among undecided voters, 49% thought Milband had done best to 35% for Cameron. The Centre for the Analysis of Social Media concluded the social media reaction was more favourable towards Miliband.https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/demosdebate/index.html?file=debatedata.csv UK Election Debate Newsnight'''s political editor called Miliband the winner.Newsnight, BBC2, 26 March 2015 Labour's election polling improved following the programme in one poll"Labour races into 4-point lead after Miliband's debate success", The Sunday Times, 29 March 2015 and was better among those who watched it with YouGov,sunday times https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/2ymqcmfu9d/YG-Archive-Pol-Sunday-Times-results-280315.pdf YouGov / Sunday Times Survey Results but Miliband's and Labour's polling worsened with ComRes and other polling failed to show any impact of the debate. The ITV Leaders' Debate (2 April) thumb|right|Line up of the debate thumb|The ITV Leaders' Debate held at dock10 studios, MediaCityUK A two-hour debate between seven party leaders was hosted by ITV News anchor Julie Etchingham on 2 April at dock10 studios in Salford. They were positioned on the stage as follows (left to right):https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/election-2015-32057645 Election Live - 30 March - BBC News BBC News Natalie Bennett (Green Party of England and Wales) Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister (Liberal Democrats) Nigel Farage (UKIP) Ed Miliband, Leader of the Opposition (Labour Party) Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru) Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland (Scottish National Party) David Cameron, Prime Minister (Conservative Party) The order in which each leader delivered their opening statement was decided by lots, with the order being Bennett, Farage, Clegg, Sturgeon, Cameron, Wood, and Miliband.http://may2015.com/datablast/election-debates-cameron-is-the-clear-winner-as-thursdays-speaking-order-is-announced/ Election debates: Cameron is the clear winner as Thursday's speaking order is announced May2015: 2015 General Election Guide Response The audience for the debate averaged about 7 million, peaking at 7.4 million.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/election-2015-32164815 Election Live - 3 April - BBC News BBC News Several polling organisations surveyed those who had viewed the debate immediately afterwards to select who they believed "won" the debate.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32166354 Election TV debate: Leaders clash over NHS, cuts and immigration BBC News 3 April 2015 + SnapReEntryA * opinion polls as reported by the BBC Survey Organiser's/Political Party Leader Natalie Bennett <br/ >(Green) Nick Clegg <br/ > (Lib Dems) Nigel Farage <br/ > (UKIP) Ed Miliband <br/ > (Lab) Leanne Wood <br/ > (Plaid) Nicola Sturgeon <br/ > (SNP) David Cameron <br/ > (Con) ICM (The Guardian)http://www.icmunlimited.com/media-centre/polls/itv-leaders-debate-poll-for-guardian ICM ICM/Guardian leaders' debate poll 3 April 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150405014336/http://www.icmunlimited.com/media-centre/polls/itv-leaders-debate-poll-for-guardian 5 April 2015 dead 3% 9% 19% 25% 2% 17% 24% ComRes (ITV)http://www.comres.co.uk/polls/itv-news-debate-snap-poll/ ComRes ComRes/ITV leaders' debate poll 5% 9% 21% 21% 2% 20% 21% YouGov (The Times / The Sun)https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/04/02/leaders-debate/ YouGov YouGov leaders' debate poll 5% 10% 20% 15% 4% 28% 18% Survation (Daily Mirror)http://survation.com/snap-post-debate-poll-survation-for-daily-mirror/ Survation Survation/Daily Mirror leaders debate poll 2 April 2015 3% 6% 24% 25% 2% 15% 25% ReEntryA * "Snap" is based on the phrase "snap decision". On a forced choice between Cameron and Miliband, Survation found Cameron the winner.http://survation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Post-Debate-Tables.pdf Post Debate Poll Prepared on behalf of the Daily Mirror survation https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2015/apr/03/election-2015-cameron-miliband-who-won-leaders-debate-live Election 2015: who won the leaders' debate? – live 2 April 2015 The Guardian 3 April 2015 There were 1.4 million tweets about the debate, with the most tweeted moment being Farage's comments about HIV+ immigrants.http://www.u.tv/News/2015/04/02/The-Leaders-General-Election-Debate-takes-place-34733 The Leaders' General Election Debate takes place UTV Sturgeon's Twitter account received most mentions, followed by Farage, Bennett, Miliband, Wood, Cameron and Clegg. An IPSOS Mori analysis of tweets found them most favourable towards Sturgeon, then Wood, Bennett, Miliband and Clegg tied, Farage and least favourable to Cameron. The Democratic Unionist Party, which is a Northern Irish unionist party, was not included on the television debates. Nigel Dodds, the Deputy Leader for the Party, said that: It is wrong that Northern Ireland should be excluded [from the TV debates], after all the Democratic Unionist Party has 8 MPs currently in the outgoing parliament and we're going to play a very crucial role in the next parliament. We're bigger than four of the other parties that were included in the debate, so I think that it's only fair and proper that all regions of the United Kingdom are represented.DUP: Wrong that N. Ireland were 'excluded' from debate http://www.itv.com/news/update/2015-04-02/dup-wrong-that-n-ireland-were-excluded-from-debate/ 3 April 2015 ITV News 2 April 2015 BBC Election Debate 2015 (16 April) thumb|Methodist Central Hall A debate between five opposition party leaders hosted by David Dimbleby was shown on BBC1 on 16 April. It was also available on the BBC News and Sky News channels. The debate was held at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster, London. The leaders involved were: Ed Miliband, Leader of the Opposition (Labour Party) Nigel Farage (UKIP) Natalie Bennett (Green Party of England and Wales) Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland (SNP) Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru) The other parties criticised Cameron's absence from the debate. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2015/apr/16/bbc-election-debate-live BBC election debate live: Miliband spurns Sturgeon coalition pitch 17 April 2015 The Guardian 29 April 2015 Clegg, despite wishing to attend, was also omitted from the debate, with reports saying Cameron blocked his presence, but Conservative Party sources said the decision was the broadcasters'."Miliband slows campaign to prepare for 'four on one' TV debate ambush" by Joseph Watts, London Evening Standard, 16 April 2015, p. 9 Response Across all three channels, 8.8 million watched at least a portion of the programme.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/election-2015-32330805 Election Live: 17 April - BBC News BBC News Miliband was judged to have won the debate in a snap poll from Survation, with 35% to Sturgeon on 31%, Farage on 27%, Bennett on 5% and then Wood on 2%.http://survation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Post-Debate-Poll-Tables.pdf BBC election debate reactions poll Survation https://www.bbc.com/news/live/election-2015-32313846 BBC election debate 16 April 2015 BBC News 17 April 2015 The most mentioned on Twitter was Miliband, followed by Sturgeon.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-32345412 Group hug and Nick Clegg's pint: What trended in debate BBC News 16 April 2015 Allegations of Audience Bias During the 16 April debate, Nigel Farage accused the BBC of a left-wing bias in selecting the studio audience. The BBC explained that the audience had not been selected by them, but by an independent polling organisation in such a way as to give a balanced audience.https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nigel-farage-attacks-audience-bbc-5531803 Nigel Farage attacked the "left-wing bias" of the audience in the BBC debate Daily Mirror 16 April 2015http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2015/04/last-nights-debate-was-a-fascinating-experiment-in-human-behaviour/ Farage, the debate audience wasn't left-wing but it was affected by groupthink 17 April 2015 Question Time special (30 April) thumb|Leeds Town Hall David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg were the featured in a BBC Question Time special programme at Leeds Town Hall on 30 April presented by David Dimbleby from 20:00 BST to 21:30 BST. https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2015-32533048 Leaders grilled on post-election deals in Question Time special 1 May 2015 BBC Sport 1 May 2015 Nigel Farage, Nicola Sturgeon and Leanne Wood were each featured in separate question and answer events hosted by the BBC after the Question Time special programme.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/election-2015-32753161 Campaign countdown - 21 April - BBC News BBC These events were broadcast that night by the BBC and Sky News channels. In each event the host asked members of the audience to ask the party leaders various pre-prepared questions about varying topics. The audience in each event was sorted by their political affiliation and the topic of their questions. Question Time with David Dimbleby David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg each were given about half an hour to answer questions from the audience while David Dimbleby moderated. At this event, David Cameron refused to rule out cutting child benefits.https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/01/cameron-avoids-ruling-out-child-benefit-cuts-question-time Cameron avoids ruling out child benefit cuts after Question Time grilling 1 May 2015 1 May 2015 The Guardian Mason Rowena Ed Miliband declared that he would either be Prime Minister with a majority of seats in Parliament or not be in power at all rather than form a coalition with the Scottish National Party. https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2015-32542765 I won't be PM with SNP deal, says Miliband 1 May 2015 1 May 2015 BBC News Response An instant Guardian/ICM poll declared that Cameron had 'won the debate' with 44% - Ed Miliband came second with 38% and Nick Clegg finished last with 19%.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32533048 Leaders grilled on post-election deals in Question Time special 1 May 2015 1 May 2015 BBC News Ask... Nicola Sturgeon was given about half an hour to answer questions from an audience at the BBC's Scotland Headquarters in Glasgow. Ask Nicola Sturgeon was broadcast at 21:30 BST on BBC1 in Scotland. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/election-2015-32519586 Question Time leaders special Live Reporting 1 May 2015 1 May 2015 BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcone/programmes/schedules/scotland/2015/04/30 BBC One Scotland Schedule 1 May 2015 1 May 2015 BBC Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood and UKIP leader Nigel Farage recorded half-hour programmes earlier in the day. Their programmes were called Ask Leanne Wood and Ask Nigel Farage, and were recorded in Cardiff and Birmingham respectively. Ask Leanne Wood was broadcast on BBC1 in Wales at 22:45 BST. Ask Nigel Farage was broadcast on BBC1 in England at 22:45 BST, and on BBC1 in Wales at 23:10 BST. https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2015-32533048 Leaders grilled by audience in Question Time special 1 May 2015 1 May 2015 BBC NewsFebruary 2021 Debates for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales Scotland Scotland Debates (7 April) thumb|The Assembly Rooms STV broadcast the first Scottish Leaders Debate in the run up to the general election, which was moderated by then-STV News Political Editor Bernard Ponsonby. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-31858913 BBC News BBC STV reveals general election debate details 15 February 2017 12 March 2015 The debate took place at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh between: Jim Murphy, Leader of the Scottish Labour Party. Ruth Davidson, Leader of the Scottish Conservatives and Regional List MSP for Glasgow. Willie Rennie, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Regional List MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife. Nicola Sturgeon, Leader of the SNP, First Minister of Scotland and Constituency MSP for Glasgow Southside. The Scottish Green Party protested that it was unfair that they were excluded from this debate. The Leaders' Debate - Scotland (8 April) thumb|Elphinstone Hall This BBC Scotlandhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-32036630 Election 2015: BBC Scotland unveils party leader debate plans BBC News BBC 24 March 2015 3 April 2015 debate took place in the Elphinstone Hall in Aberdeen University. It was moderated by James Cook. It included six Scottish Party Leaders: Jim Murphy, Leader of the Scottish Labour Party and MP for East Renfrewshire. Ruth Davidson, Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party and Regional List MSP for Glasgow. Willie Rennie, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Regional List MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife. Nicola Sturgeon, Leader of the SNP, First Minister of Scotland and Constituency MSP for Glasgow Southside. Patrick Harvie, Co-convenor of the Scottish Green Party and Regional List MSP for Glasgow. David Coburn, Leader of UKIP Scotland and MEP for Scotland Sunday Politics Scotland Debate (12 April) The 40-minute debate, with Jim Murphy, Ruth Davidson, Willie Rennie and Nicola Sturgeon, was broadcast on Sunday Politics Scotland. The debate was criticised, with many of the public claiming it was a "shambles".http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/scottish-politics/tv-debate-its-a-rammy-at-the-bbc.122981944 TV debate: It's a rammy at the BBC The Herald 13 April 2015 Glasgowhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/11530879/Nicola-Sturgeon-refuses-to-rule-out-second-referendum-in-lifetime-of-next-UK-parliament.html Nicola Sturgeon refuses to rule out second referendum in lifetime of next UK parliament 12 April 2015 The Daily Telegraph Cramb Auslan The Leaders' Debate (3 May) thumb|The Festival Theatre This debate was shown on BBC One Scotland, BBC News and BBC Parliament. It featured representatives from the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and the SNP, and was hosted by Glenn Campbell at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh.https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s9ftd BBC The Scottish Leaders Debate 15 February 2017 Northern Ireland Newsnight in Northern Ireland (16 April 2015) thumb|Broadcasting HouseNewsnight hosted a political debate between the representatives of Northern Ireland's five largest parties. It was held in Broadcasting House in Belfast and hosted by Evan Davis. The participants were as follows: Nigel Dodds, Deputy Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Leader of the DUP in Parliament and MP for Belfast North. Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, Sinn Féin MLA for Belfast South. Mark Durkan, SDLP MP for Foyle. David Ford, Leader of the Alliance Party and MLA for South Antrim. Mike Nesbitt, Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and MLA for Strangford. This was broadcast on 16 April 2015, the same night the BBC Election Debate at Westminster. This was seen as an attempt by the BBC to include the Northern Ireland parties in the UK general election as they were not included in the nationwide BBC or ITV debates although the local debates organised by BBC NI and UTV were to be broadcast across the rest of the UK. The debate was televised live from Belfast on BBC One Northern Ireland and on BBC Two across the rest of the United Kingdom. UTV Debate thumb|Havelock House, the UTV studios in Belfast UTV held a one-hour election debate on 28 April 2015 from 8pm-9pm presented from UTV studios in Belfast by Mark Mallett featuring the 5 main Northern Ireland Parties. The participants were; Nigel Dodds Mark Durkan Martin McGuinness: Sinn Féin Deputy Leader & Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. Elected MP for Mid Ulster 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2010. Naomi Long: Deputy Leader of Alliance Party. MP for Belfast East. Danny Kennedy: Ulster Unionist Party MLA & Minister for Regional Development in the Northern Ireland Executive.NI Parties in Election Debate http://www.u.tv/News/2015/04/28/NI-parties-take-part-in-UTV-election-debates-36266 u.tv UTV Northern Ireland 4 May 2015 UTV held a second half-hour election debate on 28 April 2015 from 10.45pm-11.15pm presented from UTV studios in Belfast by Mark Mallett featuring the smaller Parties standing in Northern Ireland. The participants were: Richard Cairns representing the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) Paul Birch representing Cannabis is Safer than Alcohol (CISTA) Lily Kerr representing the Workers Party Neil Wilson representing the Northern Ireland Conservative Party Steven Agnew representing the Green Party David McNarry representing the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) NI Debates as they happened http://www.u.tv/News/2015/04/28/As-It-Happened-Election-Debates-NI-36324 u.tv UTV Northern Ireland 4 May 2015 The first debate featuring the main 5 Northern Ireland parties was broadcast later that evening on the national ITV network after the News at Ten, but not by STV. BBC NI Debate BBC Northern Ireland held a primetime TV debate between the main Northern Ireland parties: DUP, Sinn Féin, SDLP, UUP and Alliance.https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/statements/meeting-with-dup BBC - BBC statement on meeting with the Democratic Unionist Party in Belfast - Media centre BBC and this happened just 2 days before the Election on Tuesday 5 May 2015. The debate was chaired by Noel Thompson.BBC NI Election 2015 https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/bbc-northern-ireland-election-2015-coverage BBC 2015-04-17 The participants were; Nigel Dodds Mark Durkan Martin McGuinness Naomi Long Mike Nesbitt The debate was broadcast Live on BBC One Northern Ireland between 8pm-9.15pm and simulcast on the BBC News Channel, following the debate BBC Northern Ireland broadcast reaction between 9.15pm-10pm with Tara Mills. The debate was also broadcast at 11.20pm on BBC Two across the rest of the United Kingdom following Newsnight. Wales Wales Election Debate thumb|Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama A televised debate took place 22 April 2015, It was held at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff. The debate was between: Stephen Crabb (Conservatives) Owen Smith (Labour) Kirsty Williams AM (Liberal Democrats) Leanne Wood AM (Plaid Cymru) Nathan Gill (UKIP) Pippa Bartolotti (Wales Green Party) It was broadcast live on ITV Wales between 8pm and 10pm. The Wales Report: The Leaders Election Debate thumb|Sherman Theatre BBC Wales televised debate took place 1 May 2015, It was held at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff, chaired by Huw Edwards. The participants were: Kirsty Williams AM (Liberal Democrats) Leanne Wood AM (Plaid Cymru) Nathan Gill (UKIP) Pippa Bartolotti (Green Party) Stephen Crabb (Conservatives) Owen Smith (Labour) It was broadcast live on BBC One Wales between 8.30pm-10pm on 1 May 2015. Daily Politics debates During the run up to the general election, the Daily Politics'' held a series of special editions of the programme featuring debates moderated by Andrew Neil and another BBC correspondent and involving representatives from several political parties. They were: Issue Date Correspondent Conservative Labour Liberal Democrat UKIP Green SNP/PC Environment 20 April Roger Harrabin Matt Hancock Caroline Flint Ed Davey Roger Helmer Andrew Cooper — Foreign Affairs 21 April Bridget Kendall Philip Hammond Douglas Alexander Tim Farron The Earl of Dartmouth Patrick Harvie — Economy 22 April Robert Peston David Gauke Chris Leslie The Lord Newby Patrick O'Flynn — Stewart Hosie (SNP) Education 23 April Branwen Jeffreys Nicky Morgan Tristram Hunt David Laws Jonathan Arnott James Humphreys — Home Affairs 27 April Mark Easton Theresa May Yvette Cooper Norman Baker Steven Woolfe — Simon Thomas (PC) Defence 28 April Mark Urban Michael Fallon Vernon Coaker Nick Harvey — Rebecca Johnson Angus Robertson (SNP) Health 29 April Hugh Pym Jeremy Hunt Andy Burnham Norman Lamb Angus Dalgleish Jillian Creasy — Welfare 5 May Alison Holt Iain Duncan Smith Rachel Reeves Steve Webb Suzanne Evans Jonathan Bartley — Trust in Politics 6 May Jo Coburn William Hague Harriet Harman The Baroness Brinton Diane James — Alyn Smith (SNP) Regional debates Regional debates were also held by the BBC, featuring local correspondents and local politicians from the main political parties. They were broadcast simultaneously in each of England's regions on 29 April at 10:50pm. They were: Region Correspondent Conservative Labour Liberal Democrat UKIP Green Respect East England Stewart White Liz Truss Andy Sawford Norman Lamb Douglas Carswell Rupert Read — East Midlands Marie Ashby Robert Jenrick Chris Leslie Lucy Care Roger Helmer Kat Boettge — East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire Tim Iredale Karl McCartney Diana Johnson Claire Thomas Victoria Ayling Vicky Dunn — London Andrew Neil Priti Patel Sadiq Khan Simon Hughes Richard Hilton Shahrar Ali — North East & Cumbria Carol Malia Guy Opperman Julie Elliott Helen Flynn Phillip Broughton Jill Perry — North West Roger Johnson Ben Wallace Lucy Powell Gordon Birtwistle John Bickley Elizabeth Ward — South England Sally Taylor Penny Mordaunt Rowenna Davis Layla Moran Mike Glennon Mark Chivers — South East Polly Evans Michael Fallon Peter Kyle Norman Baker Mark Reckless The Baroness Jones — South West Justin Leigh Sarah Newton Ben Bradshaw Dan Rogerson Steve Crowther Emily McIvor — West Country David Garmston Jacob Rees-Mogg Thangam Debbonaire Tessa Munt Steve Stanbury Dominic Tristram — West Midlands Mary Rhodes Sajid Javid Tristram Hunt Lorely Burt Suzanne Evans Will Duckworth — Yorkshire Harry Gration Julian Smith Mary Creagh Greg Mulholland Toby Horton Jillian Creasy Asama Javed See also Politics of the United Kingdom 2015 United Kingdom general election References 30em collapsed Category:Leaders' debates Category:2015 United Kingdom general election Category:Political debates in the United Kingdom