Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn debate ahead of UK election

We’re wrapping up our live coverage after a scrappy televised debate in which both sides can claim to have taken something from.

Boris Johnson succeeded in making absolutely, undeniably, crystal clear that he has a Brexit deal secured with the EU.

The problem was his repeated “get Brexit done” mantra wore on the audience, and helpfully highlighted for Labour that the Prime Minister is reluctant to talk about much beyond the B-word.

Corbyn, meanwhile, was surprisingly unprepared to tackle Johnson’s repeated question about how he would campaign in a second Brexit referendum, which is forming the central tenant of the Conservative post-debate spin.

But he was arguably more successful than Johnson in talking about other domestic issues, and dropped in a few quick retorts to Johnson’s claims. The Prime Minister being met with laughter for saying the truth matters, meanwhile, provided an easy present for Labour.

Given that Corbyn entered the debate with far lower expectations, a score draw is possibly a better result for him than for Johnson.

But both sides averted disaster and, as the parties’ respective press machines will whirl into the early hours, the final word on this debate may not yet have been spoken.

We’ll be back to follow the fallout and prepare for yet more inevitable clashes between the two leaders on Wednesday.

Observers are reacting on Twitter after the debate. Here’s a handful of their thoughts.

The Sunday Times’ political editor Tim Shipman said…

Mail on Sunday commentator Dan Hodges added:

For the Financial Times’ Seb Payne, Johnson was the slight winner:

But Sky’s Beth Rigby disagreed:

Meanwhile, ITV’s Robert Peston picked up on the monarchy question:

And the Telegraph’s Tim Stanley proposed an alternative format:

The verdicts from each party’s press teams are in – and in a shocker, each say their party won the debate.

Labour says “Jeremy won the first half by confronting Boris Johnson with papers from US trade talks highlighting Johnson’s secret plan to sell out our NHS to US corporations … And in the second half, Boris Johnson disintegrated when faced with the human cost of NHS privatisation and the reality of nine years of austerity.”

The Conservatives’ Health Secretary Matt Hancock, one of a number of the party’s MPs tweeting congratulatory remarks, tweeted: “Boris the clear winner. Has a plan on Brexit. And nailed Corbyn lies on selling the NHS.”

The Tories’ press account rebranded as “factcheckUK” for the night, tweeting supposed checks of Corbyn’s statements. That approach was criticized by some, during a debate in which the Prime Minister was laughed at for saying that truth matters during this election.

Corbyn and Johnson make their final statements, with the Labour leader encouraging people to register to vote and saying that the electorate should vote for hope by picking Labour on December 12.

Johnson’s final remarks make another dig at Corbyn’s refusal to say how he’d vote in a second Brexit referendum.

His unashamed mission to mention Brexit in every answer is drawing groans from the audience, and threatens to resemble Theresa May’s “strong and stable” mantra that eventually dogged her campaign.

But he succeeded in underlining the differences between his and Corbyn’s plans on the matter, and was able to get the last word in before the debate was drawn to a close.

And that’s it – a political slugfest where both sides can probably claim to have got the job done comes to an end.

We regret to inform you that it’s time for that awful final question – what do you like about the other candidate?

Except tonight, it has a Christmas twist. An audience member asks what present they would leave under the other’s tree.

“I know Mr Johnson likes a good read,” Corbyn says, saying he’d leave a copy of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” so he can understand how mean Scrooge was.

Johnson replies that he’d leave “my brilliant Brexit deal” under Corbyn’s tree, drawing a laugh from the audience and his opponent.

It’s the quickfire round! Etchingham says she wants quick answers to a couple of questions, befitting the game show-type set.

“Is the monarchy fit for purpose?,” Etchingham asks.

“It needs a bit of improvement,” Corbyn says, but Johnson says it is “beyond reproach.”

“Is Prince Andrew fit for purpose?”

Corbyn says we should be talking about the victims first and foremost, and Johnson says all our sympathies with Epstein’s alleged victims and the law must take its course.

The next question is on climate change, which Johnson calls a “colossal issue for the entire world.” But then he says we must “get Brexit done,” drawing groans from the audience.

Corbyn calls it “the most massive issue facing the whole world,” receiving some heckling form an audience member.

The debate moves to the NHS, which Corbyn would likely consider his home turf.

He responds to a question about the service with a personal story about a woman he knew, who waited for eight hours to see a doctor before passing away in recent days.

“It’s one of the most civilized things about this country,” he says of the NHS – but it is under significant strain.

Johnson says the NHS is one of the most “beautiful” things about Britain and his government would continue to fund it. He claims he will build 40 new hospitals, a figure which has been disputed since he started making it during the summer.

“We can achieve that only if we have a strong economy,” he adds.

But Corbyn cites recent figures showing that emergency room performance is at its worst rate ever. “Let’s end the privatization within the NHS,” he says, raising perhaps the biggest cheer from the audience so far.

“Of course we’re not privatizing the NHS,” Johnson replies, but he’s stumbling over his answer and raising several different points at once.

He calls Labour’s plan for a four-day week is “crackpot,” but Corbyn says a shorter worker week is a “good thing for their health and wellbeing.”

He then takes on that murky claim of 40 new hospitals – saying it’s only six new hospitals.

“Yes it is true we are starting with six,” he says, but funding will follow for more. “So where does the 40 come from then?” asks Corbyn.

Then Johnson again brings up Brexit before being cut off by Etchingham. He likely won’t be too pleased with his responses to this question.

This isn’t going brilliantly for either man.

Johnson started off strong. Corbyn was unable to give a convincing answer on his Brexit policy for the first 10 minutes, leaving open road for Johnson to look Prime Ministerial and in control.

But as the debate moved on to issues of the Union, anti-Semitism and the toxic debate that currently plagues British politics, both men appeared unconvincing.

The gesture of a handshake, committing to raise the quality of debate, looked empty and ridiculous as Johnson didn’t seem to take it seriously and Corbyn followed up by saying that Johnson would have to go a lot further to make up for his previous crimes.

This could be about to get ugly.

Johnson, Corbyn and moderator Julie Etchingham at the start of the debate.

Another audience members asks how British people can trust either Johnson or Corbyn.

“Trust in politics and in Parliament has been eroded,” Johnson says, but the fundamental reason for that is that MPs have voted down a Brexit deal.

“Trust is something that has to be earned,” Corbyn says, and politicians need to listen to the people who elected them. “Everybody you meet knows something you don’t know,” he adds, saying his style of leadership is about listening to people.

Johnson says people should look at what he’s promised to do as a politician and what he’s delivered – joining Corbyn in prompting some dreaded laughs from a few in the audience.

He then agrees that the truth matters – getting yet more dismissive laughs.

Corbyn says the British people deserve to know what the parties’ plans will cost, saying his manifesto will be fully costed.

Moderator Julie Etchingham asks if either man will take any personal responsibility for the erosion of trust in politics, bringing up Johnson’s supposed lack of trustworthiness and the anti-Semitism scandal in Labour.

Corbyn says he despises anti-Semitism and will stand up to it, but Johnson replies that he was listening “open-mouthed.”

Both men are then asked to make a pledge to improve the political debate, and agree to shake hands on stage. Let’s see how long that one lasts.

Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson are rowing about the future of the nation.

The question of whether or not the Union between the UK’s four nations is safe after Brexit is a difficult one for Johnson.

Many people claim that Johnson has thrown Northern Ireland under the bus in order to get Brexit done. However, it might not be that damaging. As Rob Ford, professor of politics at the University of Manchester, explained to CNN earlier this year, English Brexiteers (Johnson’s base) “regard it as not very interesting.”

And when they view it as an obstacle to Brexit, they will see it as something to throw under the bus.”

Read more here.

Johnson suggests Corbyn “probably” has already done a deal with the SNP to forma coalition government.

“There’s not going to be a coalition between Labour and anyone else,” Corbyn responds, calling the accusation “nonsense.”

Both men are then asked whether the Union or Brexit is more important. “The Union is of course the most important thing,” Johnson says.

“I listened very carefully” to Corbyn, Johnson says, and he didn’t hear him rule out a Scottish referendum. Johnson says Corbyn would lead a chaotically coalition – but Corbyn swiftly retorts that the Conservatives had led nine years of chaotic coalitions.

Johnson is repeatedly hitting Corbyn on his reluctance to say whether he’d support Remain or Leave in a second referendum.

But Corbyn responds by pointing out that trade deals take longer to negotiate than Johnson is suggesting – adding that he’d face “probably seven years” to strike one with the US.

But Johnson won’t let go what is clearly one of his main talking points – which side will Corbyn support? The Labour leader doesn’t seem to have a direct response ready for that question – but he hits back with what he calls Johnson’s “secret meetings” with US officials over the NHS.

He reveals documents with redactions, accusing Johnson of hiding his intentions. “You’re going to sell our NHS,” Corbyn tells Johnson.

The Prime Minister argues that Corbyn is trying to “conceal the void” at the heart of his Brexit policy.

Corbyn draws an unwanted laugh from some in the audience when he claims Labour’s policy is clear – but gets in the final word with another jab over the NHS.

The first question asks: Both men say Brexit will be resolved in months, but there have been so many broken promises – can we really be sure we won’t be talking about it forever?

Johnson says, again, that his deal is “ready to go” and that Britain will leave the EU soon if he wins the election. He adds that Corbyn “cannot tell us which side he will campaign on” in a second referendum.

Corbyn answers next, saying Labour will put a “credible deal” to a confirmatory vote within six months.

The idea that Johnson’s deal can be finished by the end of January is “such nonsense,” he adds – a trade deal with the US and another with the EU will involve lengthy discussions.

He then says Johnson’s deal is “even worse” than Theresa May’s, but Johnson says it’s supported by some members of the Labour party as well as all Conservative candidates.

Asked to confirm how he would campaign in a second vote, Corbyn says his government will abide by the result – but doesn’t make clear whether he’d support a side.

“This election gives you a real choice about your future, the future of your community and of our country,” Jeremy Corbyn says in his opening statement.

“Labour is offering rea change and real hope,” he says, saying the party will build a fairer Britain.

He says the Conservatives have failed on Brexit – but Labour will give Brits the final say with a second referendum.

Then it’s Boris Johnson’s turn. He says the Conservatives have a Brexit deal that is “ready to go,” and will be passed in the next few weeks if they win the election.

He says Labour will offer “dither and delay” and will hold a Scottish independence referendum alongside a second Brexit vote.

Both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn are on stage, and the debate is getting underway. They’ll each make an opening statement before facing a series of questions.

Follow live updates here.

Jeremy Corbyn arrives for tonight's debate.

The election campaign has been running for nearly two weeks, but tonight’s debate is the first real moment to offer a significant breakthrough for either Jeremy Corbyn or Boris Johnson. 

Boris Johnson’s message is simple: Vote for me and I will get Brexit done by the end of January. 

For Jeremy Corbyn, it’s a little more complicated, as he tries to walk a fine line between his largely Remain-supporting Labour activists and the people who voted for Brexit in 2016.

He argues that Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal is reckless, and could cost the UK jobs, workers’ rights, environmental protection and much more. Corbyn says he can negotiate a new Brexit deal which doesn’t damage the nation, and promises a referendum to pick between that deal and remaining a member of the EU.

Johnson says that choosing Corbyn will lead to more dither and delay, after three years of Brexit uncertainty. Corbyn says that Johnson wants to rush through a lousy Brexit deal with scant regard for its repercussions. 

As things stand, Johnson’s simpler message appears to hitting home with voters more. However, during the 2017 election, Corbyn was also considered the underdog, and yet his campaign performed far better than expected. 

Tonight will be the first real insight into whether Corbyn can repeat this against a fresh Prime Minister who still seems to have a decent amount of momentum. 

ITV has gone for a decidedly game show-style set for tonight’s big debate.

It gets underway in less than an hour.

It’s the election Boris Johnson has waited his entire career to contest, and it’s taking place on his terms.

For the Prime Minister, who enjoys a lead in opinion polls and is preparing to hammer home his well-worn Brexit message, tonight’s debate represents both a chance to land a knockout blow — as his boxing ring photo op earlier today not-so-subtly reminded us.

But there’s great risk too: with Johnson heading into the debate as the favourite, with higher expectations and more room to disappoint, the event presents the very clear danger of a slip-up that could change the narrative of the campaign.

That could see Johnson go the way of his predecessor Theresa May, who also relished a sizeable polling lead in 2017 before seeing it wiped away by Jeremy Corbyn — the man Johnson will share a stage with in a couple of hours.

Like May, Johnson had categorically ruled out requesting a snap general election before Brexit had been resolved. When he did just that, he insisted he was doing so reluctantly. But in reality, it’s clear this is a fight Johnson has prepared his whole life for. 

After being educated at Eton and Oxford — the breeding grounds of so many of his peers atop the Conservative Party — Johnson embarked on a career as a journalist at the Daily Telegraph, penning from Brussels a number of articles that made clear the Euroskepticism which would later define his political fortunes too.

First elected an MP in 2001, Johnson’s uniquely bumbling persona, ease in front of cameras and command of the media landscape made him a rising star of the Conservative Party. Two terms as London’s mayor, between 2008 and 2016, elevated his profile internationally and cemented his position alongside Tony Blair as one of Britain’s only celebrity politicians.

Boris Johnson during the 2016 Brexit referendum.

It was the 2016 Brexit referendum, however, that propelled him to the front of the UK’s political scene. He was the figurehead of the Leave campaign and, after its stunning success on polling day, became the favorite to take over from David Cameron as prime minister.

Some last-minute back-stabbing helped deny him the chance back then, but he wasn’t to be denied when Theresa May’s premiership crumbled earlier this year.

Tonight, he’ll have to defend his inability to deliver on his signature pledge as Prime Minister — securing Brexit on October 31. But Corbyn will also target him on a number of controversies that have dogged his rise through British politics.

Johnson has faced accusations of Islamophobia, and served a short-lived and controversial term as Foreign Secretary under Theresa May. There are persistent questions about his honesty, and his turbulent love life is never far from the British public’s attention.

The Prime Minister may also need to move away from his favorite electoral slogans, like the oft-repeated “get Brexit done,” and deliver a few new lines to make his desired impact tonight.

If he can avoid disaster, though, he’ll clear a major hurdle in his bid to return to Downing Street.

Corbyn arrives at the debate venue.

Jeremy Corbyn has arrived at the MediaCity television studios near Manchester ahead of tonight’s debate.

“It’s going to be, I hope, a respectful and informative debate,” Corbyn told ITV ahead of the event. Asked if he was nervous, he said: “Not in the slightest, why would I be?”

“I’m very confident in our policies, and our abilities to try and transform this country, to reduce the levels of inequalities and give real hope to people who have been so up against it for the last ten years because of austerity,” Corbyn added.

Asked how he’s prepared for the event, he said: “Well, I’ve eaten a Caesar salad, had a couple of cups of tea, and read a bit, and talked a bit to my team – it’s been very pleasant.”

David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown in a 2010 election debate.

As the countdown clock ticks down to tonight’s crunch TV debate, political figures involved in recent broadcasts have been sharing their insights.

Kezia Dugdale, the former Scottish Labour leader, said each camp will be taking the debate “really seriously.”

“Look out for the moment which is for the viewers at home. A policy or a moment of empathy delivered down the barrel of the lens,” she said in a Twitter thread. “Look out too for how the leaders try to address any presentational weakness the polls tell them they have.”

Theo Bertram, who advised Gordon Brown ahead of Britain’s first ever TV election debates, has also shared some fascinating insight from his preparations for that battle.

“So much preparation went into the sessions. Like PMQs on steroids,” Bertram wrote in his own thread. “Every issue had: a set of answers, based on a principle; set of rebuttals; and a challenge for Cameron. All of it was tested, refined, tested… We drilled Gordon into it.”

He also shared his notes ahead of the contest, as well as his final piece of advice to Brown: “If you’re not enjoying it, no one else will.”

As for the simultaneous battle that each leader’s media teams will be waging, Bertram wrote: “The spin room was insane and got more ridiculous each time. (Labour’s) Peter Mandelson and (Conservative) George Osborne would start preaching their spin on the night to a congregation of journalists 20 minutes *before* the debate had ended. (This is why it pays to get your best lines in early).”

“The viewing figures were huge on the first night, peaking at over 10 million. Later we found that the audience skewed heavily towards undecided voters, so they were among the most important moments in the campaign,” he said.