Mistrust looms large at face-off
British rivals face sharp questions from the audience during election’s first TV debate
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his challenger, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, have staged their first debate of the election — and what was most notable were the sharp, aggressive questions from the audience, which expressed open mistrust, even disgust, for both candidates.
The debate on ITV yesterday showcased a dozen ordinary voters allowed to ask their questions.
First up: “Both of you say Brexit will be resolved in the next few months. But there have been so many broken promises. Can you assure me we won’t be talking about it forever?” Johnson promised he had a Brexit deal ready to pop into the oven, heat and serve.
Corbyn said it was “nonsense” to say Johnson would sort out Brexit by January. He said a trade deal with the United States would take seven years.
Later in the one-hour debate, another voter asked: “How can we trust you?” The question got a round of applause.
The questioner continued, “The debate has become toxic, with an appalling level of lies. How can we trust you to bring this country together?” Johnson said the problem was that Parliament has blocked Brexit. The way to restore trust is to get Brexit done, he said.
Moderator Julia Etchingham asked, “Does the truth matter in this election?” Johnson replied, “I think it does.” The audience laughed.
During the debate, the Conservative party rebranded its Twitter account to read “FactCheckUK” and then proceeded to tweet out messages such as: “@BorisJohnson is the clear winner in tonight’s LeadersDebate.”
Full Fact, an actual fact-checking outlet, tweeted that the move was “inappropriate and misleading” and advised its followers to “not mistake it for an independent fact-checking service”.
Etchingham pressed Johnson on his violated pledge to deliver Brexit by October 31. “You promised 40 times that we would be out of the EU on October 31,” she said. “One of your staff once said you had betrayed everyone who worked with you.”
She then turned to Corbyn, asking him: “Can you take responsibility for anti-Semitism in your party?” The Labour Party has been dogged by accusations of anti-Semitism for years. Corbyn called anti-Semitism a “scourge” and said his party had worked hard to root it out.
Johnson said he would get Brexit done — and challenged Corbyn again on his position on exiting the European Union. Corbyn said he would quickly negotiate a new softer Brexit deal with the EU and then take it to the public in a second referendum.
Both leaders were asked whether the monarchy was “fit for purpose”.
Corbyn, who in the past has expressed republican beliefs, said that it needs “a bit of” improvement, triggering laughter from the audience.
Johnson said “the institution of the monarchy” was “beyond reproach”, which prompted many users on social media to tweet his comments alongside pictures of Prince Andrew, the Queen’s second son, who has dominated headlines after a disas
trous BBC interview in which he defended his friendship with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Asked about Andrew specifically, both Johnson and Corbyn said the focus should be on the victims.
Corbyn is trailing overall in a crosssample of recent opinion surveys heading into the December 12 election.