Lib Dems face being frozen out of any live TV debates
Labour and Tories prefer one-on-one format, which would mean no place for Jo Swinson’s party
The Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson, faces being cut out of televised leadership debates during the general election campaign, as broadcasters begin torturous negotiations over who gets to show the nation’s political leaders arguing with each other on stage.
While the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky News are all vying for the position, Swinson’s place in any forthcoming debate is less than assured. The Tories are thought to prefer simple one-on-one debates between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn in a bid to reduce the election to a simple choice between the two. Labour have adopted a similar stance amid fears they could lose pro-remain votes to the Lib Dems due to the party’s pledge to revoke Brexit.