Inside Politics: Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn go head-to-head in TV debate

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Political Correspondent

Tuesday 19 November 2019 09:38 GMT

Several surveys have suggested the election race is tightening significantly (AFP via Getty)

There are now only 23 days until the general election

Posting screenshots of text provided to Gordon Brown ahead the election debates in 2010, former adviser Theo Bertram says that even the sight of “caps lock Arial Black” now brings him out in a shiver. It was the only font the then-Labour prime minister could read clearly. “So much preparation went into the session,” he added on his Twitter account. “Like PMQs on steroids.” One piece of advice offered to the prime minister read: “If you’re not enjoying it, no one else will”. Perhaps both Team Johnson and Team Corbyn can bear that in mind today as they prepare their leaders for a head-to-head debate on ITV at 8pm. I’m Ashley Cowburn, and welcome to The Independent’s Inside Politics newsletter.

Inside the bubble

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock on what to look out for on the campaign trail today

All eyes at Westminster are on the first TV debate of the election campaign, pitching Boris Johnson against Jeremy Corbyn in an hour-long clash moderated by Julie Etchingham. Having lost her court battle for inclusion, the Liberal Democrats’ leader Jo Swinson will be confined to commenting on the debate along with leaders of other smaller parties later in the evening. Ms Swinson will also visit a children’s emergency ward to highlight one of her party’s biggest policy promises of the campaign – a penny on income tax to boost NHS spending by £35bn over five years.

Daily briefing

YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU: With just a week to go until the voter registration deadline, The Independent today issues a call for everyone to participate in the most important election for a generation – one that will decide the fate of Brexit and the country. It’s kind of a big deal. More than nine million people are believed to be missing from the electoral roll, with young people, ethnic minorities and the poor most likely to miss out on the chance to have their say. But there is a reason to be optimistic. The non-partisan group Vote For Your Future today claims that the rate of new registration for under-25s has been 95 per cent higher than the equivalent period before the 2017 election. What are you waiting for? Head to gov.uk.

WHO WANTS TO BE A BILLIONAIRE: This elite group of 151 UK individuals has been on the receiving end of a lot of bad attention in recent weeks. “ I don’t think anyone in this country should be a billionaire,” declared one Labour MP earlier this month – sparking a debate about their very existence. Now, according to new research from Labour, no fewer than 48 members of said club have bankrolled the Conservatives, donating almost £52 million. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell called the wealth of billionaires “obscene”, claiming: “We know whose side Boris Johnson is on – the billionaires, the bankers and big business.”
RETURN OF THE BROWN: The election campaign has entered the stage where relics of Britain’s not so distant past are appearing. Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister, will today warn a divisive campaign could further destabilise Britain’s political situation and tear the country’s warring sides further apart. Gulp. “We are becoming a United Kingdom in name only,” he said on Monday evening. In a boost for Jeremy Corbyn, though, he does argue for the urgent need of a Labour government. Past leaders of the party have been less keen to endorse his leadership. But speaking of Tony Blair, let’s expect an intervention from him in the coming days.
CABINET RESHUFFLE: During the 2017 general election there was an infamous press conference held by both Theresa May and Philip Hammond. Quizzed by journalists, the then-prime minister repeatedly refused to say whether the man standing by the podium next to her would continue to be the chancellor in just a few weeks’ time. Instead, she dismissed reports of a rift between them as “tittle-tattle”, which is Westminster speak for something being absolutely accurate. But the current chancellor Sajid Javid can breathe a sigh of relief as the PM gave his assurance he would stay in post after the election. The future is less certain for the rest of the cabinet. “I’d be grateful however if we could not have endless questions about the the personnel at the top of the Tory Party,” Mr Johnson added. “I don’t think I want to answer exhaustively about everybody.”
FOXTROT: Labour today unveils plans to double the number of police officers tasking with enforcing the fox hunting ban and other wildlife crimes, with a £4.5m injection into the effort to crackdown on bloodsports. “We are calling time on those who have been allowed to get away with illegally hunting, maiming and killing wild animals such as deer, hen harriers, foxes and hares,” declares the party shadow environment secretary. But according to The Times, Mr Johnson will not be following in his predecessor’s footsteps when it comes to the toxic issue of fox hunting. It is claimed the Conservatives will make a commitment in their 2019 election manifesto not to make any changes to the Hunting Act.
ROYAL MESS: The dust isn’t settling on that Prince Andrew interview. Last night the Duke of York was dealt a major blow after a sponsor of his flagship business project said it was not renewing it support. Accountancy giant KPMG said it was withdrawing support as he continues to be the centre of negative publicity over his relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca also told the Daily Telegraph it was reviewing its future with the mentoring scheme. Prince Andrew was also caught up in further controversy when a newspaper columnist claimed he used the racially-offensive N-word word during a Buckingham Palace meeting in 2012 – a claim his office has denied.

On the record

“I won’t get dragged into commentary about matters concerning the royal family”.

Boris Johnson’s response to a question at the CBI conference in central London on Monday, on the unprecedented BBC interview with Prince Andrew.

From the Twitterati

“I’d like to report a murder”.

Guardian journalist Owen Jones responds to an awkward exchange between Good Morning Britain presenter Lorraine Kelly and the US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri.

“Split screen Lorraine Kelly wrath is one of 2019’s biggest successes”.

TV critic and broadcaster Scott Bryant