Jo Swinson’s exclusion from the leadership debate is appalling. British politics is regressing

Our current system is not so much a civilised discussion, but a useless showdown between the two main parties throwing insults at each other. It needs to be inclusive

As American civil rights activist, Baptist minister and politician, Jesse Jackson once said, “deliberation and debate is the way you stir the soul of our democracy”. It’s a message that bears repeating more and more these days, especially when it comes to politics.

In the recent discussions regarding Britain’s leadership debate, one needs to question whether it is democratic of television outlets, for example, to continue with the outdated two-leader, head-to-head style debate, as ITV is doing on 19 November. It’s an approach that excludes Jo Swinson – the only woman leader of the three mainstream parties – from one of the most defining debates (Leave or Remain) in British politics in months.

The Lib Dem leader has said that her party will launch legal action if ITV does not include her in its televised leaders’ debate. Following that announcement, Sky News proposed a live TV debate on Thursday 28 November between Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn and herself. I welcome Sky’s decision as it enables us, the public, to scrutinise a range of opinions that will determine the future of our country before we go to the polls.

Currently, Downing Street sources indicated that Boris Johnson may avoid any debate involving smaller parties. Perhaps the adoption of a US-style debate could make Johnson duty-bound to appear under the spotlight of public pressure and forced to concede to the views of the British public. It’s about time.

The exclusion of, arguably, the most prominent female party leader in British politics, isn’t just shocking, it’s counter-productive. According to Management Today, 70 to 80 per cent of consumer purchases are driven by women, indicating that if women are your customers, then it is crucial that they are included in decision-making roles. Denying Swinson the opportunity to participate in the forthcoming debate is not just a question of bias, but also raises the issue of what the appropriate approach to election leadership debates should be when conducted in modern Britain. In my view, particularly in this climate, they should be as inclusive as possible.

Since the US led the way in televised debates nearly 60 years ago, other countries have been holding them for almost as long, whereas the UK only introduced them in 2010. Some countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, attempted to engage voters and encourage participation by introducing gimmicks to make the debates more entertaining. Rather than pivoting to that approach, we should be doing our best to make these discussions more representative of society.

Our current system is not so much a debate, but a showdown between two leaders throwing insults at each other and pointing out each other’s failings, rather than focusing on what they are going to do for the only people who matter – the citizens of Britain.

It is clear that Britain’s outdated leaders debate system is failing and that we need to move forward, much like everything else in modern society.

Rabina Khan is specialist advisor to Lib Dem House of Lords