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BBC announces Election debates, Question Time special

June 3, 2024

The BBC has announced it will host two prime-time TV debates – the final head-to-head leaders’ debate before polling day, and a seven-party debate – and a Question Time leaders’ special, as part of its General Election campaign coverage.

There will be additional dedicated debates in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

The debate line-up is:

June 7th, London – Mishal Husain will host a debate between leading figures from the seven biggest political parties in Great Britain. This will be broadcast from 7.30pm-9pm.

June 20th, York – Fiona Bruce will host a Question Time Leaders’ Special with the leaders of the four biggest political parties in Great Britain, broadcast from 8pm-10pm.

June 26th, Nottingham – Sophie Raworth will host a head-to-head debate between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer. This is set to be the last TV debate of the election campaign, as people prepare to cast their votes the following week. It will be broadcast from 9pm-10pm.

Nick Robinson has invited each of the leaders of the seven biggest political parties in Great Britain to be interviewed for Panorama specials across the next four weeks.

All of the outlined programmes will be broadcast on BBC One, BBC News, and local radio across the country and will be available on BBC iPlayer. There will be full live online coverage.

Jonathan Munro, Deputy CEO of BBC News, commented: “TV debates have become a key part of elections in the UK, giving voters the chance to hear leaders and senior politicians debate policies and ideas directly with each other, which rarely happens on the campaign trail. The BBC brings people together. Providing a shared space for people to debate and discuss is a vital part of our mission, so I’m delighted we’re holding this series of debates and election specials, hosted by such talented presenters.”

ITV has also announced that it will hold a head-to-head debate as well as a multi-party debate.

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