What time is and the place to look at tonight’s General Election debate
The first General Election debate between Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak will be shown on ITV on Tuesday, 4 June.
Millions are expected to tune in to watch the Labour leader take on the Prime Minister in what is expected to be the first of several explosive clashes ahead of polling day next month.
Key battle lines are already drawn ahead of the debate as both sides are bolstering the defences and sharpening their attacks. The Tories are expected to focus on gender, defence spending and pensions as Labour reinforces policy in areas of net migration and the UK’s nuclear deterrent. But when are the debates and how can you watch them? We have all you need to know.
Key debate areas
The PM desperately needs a boost to turn around the Conservative Party’s dismal election campaign. The pair will take part in a 70-minute head-to-head on ITV at 9pm. It is the first TV debate of the election campaign.
They will face questions from host Julie Etchingham as well as the audience, made up of members of the public. Mr Sunak will come under pressure to defend his party’s record after 14 years in power. Mr Starmer wants to win over undecided voters who have not yet made up their minds on whether to support him.
Rishi Sunak has been accused of trying to distract from Tory failure and the cost of living crisis by starting a row over single-sex spaces. The Conservatives have pledged to change the Equality Act to define the protected characteristic of sex as “biological sex”. They claim the change will make it simpler for service providers for women and girls, such as those running sessions for domestic abuse victims, to prevent biological males from taking part.
But Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey told Times Radio: “We will not want to amend the Act, it’s not needed. The Act, incidentally, was a Labour Act in 2010, that was opposed by the Tories, but it already provides protections for single-sex spaces for biological women. It already provides a definition of a woman, and sex and gender are different. What is needed is clearer guidance for service providers, from the NHS to sports bodies, and in prisons, on what single-sex exemptions need to be, and the best way to be able to do that is in guidance, not primary legislation.”
What time is the debate?
The hour-long debate will be on Tuesday, June 4 at 9pm and will take place live in front of a studio audience. The debate will be followed up by ITV Election Interviews featuring party leaders of the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Reform UK and the Greens.
How to watch or live stream
You can follow the debate in our live blog here for all the latest reaction as it happens or watch live on the ITV website.
Full live debate schedule
The ITV Election Debate 2024 will be broadcast on Thursday, June 13 at 8.30pm where leaders or senior representatives from the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Reform UK, Green Party and Plaid Cymru will take part. The 90-minute debate will be moderated by Julie Etchingham, and will be followed by ITV News at Ten.
The BBC debates begin with the seven party debate on Friday, June 7 as Mishal Husain will moderate a debate between leading figures from the seven biggest political parties from 19:30-21:00. Then on Thursday, June 20, there will be a Question Time Leaders’ Special as Fiona Bruce will present the show involving leaders of the four biggest political parties from 20:00-22:00.
The final debate will take place on Wednesday 26 June, hosted by the BBC’s Sophie Raworth as Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer will go head to head from 9pm until 10pm.
