United Kingdom

It marks an opportunity for Corbyn, currently trailing Johnson in opinion polls, to claw back the gap between him and his rival.

The principal reason is that, according to research from Harvard Business School, 72% of voters make up their minds more than two months before the election – meaning few people will change their minds by the time candidates are behind the debate podiums.

It is a basic rule of British politics that anything copied from America is liable to fit imperfectly. This is certainly true of television debates between prime ministerial candidates.

The channel has followed the BBC in inviting only the SNP, Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem leaders to face each other, leaving out the Greens and the Brexit Party.

Do televised debates really help us decide who would make the best Prime Minister? They might tell you something about a party leader’s personality but they don’t really tell you whether they will be much good at the job they’re applying for. You can have the right idea about how to run the health

Uproar soon ensued over who should be allowed to take part in the TV debates, with the smaller parties criticising their lack of representation on our screens. They—rightly—argued that televised leaders’ debates should fairly reflect the choices facing the electorate, rather than attempt to retrofit

The Liberal Democrats called the decision to exclude them from the head-to-head "another establishment stitch-up to shut down debate" and said they would pursue legal action against the BBC - as they have against ITV.

Nicola Sturgeon has condemned a decision to so far exclude the SNP from a live televised election debate on Sky News.

On Thursday, Labour leader Mr Corbyn challenged the PM to a one-on-one debate, while Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson said she should take part in a three-headed encounter with the two leaders.

Boris Johnson is in negotiations to take part in three television debates for the looming general election, but none of them are expected to involve the SNP or the Liberal Democrats.