Leaders agree terms of TV debates

The leaders of the three main parties have agreed to terms for a series of televised debates during the next general election campaign, it has been announced.

The leaders of the three main parties have agreed to terms for a series of televised debates during the next general election campaign, it has been announced. The broadcasters BBC, ITV and Sky said that under the terms of the deals they would each be hosting one debate during the campaign. The programmes, lasting between 85 and 90 minutes, will be filmed in front of a selected studio audience and will be broadcast in peak time. It is the first time in British political history that the main party leaders have agreed to take part in a televised debate. Previous attempts to arrange one have always foundered on the reluctance of one or other leaders to risk what they believe is a strong position by taking part. Under the terms of the agreement Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will appear in each of the debates which will all follow the same format, with around half of the discussion time being themed. The first debate will be produced by ITV with presenter Alastair Stewart; Sky will produce the second presented by Adam Boulton; and David Dimbleby will present the third for the BBC. The BBC and Sky will make their programmes available to other broadcasters simultaneously while ITV will theirs available immediately after transmission. Discussions between the broadcasters and the parties will resume in the New Year to finalise the detailed arrangements. Mr Brown said in an interview with the Daily Mirror that he was looking forward to the debates as an opportunity to expose the differences between the parties. "I think people will then have to make up their minds," he said. "I relish the chance to tell people that you either build on what we have achieved which is to improve public services, create jobs even in difficult times and create a fairer society. Or you can side with those that have policies which are unfair, which would harm jobs, which would deepen the recession and damage public services on the front line."(my view)-SEE"Selected" meaning if you have'Challenging'questions that THEY know they CAN'T answer.....then you "WE"will not let you in......i fucking hate all of them,they can not run...well anything right,even their own wardrobes are awful,they do not tell the truth yet people still vote for them why?..because they hope for change as promised by a party! your all suckers.......they should call these shows"Strictly Come Bullshitting"