Wednesday, May 31, 2017

June 8 Poll: Theresa May Defends UK Political Debate Boycott

 

     British Prime Minister Theresa May has defended her absence from Wednesday evening's TV General Election debate after opting to take questions up and round the country. SaharaReporters learned that Mrs. May’s pull-out might not be unconnected to the latest decision by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to participate in the debate scheduled to begin in Cambridge at 19:30 local time. The debate, organized by the BBC, will have the Liberal Democrats, UK Independence Party, Scottish National Party, Green Party and Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales) also participating, while Home Secretary Amber Rudd will represent the Conservative Party (Tories) instead of Mrs. May.


   The Labour Party had initially said its leader would not participate in the debate if the prime minister was not in attendance. But Mr. Corbyn made a U-turn at mid-day on Wednesday after criticizing the Tories over what he termed "a stage-managed arms-length campaign." "If Theresa May fails to join me in this debate, then she would have demonstrated her weakness rather than strength,” the Labour Party leader said. Mrs. May had earlier in the week said that Mr. Corbyn paid more attention to how many appearances he had on TV instead of concentrating on the Brexit negotiations.

    Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has accused Mrs. May of keeping voters in the dark. "The Prime Minister called this election but has now refused to turn up to debate the issues," Mr. Farron said on Wednesday. SaharaReporters gathered that each panelist will make an opening statement before taking questions from the audience in the looming debate, which is the latest in a series of special broadcasts ahead of the June 8 general election.

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