Watch Nidhi Razdan: Starner vs Sunak debate in the UK

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Last week, Britain witnessed the first television debate between the two front runners of the upcoming general election — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Kier Starmer. The debate saw many angry exchanges between the two, where they often didn’t let the other finish speaking before butting in.  For 18 months, Sunak’s Conservative Party has been trailing in opinion polls and appears set for a massive defeat in the elections on July 4. But in the TV debate, it was Rishi Sunak who came out on top. Commentators had said before the debate that Starmer was not keen to take on Sunak on television.  Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/opinion/op-eds/will-sunaks-debate-victory-help-the-tories-1.103018087  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #Starner #RishiSunak

Transcript

00:00Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his opponent Labour leader Keir Starmer faced

00:08off in their first television debate of the election season last week.

00:12Now, as far as numbers go, heading into this TV debate, we know that the Conservatives

00:17have been lagging way behind Labour in all opinion polls and have done so for the last

00:2118 months.

00:23However, snap polls that were done immediately after this TV debate showed that Rishi Sunak

00:28actually did better than Starmer.

00:30It may not make a fundamental difference to the way people vote next month, but as far

00:35as perception is concerned and perhaps the morale of many of Rishi Sunak's colleagues,

00:39it will have some kind of impact.

00:41Now, as far as traditions are concerned, television debates really aren't a UK election tradition

00:47the way they are in the US.

00:49It only started in the UK in 2010.

00:52In America, of course, ever since that first TV debate that took place between John F.

00:56Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960, it's very much part of the US presidential election

01:02process and how you look on TV can influence voters, which is what many studies and surveys

01:09have shown.

01:10For example, even in the Kennedy versus Nixon debate, people will remember that Nixon didn't

01:16look good.

01:17He was actually unwell that day.

01:18He hadn't shaved.

01:19He didn't want to put on any makeup, whereas Kennedy looked younger, more energetic.

01:24He had makeup on.

01:26He looked more youthful and ultimately ended up taking a lead over Nixon in those elections

01:31and the rest, as they say, is history.

01:33In India, we don't have such a tradition, even though we do have a parliamentary system

01:37like the UK.

01:38Here, leaders are far more reluctant to face off on television head to head in debates.

01:43But ultimately, I think they are good for democracy, whether or not they have a major

01:47impact electronically, because it allows people to see their leaders and candidates being

01:53questioned and allows often people to directly question them as well.

01:57And that can only be good for democracy.

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