Summary

  • Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn go head-to-head in a live debate on ITV

  • They clash over Brexit and the NHS

  • The monarchy and trust in politics also feature prominently

  • The leaders of the smaller parties are interviewed separately in a follow-up programme

  • The Tories are criticised for rebranding their press office Twitter feed as a fact-checking service during the debate

  • Earlier, the Greens launched their manifesto with a pledge to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030

  1. Farage: Referendums are 'liberating'published at 22:43 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Nigel Farage

    Nigel Farage says he wants to offer "more direct democracy", possibly including more referendums.

    He says the 2016 vote was "liberating" and showed how "out of touch" London was with the rest of the country.

    He says there needs to be a written constitution though to ensure they are legally binding.

    "Unlike Nicola Sturgeon, I wouldn't want to re-run the independence referendum or the Brexit referendum," says Mr Farage.

    But pushed for what sort of topics he'd have them on, he says: "It is not for me to decide but for people to decide.

    "If 15% or 20% of people sign a petition that says we want to have a say on something, they should be able to do so."

    Mr Farage is also asked about his desire to halve the foreign aid budget - he says much of the money is mis-spent and he doesn't believe giving less in aid would damage the UK's standing in the world.

  2. Farage: We want to get Brexit result deliveredpublished at 22:40 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Up next is Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage.

    Making his pitch, he says by voting for his candidates, "you will get people coming into politics, not for careers but because we actually want to get the Brexit result delivered".

    He also says his party will "change our political system", which he calls "broken, rotten and corrupt" - including changing the voting system and getting rid of the House of Lords.

    Mr Farage defends his decision to stand down candidates against Tory-held seats from 2017.

    He says Boris Johnson has "changed direction" on his deal, and he wants to "put party before country" by not splitting the Leave vote in the south and south west.

    Asked whether he might regret not standing down candidates in Labour Leave seats too, he insists the answer is no.

    "There’s only one party that’s putting Brexit at risk - and that’s the Conservative Party by refusing to make any concessions at all," he says, adding that if Brexit "really mattered to them they would have stood aside" in seats they can't hope to win.

  3. Sturgeon: Do I have to spend time with them?published at 22:33 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Asked the same question about who she would take into I'm A Celebrity... Ms Sturgeon gives a similar answer to the Lib Dems' Jo Swinson.

    She says: "Do I have to spend time with them? Can I not take them to the jungle and subject them to all the really [nasty] things?

    "If I could do that, probably Nigel Farage or Boris Johnson, but I wouldn't want the condition to be that I had to spend any time with them."

  4. Quickfire questions for Sturgeonpublished at 22:29 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Q: Would President Trump be welcome in an independent Scotland?

    A: I cant stop him coming. I am no fan. As first minister I would not refuse to meet with him, but I would be pretty clear with him about our disagreements

    Q: Would you be happy with a hard border between Scotland and England?

    A: No, it is not my policy, it is not my objective, it is not my desire. It is the policy of Brexit that threatens borders.

    Q: Aside from independence, what is your number one priority?

    Domestically, it has been education, but in this election, climate change has to be the number one priority.

    Q: Would Scotland replace the pound with the euro?

    A: No, I don't think it would. (She cites the example of Sweden which joined the EU, but hasn't taken the currency.)

  5. Sturgeon: I drive a hard bargainpublished at 22:25 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Nicola Sturgeon

    Speaking to ITV from Edinburgh, Nicola Sturgeon says Jeremy Corbyn's position on a second Scottish indepedence referendum "does change almost every day".

    But she adds: "There is an issue of principle at stake and any Westminster leader looking to the SNP for support has to accept that."

    The first minister says there is a difference of opinion in Scotland as to whether the country should be independent, "but it must be up to the people of Scotland to decide".

    She says she will "drive a hard bargain" after any election result, because "first and foremost I want to make sure Scotland's voice is heard and protected."

  6. Corbyn and indyref2published at 22:23 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Just for background, the Labour leader said last week that a second independence referendum in Scotland would not happen in the first two years of his party winning power.

    The previous day, he initially told journalists that one would not happen in the first five-year term of a Labour government.

  7. Sturgeon: No deal done with Labourpublished at 22:21 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Next up is Scotland's First Minister and leader of the SNP Nicola Sturgeon.

    Making her pitch to the people of Scotland, she says people should vote for her party "to deprive Boris Johnson of the majority he craves".

    She also says it will ensure people "escape the chaos of Brexit" and "secure the right to choose our own future in Scotland".

    Ms Sturgeon says no deal has been done with Labour, and she is "very clear" she will "never put any Tory into Downing Street".

    But while she does not want a coalition with Labour - and doesn't envisage one happening - she would not rule out something more informal if Jeremy Corbyn did not veto another independence referendum.

  8. Farage and Swinson in the jungle?published at 22:18 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    In closing, a slightly leftfield question. Which of her fellow leaders would Jo Swinson want to be in the jungle with if she had to take part in I'm a Celebrity?

    After some thought, the Lib Dem leader says, schadenfreude in her voice, that she'd go for Nigel Farage so she could enjoy watching him endure a bushtucker trial.

  9. Swinson: I would encourage young into politicspublished at 22:16 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Presenter Nina Hossain asks, given the aggressive nature of politics, would Jo Swinson encourage young people to get into politics.

    "I would," she says, having replied to a letter from a seven-year-old earlier today who is excited by the prospect.

    "I think it is so important that the next generation is encouraged."

    But she adds: "I fear the damage the toxic debate does as I want to look people in the eye and say yes."

  10. Tories and Labour 'tired old parties' - Swinsonpublished at 22:13 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Jo Swinson
    Image caption,

    Jo Swinson gives her verdict on the leaders' debate

    On tonight's debate, Jo Swinson says nothing won her over to thinking Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn should be prime minister.

    "Watching that debate, people at home can be forgiven for saying 'surely we deserve better than this, than those two tired old parties'," she says.

    "I am standing here as the Liberal Democrat leader offering people that better choice to build a better future."

    Ms Swinson has continuously said she will not do deals with either party in the event of a hung Parliament, and tells ITV that even if they changed their leader, any pacts look unlikely.

    "It is a hypothetical," says Ms Swinson. "But those parties are not in a space where most people are - as open and inclusive and generous."

    She adds: "Liberal Democrat votes are not going to put either into power."

  11. Swinson: 'We've got a lot of great ideas'published at 22:08 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    First up on ITV's follow-up programme is Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson.

    She starts with the clear party line: "The Liberal Democrats can promise we will stop Brexit which will let us build a brighter future for our country."

    But how will she win round Leave voters?

    "I think it is really important to listen to what people are saying," she says.

    "Brexit is an issue people feel very strongly about on both sides and not just one reason voted the way they did."

    Ms Swinson says concerns about the economy aren't fixed by the leaving the EU.

    Pushed by Nina Hossain on how to get the 17.4 million who voted Leave on board, she says: "We have got a lot of great ideas we are putting forward at this election," including making childcare more affordable.

  12. WATCH: Corbyn and Johnson debate on Brexit planspublished at 22:05 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Media caption,

    Election 2019: Corbyn and Johnson debate on Brexit plans

    Unsurprisingly, Brexit dominated much of the debate earlier.

  13. Next political programme coming up...published at 22:02 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    In a moment, we will be back with our friends at ITV for another hour of political debate.

    Four other party leaders will get to have their say on the performance of Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn.

    Taking the stage one by one will be:

    • Jo Swinson - Liberal Democrats
    • Nicola Sturgeon - SNP
    • Sian Berry - Green Party
    • Nigel Farage - Brexit Party
  14. Kuenssberg: First TV debate not a game-changerpublished at 22:01 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Boris Johnson and Jeremy CorbynImage source, EPA

    Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn did not slip up in ITV's clash - but there were no breakthrough moments either.

    Read our political editor's verdict in full.

  15. Plaid Cymru: 'No mention of Wales'published at 21:58 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Liz Saville RobertsImage source, PA Media

    Responding to the debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville Roberts says: "Shamefully, although not surprisingly, Wales failed to get a single mention in this deeply depressing debate between the two establishment party leaders."

    Ms Saville Roberts adds: "If the people of Wales needed any more proof that they need to elect MPs from the only party that puts Wales' interest first, tonight was it.

    "Only by electing Plaid Cymru MPs will Westminster wake up to the fact that our nation exists."

  16. Dismay at low profile for climate changepublished at 21:49 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Sian BerryImage source, EPA

    Reacting to the debate, the Green Party co-leader Sian Berry says: "I actually can't believe that climate chaos was relegated to the quickfire round in that debate, that neither of those two men who want to run the country brought it up as part of their main points."

    She says climate change, alongside Brexit, is "the most important issue that we face".

  17. Audacious move given concerns over trustpublished at 21:48 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Iain Watson
    Political correspondent

    It was certainly a bold move of the Conservatives to rebrand a party political point of view as a fact-checking body - especially because during the debate itself the question of trust came up time and again.

    It's audacious and it definitely could backfire. It's also not the first controversial move by the Tories during this campaign.

    There was the doctored video of Labour's Sir Keir Starmer. And the £1.2tn claim about the cost of a Labour manifesto that hasn't been written yet.

  18. Farage calls Corbyn the 'better debater'published at 21:43 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Nigel Farage tells Sky News he wants to get "the right Brexit done" and calls on Boris Johnson to change his Brexit deal and go for a Canada-style arrangement with the EU for the future that doesn't involve regulatory alignment.

    As for tonight's showdown, he calls Mr Corbyn "a better debater" than Mr Johnson, but says he could never vote for him because he can't say whether he supports Remain or Leave.

    He calls that "a complete failure of leadership".

    Mr Corbyn is "trying to be all things to all people", the Brexit Party leader adds, but that doesn't work.

  19. Swinson: 'Bluster and diversion' from both menpublished at 21:40 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    We'll hear from Jo Swinson after 10pm on ITV's second election programme of the night, but in the meantime, she's dismissed the performance of Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn earlier as “bluster and diversion”.

    Jo Swinson said there was “nothing on offer from these tired parties” with “each trying to excuse their record”, and with the Liberal Democrats there was a “better future on offer”.

    “A lot of people would have been watching with dismay," she added.

  20. CCHQ Twitter feed returned to normalpublished at 21:38 Greenwich Mean Time 19 November 2019

    Looks like the Conservatives have returned their press office Twitter feed to normal. They changed it to "factcheckUK" during the debate - drawing some criticism.

    James Cleverly, Tory Party chairman, told Sky News a short time ago it was "absolutely clear" the feed was a Conservative Party one, but fact-checking agency FullFact said it was "inappropriate and misleading".

    Read our story for more detail.

    Snip of CCHQ Twitter account