‘I had my head in my hands’ | Andrew Neil and Adam Boulton slam general election debate

“What it fails to do is to inform the public as to what the leaders are really like or what their plans are.”
Times Radio presenters Adam Boulton and Andrew Neil react to the general election TV debate.
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[@GeoffV-k1h]

The format was poor and the moderator didn't do herself any favours. Sunak did look up for it, but became angry and petulant at the audience reaction. His claim of £2,000 claim over tax has been exposed as a lie.

[@MackerelCat]

It was annoying, the same meaningless yammering we hear in parliament.

[@djmattblack]

It was like watching a dull 0-0 draw on a Tuesday night in Hull

[@AA-hg5fk]

Agree it was completely pointless, poorly planned and executed.

[@Matthew-bu7fg]

last night was a great night for Lib Dem, SNP, Reform and Green

[@eyesandearseditions]

Don’t care what Andrew Neil thinks about anything. Boulton meh.

[@largesatsuma]

45 seconds for a response is ridiculous. No time for nuance or discussion.

[@MattWhite-vh6xh]

That's not a debate; it's a toe to toe soundbite exchange.

[@jongalloway726]

that’s because labour policies do not lend to short debate format. Starmer lost the debate and everyone is a debate expert suddenly, had he won, it would have been oh how great he was. blah blah blah.

[@hustlinmagic]

@@jongalloway726 I would be more concerned about policies that do lend themselves to that format. We need substance not soundbites.

[@jongalloway726]

@@hustlinmagic the point was, there are no policies to speak about from labour. its just six steps. there is nothing else. that's why they cannot speak quickly in a debate.

[@neildear-wn9eo]

@@jongalloway726 There are no policies from either, they are puppets. The tory manifesto is to undo the damage of 14 years, caused by their indolence and idiocy, and they think that is radical. it is a parody of politics.

[@redemptivepete]

The media think we have the attention span of gnats! No time for grown up debate or forensic questioning! A major factor as to why we get the politicians we do!

[@neildear-wn9eo]

To be honest, most people online will not read a paragraph. One line inane soundbites get plenty brownie points. Thoughtful comments are generally ignored, because people have the attention span of a gnat. See everyone walking the streets like zombies, gorping at the phone. I find it a bit sinister, it is like invaision of the body snatchers, like the phone is an alien intelligence disguised as a phone. I am gobsmacked. It is all flashing lights and beep beeps and people stare fascinated and dopamined out by the Spectacle. read an intro to Guy DeBords situationism and the spectacle, here on wikipedia, its not long and debord had it nailed, his conclusion about this world? He shot himself in the head.

[@mup_pet]

@@neildear-wn9eo Cool story, bro. :p

[@mup_pet]

@@neildear-wn9eo On a more serious note - I've always been reminded about the Invasion of the Body Snatchers when it comes to the phone. If a phone was a drug, it would be in Category A.

[@Gary-le7dz]

Sunak thinking a Tory special advisor is a non biased civil servant tell s you how liars think

[@barneypaws4883]

Adam Boulton was spot on with regards with the format of the show

[@rchas1023]

I would love to have seen a debate, but that wasn't it.

[@domm1341]

Depressing

[@chrisd924]

Sunak was laughed at...this debate will not change the outcome for the Tories.

[@pauljohnson1776]

If they would stop slagging each other, and talk about what they have to offer, that would be a start. The perpetual focus on the individuals rather than the policies is a disgrace. I won't be voting for either of these guys because they are not in my constituency- they should be promoting their parties, and what they would do in government instead of calling each other names !

[@JJONNYREPP]

‘I had my head in my hands’ | Andrew Neil and Adam Boulton slam general election debate 0956am 8.6.24 i'm waiting for a labour and green party and conservative party manifesto to fall through the door....

[@tonydiamond1875]

thev whole thing was a bloody shambles.

[@jonnobloggs8642]

In Mr Sunak's next debate he is going to claim that Mr Starmer is going to nuke South Buckinghamshire .You had better all vote Tory or buy a shelter for a fiver off Temu !

[@MikePhillips-pl6ov]

The moderator did a poor job, unable to stop Sunak talking. Three poor performances.

[@RealDareel]

2 automatons debating. What did we expect would happen. Starmer would’ve been very easily exposed by any half decent politician.

[@TheBro_UK-yw2gu]

Did Adam use the 'council kitchen' background filter?

[@JimMorrisonsboots]

Man of the people

[@stuplant6693]

In London that kitchen sq foot probably cost 20k

[@josephhoward3558]

Best ITV comedy I've seen in years.

[@seamuspadraigsanders431]

The amusing thing is we need hundreds of billions invested on top of current spending to clear stagnation since 2007. Thats 6,000 per household ballpark. Let that sink in.

[@RRR4847-o9g]

The tax bombshell is a game changer. People don’t want Labour tax rises.

[@pluckypanda9937]

Suprise suprise, it's also a Tory lie

[@RRR4847-o9g]

@@pluckypanda9937 Let me be clear: it’s not a lie.

[@ashimsen377]

Don’t let facts that have now come out cloud your conviction

[@RRR4847-o9g]

@@ashimsen377 the facts are clear. Vote Labour get higher tax bills.

[@ashimsen377]

@@RRR4847-o9g so how come we have the highest tax rates after 14 years of an uninterrupted Conservative government

[@davidfoster2006]

Starmer clearly played to his supporters by denying he would not sent a nearest and dearest for private medical treatment if the NHS could not provide life saving treatment, total fake response by Starmer.

[@MrLaverybugsy78]

If he had said yes he would pay for private HC, he woulda been slammed for that too. 'Blue Tory' etc

[@hustlinmagic]

Starmer realises that the majority of people do not have that luxury.

[@matthew-z5l]

disgraceful treatment of Gaza question

[@Jim90117]

Were you really expecting some kind of revelation from watching 2 men regugitating coached answers to agreed pre arranged questions? Come on now...

[@douglasgosney9172]

It’s a non-event because they are one of the same end of

[@Tridhos]

Somewhat ironic that Andrew Neil should be criticising Sunak and Starmer when in any discussion of our economic performance he does his utmost to avoid a mention of Brexit.

[@simone6803]

Education barely got a look in

[@johnjephcote7636]

A stand-up boxing ring 'debate' is as useless and positively misleading as the simple 'Yes'/'No' questions on the Referendum. To focus on personalities is dreadful and puts our future into the hands of the most simple-minded.

[@Monklane79]

This is the same Andrew Neil who got played by Boris Johnson in the last election pontificating, right?

[@zimri-lim8254]

What would you expect from a BBC tory client journalist?

[@drasticplasticaustin]

Reality dawn's that the leaders of the main two failed to capitalise on the headstart they'd been unfairly afforded. Perfect karma.

[@madelinedaley5265]

Times Radio. No one would be able to resolve the NHS , Education, Doctors theNHS serves was not designed to accommodate the amount of people tha they have to see in 2024 hr Doctor, also Mr Starma saying that he would not use a private doctor if a member of his family was in pain or need urgent surgery he would not seek private help. So what he is saying he would rather one of his children or a family member be in pain and he would not go private. Well at least the MP was honest. If you had treatment yo would be able to go back to work on a phased return.

[@pygmalion1963]

I switched after a few minutes the format was terrible ans sunak was lies were unchallenged

[@Adrian-jk4kx]

You switched off because Starmer wasn't doing very well.

[@pygmalion1963]

@@Adrian-jk4kx Sunak seemed desperate not to let Starmer answer a question, he came across as rude and petulant

[@Adrian-jk4kx]

@pygmalion1963 yes I suppose Sunak is in a weak position. But it was a ridiculous format.

[@abergreg]

Two people, nowhere near talented enough to be Prime Minister.

[@MichaelSmith-mc8bd]

It was always going to be a nonstarter, neither side has anything to offer.

[@stoptheirlies]

It was cringworthy, They are saying Rishi won because Keir had no comeback for the claims of 2000 in taxes, and the country defenses etc. but the woman hosting it wouldn't let Keir talk and because he is a Gentleman when she told him to shut up he did, Rishi however just ignored her and carried on ranting

[@bighutch73]

There are no gentlemen in the cesspool that is British politics.

[@TimComley]

Really 🤔

[@petercassidy0628]

That was a complete waste of time sunak just talked over every question starmer was not that great also.

[@bobsocks7575]

Starmer is a gentleman, he lies constantly, he cannot stick to any policy, plan or principle they are all a terrible, terrible joke at our expense.

[@harveybrown37]

Where's the balance on this Radio Station? It's one has-been Right Wing Hack after another

[@TimComley]

Apart from boulton you mean 🤔

[@pluckypanda9937]

​@@TimComleyhe's a tory

[@georgesdelatour]

@@pluckypanda9937 Boulton’s first wife, Kerena Boulton, was the daughter of Labour minister Peter Melchett. His second wife is Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Anji Hunter.

[@Cotictimmy]

Speaking as an ex-Labour (& now ex-Tory) voter, it fulfilled my expectations admirably. LOL

[@Tom_murray89]

Yes it was a non event

[@shawngrinter2747]

I agree with all parties, waste of time and effort. Badly structured and on one thing I don’t agree on it was badly moderated and led.

[@spartanlambda1884]

Vote REFORM 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@dawncrisp8531]

One word for it all. POINTLESS

[@patrickobrien5066]

We need to have a debate between Nigel and the other candidates wow now that would be worth watching

[@RealDareel]

It’s on Friday

[@hustlinmagic]

In a debate format Nigel would win. Ask him detailed questions about policy and he collapses. He was the same when it came to Brexit.

[@MrDeadhead1952]

Actually, I take exception to the claim that it was a non-event as it revealed Sunak as an out-and-out liar. His claim about the Labour costing voters £2000 was based on 'calculations by officials' and has been disavowed by the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury and in fact, its provenance is Number 10 SPADS and is based on very questionable assumptions are not based on p[roven facts.

[@cherylburrows1655]

It look to me that Starmer hadn't prepared very well for the debate. Mentioned NHS and 14 years of Tory misrule. Yes sunak got laughed at but no applause for Starmer either. No mention of Brexit, cost of living crisis, energy bills or house prices. Starmer is clearly out of touch with present.

[@joshbarkley4403]

I am just really biased? How could the tetchy and full of lies performance from Rishi anything but aweful. Keir's main issue was the host wouldn't let him refute the £2000 tax lie for over 20 mins

[@CraigEaton]

How can the Americans get this right and we get it so wrong

[@khar12d8]

You could just have the two leaders sat in a studio on either side of a table, the adjudicator in the middle and you could have an hour of conversation. The questions can be submitted by email or they could pop up on video. Make it less over the top. And have time to answer.

[@charlybeagrie1119]

We do not need "leader.s Debates." What interests voters is debate between the candidates who are seeking THEIR votes.

[@EmiSuperTrans71]

Starmer knocked it out the ball park especially on matters like the ECHR

[@robertlockwood3540]

Barney Rubble and Roland Rat are possibly the 2 most boring politicians to be leaders of their party. I have zero faith in either of them and shall be voting for a change of direction in British politics.

[@zimri-lim8254]

With whom?

[@robertlockwood3540]

@@zimri-lim8254 REFORM Obviously

[@zimri-lim8254]

@@robertlockwood3540 Excellent, so a vote for Labour then really. Cheers!

[@robertlockwood3540]

@@zimri-lim8254 No. A vote for REFORM

[@alancoates4531]

Sunak £2.000 was a lie.Sunak lie about tax he probably be lying about everything.

[@jgnasher7048]

Only person i see every day calling out the Tories for there utter lies, lies and more lies is Victoria Derbyshire. The rest of ya, well your a disgrace.

[@zimri-lim8254]

Sunak just said lie after lie after lie...why not pick up on that? The format was terrible, Etchingham clearly favoured Sunak, and the whole thing was a waste of time.

[@bobsocks7575]

They should call out lies from any politician, not just the ones you want exposed

[@zimri-lim8254]

@@bobsocks7575 Yes, they should, but that would mean calling out tories for blatanbt lies, which with the UK media will never happen.

[@bobsocks7575]

@@zimri-lim8254 and Labour for their blatant lies, hypocrisy and double standards, same with the articles and reports from the Mirror, Guardian, Observer, sadly they are all shocking regardless of political persuasion

[@Adrian-jk4kx]

Labour Supporters wished for better.... Starmers Litigious background has constrained him..

[@mervynriley3531]

Andrew Neil that well known Labour supporter.

[@bk4885]

Sunak is a liar

[@NeilHughes-ti6pz]

Mediocrity.

[@derekwhite2929]

Difficult to say whether it's more parody or farce and I didn't see any more than the odd very clipped bits of soundbites rather than anything entirely cogent.

[@jamesbomd3503]

Adam please stop protecting your closed shop media industry julia was a complete disaster she could not think on her feet She was so desperate to get Through All The Silly questions on he ITV list Rather than just letting Then get on with it. I know itv only get this one debate SO SHE Crammed everything into. Only 4 audience questions & zero audience Feedback

[@catherinemartin6258]

Sunak was a disgrace didn’t answer a single question just replied with lie after lie

[@marvellis6762]

Sunak was stuck on repeat with the £2k lie. Horrible little corporate manager. Starmer will face a confidence challenge down the road

[@matthewcook9404]

Sunak repeatedly lied when referring to a “Labour £2,000 tax rise”. Call this out please.

[@bobsocks7575]

And call out the lies from Labour as well, it must be balanced

[@A.B.J.-vw5ne]

Far Right Far Left or Centre. Do not matter. it's about British values. You either accept or leave the country. END OF.

[@harveybrown37]

Tell us what British Values are. I enjoy a laugh at right wing Jokers

[@rachelmatthews3070]

​@@harveybrown37I agree! Please do 😂

[@ISuperTed]

Do tell us what those are then

[@REX4340]

Just found this channel, very disappointing you have Adam Boulton on, a very poor presenter/journalist.

[@bryanjohnson2466]

RUSHIS snake charmers pungi was out of tune.

[@binkyboobosh1]

Sunak lied...that is what has come out of this....

[@RPAGN]

One talking at a time should not be beyond these two clowns. Just cut the other's microphone when one is speaking. If I was Kier Starmer, I would have stood there and brought the thing to a halt unless Rishi Sunak withdrew his lies about Labour tax hikes. If that resulted in 45 minutes of silence, it would have done Sunak more harm than Starmer. By the way, I won't be voting for either of them, they are pretty much as bad as each other, so I'm not talking as a Labour supporter.

[@bobsocks7575]

The problem is they all lie, manipulate information and statistics to push their own narrative, the truth is buried so far beneath hyperbole and opinion stated as fact that it is almost impossible to uncover. They are both appalling but Starmer can’t complain about lies whilst he and his party lie,they should all get a grip and be honest.

[@sasserine]

Should have threatened to sue the lying scumbag.

[@philipwookey599]

So you are not entitled to comment on the debate. And watching it when you don't support Labour or the Tories is pretty sad.

[@bobsocks7575]

@@philipwookey599 Don’t be so ridiculous, they can make whatever comments they like and watch whatever they want.

[@delboyoelmundo4718]

Starmer looked so uncomfortable ,Sunak was parroting £2k worse off for all, no substance no real policies god help us

[@zimri-lim8254]

No mention from anyone about May and Johnson running away from debates? No?

[@MorningtonCrescent]

Dear TV editors/controllers: the UK is NOT a Presidential system, so move away from the soundbite culture and trying to appease the stereotype of younger voters having shorter attention spans. Move away from the focus on the person and allow a deep dive into the mechanics of policy. In brief, this format was condescending - and utterly pointless.

[@johnparnell8571]

The Party leaders should each be individually interviewed by Andrew Neil. All televised, no prisoners.

[@Gary-le7dz]

Johnson refused be interviewed by Neil and sunaks would be destroyed literally with his web of lying

[@Ngozika-ye9nq]

Rishi Sunak won the debate hands down. Starmer did not answer 90% of the questions directly but rambled on and digressed to stories not relevant to the question. The 10% of the times he answered directly, he offered only in part what Sunak already is doing or going to do. I was disappointed with the past 14 years of the Conservative party, but watching this debate and from the few accomplishments of Sunak, I trust he is a better leader with more comprehensible ideas. He understands what the country needs better than Starmer and appears by all accounts an honest enough fellow to see them through. I was not going to vote before this debate, but now I will definitely vote for Rishi Sunak.

[@ISuperTed]

Lasted 10 minutes - atrocious format. Could see if would turn into a mess and turned off. Complete waste of time.

[@stephfoxwell4620]

A scripted series of tired slogans and hollow promises by an angry man and a reticent man all curated by a third rate presenter.

[@michealridgway7607]

So where were the Lib Dems,The Greens? I want to hear what they have to say?

[@ScruffyTubbles]

There are few 'well informed interviewers', now though Andrew. Two of the very few exceptions to the rule might be Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Victoria Derbyshire. Above all they lead their interviewee into giving the answers that interviewee want to give and I think its because otherwise they wouldn't get the opportunity to interview again. That to my mind means that the priority is the wrong way around.

[@adriancurtin6012]

Definitely not longer.I missed the first 10mins and the last 5 mins and it was too long! Labour is a soft touch for the public service unions.Just look at their past record.

[@pipins3616]

It’s just a TV show May as well watch an old Big Brother show it would it be equally false

[@old.not.too.grumpy.]

Out of the around 50 million registered to vote overnight viewing figures of 4.8 million shows, these debates will have little effect on the overall result unless one of the parties make a major cockup. I did think that while Sunak was forceful in his performance, the lasting memory for the viewer was the number of times the studio audience laughed at hs assertions

[@hannahwhelan3022]

They also laughed at keirs mention of his toolmaker father who owned the factory and the fields surrounding his home ,for privacy..?...?

[@old.not.too.grumpy.]

@hannahwhelan3022 he lived in a semi-detached on an estate.

[@mattspintosmith5285]

Thank goodness Andrew has identified a sprightly 93 yr old from Melbourne, Australia - new on the scene - who could transform our politics for the better.

[@drc4563]

They shd stop showing the interviewer who has asked the Q and is listening to the answer. It’s annoying. Just focus on the person doing the talking.

[@MM-xr6tz]

Not great, but miles better than if the BBC had run it.

[@JoannaHammond]

It was pointless, neither person got to really respond so it ended up with people talking over each other. Wasn't pleased with Sunak shouting over Starmer all the time though, just reminded me of Trump during the debate involving him in the US.

[@sasserine]

It takes seconds for Sunak to lie. It takes Starmer minutes to refute a lie. That's Tory strategy for these debates.

[@andrewwmacfadyen6958]

Andrew Neil destroyed all credibility he had after he went to GB News.

[@bahmanzare1073]

STARMER YOU CAN NOT RUN UNDER THERE ARE YOUR REVIEWS. I AM SOCIALIST OR PEOPLE MUST PEY 2000£TAX😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂