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Clegg urges Cameron to back 2010 election debate format | Clegg urges Cameron to back 2010 election debate format |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Nick Clegg has urged David Cameron "to sign on the dotted line" for a repeat of the format of the 2010 general election debates. | Nick Clegg has urged David Cameron "to sign on the dotted line" for a repeat of the format of the 2010 general election debates. |
The Lib Dem leader suggested both he and his Labour counterpart Ed Miliband backed having three debates over consecutive weeks before polling day. | The Lib Dem leader suggested both he and his Labour counterpart Ed Miliband backed having three debates over consecutive weeks before polling day. |
This was a "success" in 2010 and the "public liked them", he said. | This was a "success" in 2010 and the "public liked them", he said. |
The Conservative leader has suggested staging debates over a longer period, not just during the five-week campaign. | The Conservative leader has suggested staging debates over a longer period, not just during the five-week campaign. |
He has suggested that such a quick sequence of debates in 2010 took up too much media attention and took some of the gloss off the rest of the campaign. | He has suggested that such a quick sequence of debates in 2010 took up too much media attention and took some of the gloss off the rest of the campaign. |
But speaking at his monthly press conference, Mr Clegg - widely regarded to have performed well in 2010 - said they were a step forward and should be repeated. | But speaking at his monthly press conference, Mr Clegg - widely regarded to have performed well in 2010 - said they were a step forward and should be repeated. |
Labour MP Lucy Powell, who is close to party leader Ed Miliband, said the party leaders needed "to get round a table and resolve the issue". | Labour MP Lucy Powell, who is close to party leader Ed Miliband, said the party leaders needed "to get round a table and resolve the issue". |
Speaking on the BBC's Daily Politics, she suggested Mr Cameron was a "lot less keen" on the idea than he had been in 2010. | Speaking on the BBC's Daily Politics, she suggested Mr Cameron was a "lot less keen" on the idea than he had been in 2010. |
And UKIP leader Nigel Farage has repeated calls for him to be included in the debates - saying "politics has gone through a big change" since 2010. | |
He told the BBC that UKIP had leapfrogged the Lib Dems in some opinion polls and the public wanted a "bigger debate in politics". | He told the BBC that UKIP had leapfrogged the Lib Dems in some opinion polls and the public wanted a "bigger debate in politics". |
Excluding him from the debate would give his party "underdog status", he added. | Excluding him from the debate would give his party "underdog status", he added. |
Mr Cameron told the BBC in September he wanted the debates to take place again but said "I think we could start them a bit earlier... now we've got a fixed-term parliament we can stretch these things out a bit". | Mr Cameron told the BBC in September he wanted the debates to take place again but said "I think we could start them a bit earlier... now we've got a fixed-term parliament we can stretch these things out a bit". |
He also said it should be "predominantly" about people who have a chance of being PM, a category which he said did not include Mr Farage. | He also said it should be "predominantly" about people who have a chance of being PM, a category which he said did not include Mr Farage. |
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