:00:54. > :00:57.Welcome to the historic city of Cambridge where in just half
:00:58. > :01:00.an hour seven political parties will take part in a
:01:01. > :01:09.We're live in the spin room at the Cambridge Union -
:01:10. > :01:18.and we're counting down to the start of the BBC Election Debate 2017.
:01:19. > :01:20.On a glorious and sunny evening in Cambridge.
:01:21. > :01:22.The historic setting of the Senate House
:01:23. > :01:25.at the University of Cambridge is the venue for this special event
:01:26. > :01:37.And here on the BBC News Channel we'll bring you every moment.
:01:38. > :01:39.Including all the reaction from the spin room afterwards.
:01:40. > :01:42.Inside the venue the stage is set after several days of preparation.
:01:43. > :01:46.The neo-classical hall normally used for Graduation ceremonies will host
:01:47. > :01:49.a mixture of party leaders and senior politicians
:01:50. > :01:52.from the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats,
:01:53. > :02:05.SNP, UKIP, Plaid Cymru, and the Greens.
:02:06. > :02:13.Jeremy Corbyn's last-minute decision to take part was unexpected -
:02:14. > :02:24.he made that call at lunchtime - challenging Theresa May to join him.
:02:25. > :02:26.The Prime Minister - visiting the West Country today -
:02:27. > :02:33.said she preferred to be meeting voters on the campaign trail.
:02:34. > :02:37.And that she would stick to her guns and not take part in that Cambridge
:02:38. > :02:41.debate this evening. The audience are now
:02:42. > :02:44.taking their seats - ready to ask their questions
:02:45. > :03:00.and weigh up the answers. Caroline Lucas from the Green Party
:03:01. > :03:06.there and we have just seen Leanne Wood from Plaid Cymru. These are
:03:07. > :03:13.live pictures now of Jeremy Corbyn the Labour leader. A lot of
:03:14. > :03:21.applause. As the Labour leader arrives in Cambridge. And he waves
:03:22. > :03:26.to quite a large crowd of supporters clutching Labour Party banners on
:03:27. > :03:30.this sunny evening in Cambridge. And this decision from Jeremy Corbyn
:03:31. > :03:34.very interesting, he had said he would not take part in the debate if
:03:35. > :03:42.Theresa May was not taking part but had a change of mind. Alongside his
:03:43. > :03:51.communications chief Seamus Milne. Walking towards the spectacular,
:03:52. > :03:55.sumptuous venue for this 2017 election debate. So Jeremy Corbyn
:03:56. > :03:59.against all expectations, a last-minute decision that he would
:04:00. > :04:04.take part after all and are throwing down the gauntlet as he did to
:04:05. > :04:10.Theresa May demanding that she would also change your mind and take part
:04:11. > :04:14.in the debate. But she is insisting that she will not. She would rather
:04:15. > :04:25.be out and about on the stump meeting voters, she said.
:04:26. > :04:28.Jeremy Corbyn is there. The debate itself under way in about 25
:04:29. > :04:31.minutes. With just over a week
:04:32. > :04:33.to go until polling day, senior figures from the seven main
:04:34. > :04:36.parties will take questions The BBC's Mishal Husain
:04:37. > :04:40.will moderate the debate. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
:04:41. > :04:43.is taking part but the Prime Minister Theresa May will not be
:04:44. > :05:05.here at the debate. She has said she's busy meeting
:05:06. > :05:09.voters are also working on Brexit. So Jeremy Corbyn has been speaking
:05:10. > :05:14.to voters in Cambridge and said that a Labour government would make a
:05:15. > :05:19.more cohesive society and he urged the Prime Minister to take part in
:05:20. > :05:23.the Cambridge debate. What kind of society do you want to
:05:24. > :05:27.live in, are you comfortable that every night there are thousands of
:05:28. > :05:31.people sleeping on our streets and begging around railway stations. Are
:05:32. > :05:36.you comfortable that there is such grotesque levels of inequality in
:05:37. > :05:41.our society and getting worse, or do you want to elect a government that
:05:42. > :05:47.will do something different with the support of the people. Which will
:05:48. > :05:53.develop the health, housing, education and provide opportunities
:05:54. > :05:58.for all. All across the spectrum. So that we have a more cohesive and
:05:59. > :06:03.coherent society in the future. And for all the cynical commentators,
:06:04. > :06:07.you know what is happening everywhere I go all over the
:06:08. > :06:17.country, the rallies are getting bigger, the crowds and enthusiasm
:06:18. > :06:21.and determination gets bigger. And that gives us a chance to do
:06:22. > :06:27.something very special on June the 8th. It is very odd that you have an
:06:28. > :06:32.election campaign where we go out and talk to people all the time and
:06:33. > :06:37.the Prime Minister seems to have difficulty in meeting anyone or
:06:38. > :06:41.having a debate. So there is a debate in Cambridge tonight, I do
:06:42. > :06:48.not know know what she's doing this evening but I invite her to go to
:06:49. > :06:54.Cambridge and debate policies, debate her record, debate their
:06:55. > :07:00.plans. And let the public make up their minds. Jeremy Corbyn earlier
:07:01. > :07:07.in the day throwing down the gauntlet to Theresa May. We have
:07:08. > :07:10.seen Home Secretary Amber Rudd who was representing the Conservative
:07:11. > :07:15.Party arriving in Cambridge. The Prime Minister is not taking part in
:07:16. > :07:20.the debate, she has defended her stance not to be part of the general
:07:21. > :07:25.election debate and she has said she has been taking questions up and
:07:26. > :07:29.down the country instead. Laura Kuenssberg has been speaking to the
:07:30. > :07:34.Prime Minister today and pushed her on why she was not taking part in
:07:35. > :07:39.the debate. What I have done in terms of our manifesto is to be open
:07:40. > :07:43.with the British people about the challenges that we face as the
:07:44. > :07:48.country over the next few years and beyond. And how we will address
:07:49. > :07:52.those challenges. You talk about the Brexit negotiations, I have set out
:07:53. > :07:56.clearly what the 12 objectives are for those negotiations. I believe
:07:57. > :08:01.that is the right thing to do. As we go into those negotiations which
:08:02. > :08:05.begin just 11 days after election day the question people must ask
:08:06. > :08:10.themselves is who do they want to see fighting for the UK in those
:08:11. > :08:13.negotiations, who they want to see taking the country forward, building
:08:14. > :08:17.a more prosperous Britain for the future. People also have questions
:08:18. > :08:21.about the practical things that you would actually do if re-elected. Can
:08:22. > :08:25.you tell us now how would the immigration system work after
:08:26. > :08:29.Brexit, who would lose their winter fuel allowance, who where would you
:08:30. > :08:34.set the Caparo social care. Because if you do not there the sense that
:08:35. > :08:38.you're using these slogans and again but trying to hide behind that and
:08:39. > :08:44.not telling people what you would actually do. Let's look at the issue
:08:45. > :08:48.such as winter fuel payments and social care. We have been very clear
:08:49. > :08:53.with people and open about them about that we face the pressures of
:08:54. > :08:57.an ageing society and in just ten years there will be 2 million more
:08:58. > :09:01.people aged over 75 in the country. If we do not do something about the
:09:02. > :09:05.social care system it will collapse. So we propose a system where people
:09:06. > :09:09.can protect more of their savings to pass onto their children and will
:09:10. > :09:14.not happen to sell their home in their lifetime to pay for their care
:09:15. > :09:19.bills. And there will be a cap on the absolute level of funding they
:09:20. > :09:23.have to pay. But if you keep repeating broad principles but do
:09:24. > :09:27.not give details, people will be worried that millions may lose their
:09:28. > :09:31.winter fuel allowance or the cap on social care might be set at an
:09:32. > :09:35.extremely high level. People want more from because basically you're
:09:36. > :09:40.saying on many of these big issues, I will get back to you. What I'm
:09:41. > :09:43.saying is I will listen to you and I think that is important. You can
:09:44. > :09:49.approach this in one of two ways. I have set out the broad principles of
:09:50. > :09:52.our policy, have shown how we will provide a sustainable long-term
:09:53. > :09:56.social care system for this country which we need because the system
:09:57. > :10:01.will collapse unless we do something now. What I also saying is I want to
:10:02. > :10:06.listen to people about where that cap should be put up about where we
:10:07. > :10:10.should means test winter fuel payments. Listen to the voters and
:10:11. > :10:14.organisations, charities and others working with older people, consult
:10:15. > :10:23.with them. I think that is the open thing for government to do. That was
:10:24. > :10:28.the Prime Minister earlier. Explaining why she is not wanting to
:10:29. > :10:33.take part in the Cambridge TV debate this evening amongst other things.
:10:34. > :10:37.But in her place is Home Secretary Amber Rudd who arrived just a few
:10:38. > :10:48.minutes ago. Stepping out of the car there. A few boos from what looks
:10:49. > :10:51.like a crowd of Labour supporters. They certainly gave Jeremy Corbyn
:10:52. > :10:56.quite a warm welcome when he arrived just before Amber Rudd. We have also
:10:57. > :11:03.seen Tim Farron the Liberal Democrat leader arriving for the debate. And
:11:04. > :11:06.we had Leanne Wood from Plaid Cymru and also Caroline Lucas from the
:11:07. > :11:11.Green Party arriving. So all in place. But the Prime Minister
:11:12. > :11:21.herself is not there because she says she would rather be out and
:11:22. > :11:27.about meeting voters. Clive is in the spin room where everything will
:11:28. > :11:33.be digested and poured over a little bit later. It will indeed. It is now
:11:34. > :11:38.beginning to fill up. I have been here for the last couple of hours
:11:39. > :11:44.and now the journalists and pundits, the analysts are all here and really
:11:45. > :11:47.your understanding of what happens this evening in the debate on the
:11:48. > :11:52.front pages of the newspapers tomorrow, on radio and television,
:11:53. > :11:55.much of that will be framed in this very room and also some of the
:11:56. > :12:01.politicians from the seven parties taking part tonight, they are also
:12:02. > :12:04.here trying to influence some of the copy that the journalists are going
:12:05. > :12:08.to file. So it will be an interesting place to observe the
:12:09. > :12:16.debate from here in the Cambridge union building. Just down the road
:12:17. > :12:20.is our political correspondent Vicki Young to die just a lot of this.
:12:21. > :12:29.First of all, Theresa May, her decision not to turn up. -- by
:12:30. > :12:32.jesting a lot of this. If you go back to win the election was called
:12:33. > :12:37.she was seen as being the front runner. The poll suggested she was
:12:38. > :12:42.ahead and had everything to lose and that partly is what is at the bottom
:12:43. > :12:47.of that kind of decision. Why come here to be attacked from all sides.
:12:48. > :12:52.For Jeremy Corbyn, deciding to join at the last minute, that has changed
:12:53. > :12:56.that. David Cameron last time chose not to take part in one of these
:12:57. > :13:01.debates and the difference then was there was no Conservative
:13:02. > :13:05.representative. So slightly strange debate because everyone ganged up
:13:06. > :13:13.pretty much on Ed Miliband. But this time Home Secretary Amber Rudd will
:13:14. > :13:16.be there to the record of government so make it slightly easier for
:13:17. > :13:20.Jeremy Corbyn. The more he has gone out there, the more relaxed Jeremy
:13:21. > :13:26.Corbyn has been. He had some hiccups of course forgetting some figures
:13:27. > :13:29.but generally has looked more at home in these television debates
:13:30. > :13:34.perhaps than Theresa May. We will have to see how he performs tonight.
:13:35. > :13:40.We have every party represented so I think it will be a better debate for
:13:41. > :13:45.that. And probably one of the biggest we are going to have. What
:13:46. > :13:49.about parties like Plaid Cymru and the Green Party, how important is it
:13:50. > :13:54.for them given the national stage that they will have tonight, to put
:13:55. > :14:00.on a good show? It is important and last time around we had Leanne Wood
:14:01. > :14:04.from Plaid Cymru who would not have been widely known, and people really
:14:05. > :14:09.liked her when she went on the platform. So it is important to them
:14:10. > :14:14.because they know they cannot be Prime Minister but they need to get
:14:15. > :14:17.that stage on Ram Slam television to get across their case. I think
:14:18. > :14:23.Leanne Wood is the only surviving person from the last, from two years
:14:24. > :14:26.ago. The line-up has changed completely which shows you what has
:14:27. > :14:31.happened to British politics. Tim Farron has not done one of these
:14:32. > :14:34.before in this way and for the Liberal Democrats, many people
:14:35. > :14:38.talking about a resurgence for the Lib Dems. Today I was in the West
:14:39. > :14:41.Country with the Prime Minister and the Tories do not think there is
:14:42. > :14:47.much sign of the Lib Dems coming back there. This is a chance for Tim
:14:48. > :14:52.Farron who again is not that well known to people because they lost so
:14:53. > :14:58.many MPs last time around. A chance for him to get across his message.
:14:59. > :15:07.He will be talking about Brexit and fighting the referendum result. We
:15:08. > :15:12.saw how will Nick Clegg dig back in 2010 and how this kind of setting
:15:13. > :15:17.can give someone from a smaller party a bit of a lift. And I think
:15:18. > :15:23.also for Paul Nuttall, Ukip have not been having a very successful
:15:24. > :15:26.election campaign. Lots of polling evidence but also the local election
:15:27. > :15:32.results seeming to show that they were pretty much in freefall. Not
:15:33. > :15:36.standing in many of their previous seats. This is his chance to come
:15:37. > :15:41.out from under the shadow of Nigel Farage. Nigel Farage such a big
:15:42. > :15:47.figure and he has not really managed to break out and make his name. But
:15:48. > :15:51.I think now Jeremy Corbyn is coming at the last minute, all eyes will be
:15:52. > :15:58.on him and whether he can perform tonight and get across the message
:15:59. > :16:02.to a wider audience. Many thanks. Just 15 minutes to go before the
:16:03. > :16:08.debate begin. We can show you some pictures.
:16:09. > :16:15.This is how the set for the seven-way debate was created.
:16:16. > :16:23.Remember that Jeremy Corbyn decided only today that he was going to turn
:16:24. > :16:27.up. The Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornbury was actually going
:16:28. > :16:31.to be there in his place but Jeremy Corbyn decided to turn up. We will
:16:32. > :16:37.bring you the debate in full. At 7:30pm.
:16:38. > :16:40.With extra on screen graphics on the News Channel showing
:16:41. > :16:42.the latest reaction from the BBC Reality Check team who will be
:16:43. > :16:50.They will put graphics on the screen so you can keep a sense of what
:16:51. > :16:51.exactly is going on. Let's speak to the Culture
:16:52. > :17:02.Secretary Karen Bradley. The only place to start really with
:17:03. > :17:06.the Conservatives is the absence of Theresa May. Does that make sense to
:17:07. > :17:10.you? Theresa May set out her plan for how to run the selection and
:17:11. > :17:13.work in this election, getting up and down the country to meet the
:17:14. > :17:18.voters. She has been clear about that. She has travelled thousands of
:17:19. > :17:23.miles and attended over 60 events. She has taken questions from more
:17:24. > :17:28.members of the public and the press than Corbyn. It has taken Jeremy
:17:29. > :17:31.Corbyn six weeks to decide to come today. But what it means is the
:17:32. > :17:37.public are going to see for the first time what a coalition of chaos
:17:38. > :17:40.looks like when we see Jeremy Corbyn up on stage with those people who
:17:41. > :17:44.will be propping him up if there is a hung parliament. In eight days
:17:45. > :17:48.this is the reality of what the government could look like going
:17:49. > :17:55.into those Brexit negotiations. We are only missing Diane Abbott and
:17:56. > :17:58.John McDonnell. The implication for many people is that Theresa May is
:17:59. > :18:03.not willing to defend not only her record but her manifesto in public
:18:04. > :18:08.with Jeremy Corbyn. That is not the case, she was on a couple of days
:18:09. > :18:13.ago and will be on again on TV in another couple of days. She has been
:18:14. > :18:16.answering questions from members of the public, more than twice the
:18:17. > :18:21.number of questions that Jeremy Corbyn has taken. He has been in
:18:22. > :18:27.organised rallies but she has been with ordinary working voters. It has
:18:28. > :18:31.taken him six weeks to decide to come to this debate tonight and in
:18:32. > :18:37.11 days after the general election we are going to be going into Brexit
:18:38. > :18:40.negotiations. Do we want someone there who take six weeks to make up
:18:41. > :18:47.its mind whether or not to come to a debate. Are people within the
:18:48. > :18:50.Conservative Party experiencing some jitters because the polls have
:18:51. > :18:55.changed and there is the sense that perhaps the party is losing
:18:56. > :18:58.traction. Going into the country at asking the country as a general
:18:59. > :19:08.election, nothing is guaranteed and the polls get things wrong. They got
:19:09. > :19:12.the Brexit referendum result wrong and Jeremy Corbyn was a 200 outsider
:19:13. > :19:19.and became Labour leader so no one has ever relied on the polls. But it
:19:20. > :19:24.brings home the reality that the Conservatives lose 60 and the
:19:25. > :19:28.coalition chaos you will see tonight by the people who will be leading
:19:29. > :19:34.Brexit negotiations with Jeremy Corbyn at the helm. The room is
:19:35. > :19:38.filling up with journalists and pundits. They will put their own
:19:39. > :19:44.gloss on the debate which begins in just ten minutes. We will have a
:19:45. > :19:47.chat with some of our other guests. With me is the Lib
:19:48. > :20:00.Dem's Brian Paddick. How important is it tonight for the
:20:01. > :20:05.Liberal Democrats? Many people will not have seen Tim Farron before and
:20:06. > :20:09.they're going to see a genuine guy who is passionate about these
:20:10. > :20:14.issues, because he is not from a privileged background. He is going
:20:15. > :20:22.to stand up to the dementia tax from the Conservatives, to the cuts in
:20:23. > :20:28.school budgets and the NHS. The fact is you're starting from a very low
:20:29. > :20:32.base, you have a handful of MPs and do you believe that you can turn
:20:33. > :20:36.this situation around? The polls are all over the place, overnight we had
:20:37. > :20:40.one poll showing it is going to be a hung parliament and another showing
:20:41. > :20:45.a 100 majority to the Conservatives. The thing is targeting our efforts
:20:46. > :20:50.in key constituencies and by doing that we think we can make
:20:51. > :20:54.considerable gains. The suggestion was there might be a Liberal
:20:55. > :20:58.Democrat resurgence. Particularly if you took the policy that you would
:20:59. > :21:04.try to offer as part of your manifesto a second referendum vote
:21:05. > :21:11.on the EU on the deal that comes back from Brussels. That does not
:21:12. > :21:16.seem to have happened. What we're saying is we should not leave the
:21:17. > :21:20.decision once we know what the details are, to Theresa May, Paul
:21:21. > :21:25.Nuttall and Jeremy Corbyn. We should actually give that decision to the
:21:26. > :21:29.people. And whether people voted to remain or to leave, they will have
:21:30. > :21:34.the decision once we know what the details are. And we think once
:21:35. > :21:38.people get the message, because many people still have not heard that
:21:39. > :21:42.message, Tim gets the message across today and we think that that will
:21:43. > :21:46.have an effect. And the South West in particular where perhaps you hope
:21:47. > :21:51.to make inroads in the local elections, that did not happen
:21:52. > :21:55.either. The difficulty with the South West is that it voted
:21:56. > :21:59.predominantly to leave. And therefore the initial impact of that
:22:00. > :22:03.message is not working, has not worked in the south-west. But when
:22:04. > :22:07.people realised that we're not saying you cannot decide at the end
:22:08. > :22:16.of the day, the people cannot decide, at the end of the day. Thank
:22:17. > :22:20.you very much. And Shannon Merry from the Queen city. This kind of
:22:21. > :22:28.exposure is crucial for a small party like your party? Caroline
:22:29. > :22:30.Lucas is one of the most credible politicians and incredibly
:22:31. > :22:34.hard-working. What we will see tonight from their will prove to
:22:35. > :22:38.people but we need more MPs from the wing party in Parliament. Many
:22:39. > :22:44.people will be deciding to vote Green tonight. And the idea of the
:22:45. > :22:48.Progressive Alliance, has that taken root in the country? Not amongst the
:22:49. > :22:53.party leaders we have reached out to but I think there is a grassroots
:22:54. > :22:56.movement. People looking at where they can make their vote make a
:22:57. > :22:59.difference and focus their campaigning efforts on areas where
:23:00. > :23:05.there are marginals where we could change the result on day. We have
:23:06. > :23:08.been influential pushing the idea of working together in a more
:23:09. > :23:13.cooperative way. I hope that that will carry on in opposition. Why do
:23:14. > :23:18.you think it has not taken off in the way you hoped? On the grassroots
:23:19. > :23:22.I think it has. Looking at the number of people signed up and
:23:23. > :23:26.looking at the various tactical voting websites. And the idea that
:23:27. > :23:31.politics needs to get a bit more grown-up. It should not be about
:23:32. > :23:36.childish arguments we have seen in the Brexit debate. People want to
:23:37. > :23:39.get into the details of this and discuss policy in a much more mature
:23:40. > :23:44.way and have the parties working together where they can. I think
:23:45. > :23:54.that idea is going to carry on for many years to come. Let's turn out
:23:55. > :23:59.to Ukip. Paul, you are starting from a low base and have no MPs
:24:00. > :24:02.whatsoever now. What does pull Marvel have to do? What he has been
:24:03. > :24:07.doing, talking about the issues facing the majority of people in the
:24:08. > :24:11.country. We may not have any MPs but this whole election which has been
:24:12. > :24:17.framed by Theresa May around Brexit is as a result of the victory won
:24:18. > :24:21.last year by Ukip in the referendum. You could have demonstrated more
:24:22. > :24:23.than any other party, we have challenged the political
:24:24. > :24:27.establishment and changed the political direction of this country.
:24:28. > :24:30.We will keep talking about the issues that resonate with voters
:24:31. > :24:37.across the country and we look forward to doing that. We saw what
:24:38. > :24:40.happened with the Stoke election, not performing perhaps as well as
:24:41. > :24:45.the party hope, why do you think that the message is not getting
:24:46. > :24:49.across? I think Paul performed well in Stoke but the problem was the
:24:50. > :24:55.expectation was set incredibly low by the Labour Party. I hear they're
:24:56. > :24:59.already talking about a Jeremy Corbyn victory just by dint of the
:25:00. > :25:04.fact that he is turning up. So we performed as well as we expected to.
:25:05. > :25:09.But we still increased on our vote share from where we were in 2015.
:25:10. > :25:13.Something to take some excitement from. We will keep doing that across
:25:14. > :25:18.the country and I'm sure we will have some interesting results. Now
:25:19. > :25:25.Plaid Cymru, thank you for being with us. This is an important stage
:25:26. > :25:30.for you because you can get out your message to a national audience.
:25:31. > :25:35.Absolutely and the only reason you're asking about Wales tonight is
:25:36. > :25:41.because Plaid Cymru is here. And it is up to the people of Wales to
:25:42. > :25:47.decide where they want to be after this campaign is over. So we need to
:25:48. > :25:52.elect a strong Plaid Cymru to ensure that Wales is going to be on the UK
:25:53. > :25:57.agenda into the future. Leanne Wood has made a great impression in
:25:58. > :26:01.previous television debates. Her sincerity shines through and that is
:26:02. > :26:06.something that people will see across the UK. What do you think the
:26:07. > :26:10.perception is going to be of Theresa May not turning up? I think it is
:26:11. > :26:16.quite cynical for the party leaders to use this debate for their own
:26:17. > :26:20.means tonight. Theresa May called the election but does not want to be
:26:21. > :26:26.held accountable for her policies. And Jeremy Corbyn changing his mind
:26:27. > :26:29.at the last minute, trying to make political capital. People want
:26:30. > :26:33.politicians to be upfront and turn up and allow themselves to be
:26:34. > :26:36.scrutinised. And Leanne Wood is standing up for Welsh interests.
:26:37. > :26:48.Thank you all. Sam Coates, Deputy Political Editor
:26:49. > :26:50.of The Times and George Eaton, Political Editor of the News
:26:51. > :26:58.Statesman. What you expect tonight? Jeremy
:26:59. > :27:06.Corbyn, that is the big surprise. A lot will ride on that. The dynamics
:27:07. > :27:14.will be slightly awkward. Because Theresa May is not there. A lot of
:27:15. > :27:20.the debate will be taken up by criticising her decision not to
:27:21. > :27:25.fight Jeremy Corbyn and turn up tonight. Does that make a
:27:26. > :27:28.difference, I'm not so sure. Really whether or not Jeremy Corbyn can
:27:29. > :27:34.shine against his opponents, those on the left and the ride, and
:27:35. > :27:38.whether he can continue to perform well in the media. One feature of
:27:39. > :27:42.this election has been the way that many smaller parties have seen their
:27:43. > :27:49.vote really disappear and all go to the Labour Party if they were
:27:50. > :27:52.left-leaning orchard to the Conservatives for Ukip. So there is
:27:53. > :27:56.a danger of a Jeremy Corbyn that by appearing alongside them and giving
:27:57. > :28:04.them a platform, he may not perform as well or see some of those votes
:28:05. > :28:07.backfire. So there is a risk free him and the Conservatives will try
:28:08. > :28:13.to present this as a coalition of chaos that would need to propel
:28:14. > :28:18.Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street. George, what about the smaller
:28:19. > :28:25.parties, how important is this for them? Very important because what
:28:26. > :28:32.we've seen recently is the dominance of the main parties. There was talk
:28:33. > :28:36.of an end to the 2-party system. So the Lib Dems had a bad campaign and
:28:37. > :28:41.they need to break through tonight. You can expect to see them try to
:28:42. > :28:47.tie Jeremy Corbyn to the Tories and Ukip by saying that he backs Brexit.
:28:48. > :28:50.The Greens also take an anti-Brexit stands and you can expect Ukip to
:28:51. > :28:56.try to hammer Jeremy Corbyn on immigration. Labour have said they
:28:57. > :29:00.would go along with the end of free movement but not how much they would
:29:01. > :29:08.like to reduce immigration by or how they would achieve that goal. Thank
:29:09. > :29:13.you. I should tell you that we are going to have live graphics shown on
:29:14. > :29:18.the BBC News Channel coverage of the debate tonight. And also we will
:29:19. > :29:22.have our reality check team checking all the information and the facts
:29:23. > :29:28.and figures that are given by the panellists. That will be an added
:29:29. > :29:33.dimension to the BBC News channel coverage. But all starts in about 45
:29:34. > :29:39.seconds or so about the Senate house. This of course is the spin
:29:40. > :29:44.room. All the debate and analysis and all the reaction we will bring
:29:45. > :29:49.to you after the debate and around nine o'clock. So coming up, the most
:29:50. > :29:57.important perhaps some would say and certainly the largest debate in this
:29:58. > :30:06.campaign with just under seven days, eight days to go before polling day
:30:07. > :30:07.on June the 8th. Here now is the BBC Election Debate life with Mishal