James is quite correct. Gordon Brown should certainly leap at the chance to have a live televised debate against David Cameron next year. I assume that the Tories think that Brown will, as he has so often before, see this as too great a risk and, consequently, “bottle it”. Perhaps so. But that’s also why the Prime Minister should welcome the opportunity to make a final stand in an election campaign that he otherwise seems destined to lose.
As Brother Forsyth argues, the expectations for Brown are now so low that it’s hard to see how he could actually fail to “win” the debate – at least in the eyes of the media. But there are a couple of other considerations that I think Brown should keep in mind:
1. Tory smugness. Ordinarily, only the underdog wants to have a TV debate.
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