The Spectator

Portrait of the week: The leaders’ debate, the Duke’s interview and the gilet jaunes’ birthday

issue 23 November 2019

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In a television debate Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, was jeered by the studio audience when he was asked about the importance of truth and Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition, was jeered when he refused nine times to say whether he thought Britain should leave the EU. Neither dealt a knock-out blow and polls ranked them as neck and neck. The Liberal Democrats failed in an appeal to the High Court to include their leader Jo Swinson in the debate. But polls by YouGov indicated that the more voters saw of Miss Swinson, the less they liked her. Labour promised everyone free internet broadband, by nationalising Openreach and other parts of BT. Mr Johnson, in a speech to the Confederation of British Industry, announced that the Conservatives would not after all cut corporation tax from 19 per cent to 17 per cent, because the government needed to spend on public services the £6 billion saved.

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