Owen Jones: ‘Nothing here that shifts the election race either way’
Theresa May refused to debate her opponent. That remains the one striking fact of this election’s televised non-debates. She launched this entire election on the basis of being “strong and stable”: her fear then (what other reason is there?) of debating the opposition should be relentlessly scrutinised.
As should – and this was the opening killer audience question – May’s almost addiction to U-turns and inconsistency. No early election, an audience member berated her, and yet here we are; national insurance, immigration targets, dementia tax, you name it. And here is a critical point missed by almost the entire British commentariat. One of the (false) premises of this election was to strengthen her negotiating hand. However this vanity election ends, can any EU leader possibly look at Theresa May and conclude being worried about her negotiating prowess is something that will lose them sleep?
And then there’s Labour “magic money tree” – the latest Tory attack line. Audacious, given two things: one, the refusal to cost the Tory manifesto (in contrast with Labour); second, her refusal – ridiculed by the audience – to set a cap on her calamitous dementia tax.
As for Jeremy Corbyn: well, no-one watching could dispute he connected better with the audience. That, I suppose, is one of the stories of the campaign: May’s support consists of an increasingly frustrated shrug, his of genuine enthusiasm. What remains is a battle of that frustrated shrug against the genuine enthusiasm: all sensible bets clearly remain with the former.
The weakness his critics zoned in on was on nuclear weapons: but it’s worth noting that, unlike the 1980s, Labour is committed to nuclear rearmament. Its leader spoke of multilateral disarmament to achieve a nuclear-free world and refused to rule out using them, even if he didn’t come out and explicitly commit to joining in the extermination of human existence. But there’s nothing here that shifts the election race either way. Whatever happens – and, despite the polls narrowing, Labour remain the underdog – the result is unchanged. It’s up to Labour in the last week to exploit the Tories’ weaknesses – because the press onslaught against them will be brutal, unforgiving and relentless.
Kate Maltby: ‘May never seemed to have a convincing case to offer’
For Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn, the debates could have gone worse. I’m not sure the country, faced with two such unappealing leadership prospects, will be feeling the same sense of relief.
Jeremy Corbyn, a man who vowed to eschew the smoke and mirrors of professional politicians, has clearly submitted himself at last to the rigours of media training – and it has paid off. He also displayed the advantages of a lifetime spent addressing political meetings. But he got dangerously irritable when questions got tough – “I suggest you read it,” he hissed at a gentleman who dared criticise his manifesto – and prevaricated on antisemitism, IRA terrorism and the nuclear button. His refusal to directly describe the IRA as terrorists, or condemn Ken Livingstone’s lies about the Holocaust, should dog him for life.
Theresa May, by contrast, excelled in facing aggressive questions. Confronted by a young woman humiliated in an medical examination, she listened and accepted the facts of the case. Only twice did she hesitate, when challenged from the left by an NHS nurse and from the right by an opponent of foreign aid who seemed convinced the prime minister was directly funding Kim Jong-un. Those three clips will be replayed repeatedly by the PM’s enemies over the next few days.
But unlike her Labour opponent, the prime minister never seemed to have a positive case to offer. Corbyn did well talking up Labour’s strengths on schools and the NHS; the PM resorted to repeating clichés about “the magic money tree”. She’s stemmed the bleeding from her problematic week, but will that be enough to win a strong mandate? Not at the current rate.
Perhaps the wisest verdict on the evening came on Twitter, from Gizmodo editor James O’Malley. “Isn’t it great we live in a country where the general public can slag off the prime minister to her face, live on national TV?”, he pointed out. Too few other countries can say the same.
Polly Toynbee: ‘Corbyn was at his best yet: dapper and sharper’
Were minds changed? Few will shift their view of Theresa May, only a little less wooden, still with weak answers on the vital questions – what kind of Brexit and why not stand against Trump and climate catastrophe?
For those who put immigration and defence first, nothing will ever persuade them to vote for Jeremy Corbyn. But on each outing, he looks more convincing. He always had everything to gain, nowhere to go but up – and he gets better with every appearance.
Remember, we didn’t need this election. May didn’t need to put herself up for this, but anything less than a landslide will be abject failure.
Her handlers always knew encounters with the public could be her undoing, so they kept her safely locked in factories with obedient workers under the stern eye of their bosses. But there was no avoiding the notoriously ferocious Question Time audience.
Killer questions come from real-life stories that resonate with bigger truths. But the nurse with no pay rise since 2009 got no warmth or comfort from May’s robotic “there’s no magic money tree” response. The disabled woman who has waited 15 months for a first mental health appointment, dragged through an aggressive work capability test, should have had a promise of help. But no, just defensive platitudes: May is the face of austerity personified.
Corbyn was at his best yet. Looking dapper, sounding sharper, his Brexit line at last sounds convincing, tariff-free trade his priority. His emollient approach is a good contrast with May, who increasingly sounds if we are preparing for war with Europe.
What we saw on show was the starkest choice the nation has faced in decades between the lifelong pacifist and the woman who by nature seems to regard everyone as a potential enemy.