The party leaders have been warned not to expect an equal share of the speaking time in Thursday’s TV debate, according to a briefing document seen by the Guardian.
Under rules sent to the parties, leaders who are criticised or questioned the most will be given a greater amount of time to respond by Julie Etchingham, who is moderating the two-hour ITV debate.
It suggests David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband are in line for a greater amount of airtime, as they will probably come under greater scrutiny than leaders of smaller parties such as Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood, Ukip’s Nigel Farage, the SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon, and the Green party’s Natalie Bennett.
The leaders’ offices were told: “Some leaders may have more time speaking during the programme than others, taking into account the different roles and responsibilities of the individual leaders. All leaders will have an appropriate opportunity to be heard during the programme but an equality of time speaking will not be a measure of overall fairness.”
The briefing document also sets out minute details about how the debates will be run, including how applause is only allowed at the beginning and end. It also stipulates that there will be a clock telling leaders how much time they have left for answers, which will not be visible to the audience or viewers.
Unlike last week’s leaders’ interviews, the audience has been picked not according to the current polls but a specific ratio. It means from an audience of 200, there will be 40 undecided voters, 35 Tory, 35 Labour, 28 Lib Dems, 21 Ukip, 14 SNP, 14 Green, and 7 Plaid Cymru supporters.
Four substantial election questions will be addressed during the broadcast – likely to include the economy, NHS, immigration and another topic. The seven party leaders, three women and four men, can make a one minute statement after each question followed by an 18-minute free-for-all. They have not been told the questions in advance.
After drawing lots, Bennett will be the first to speak. Cameron, standing to one side on the far right, will be the last. Ed Miliband will stand in the middle. The schedule for all the questions, based on the positioning of the leaders, means Cameron will not have to speak first at all but gets the opportunity to close twice.
The bookmakers have Farage as the favourite to win, but a YouGov poll for the Times’s Red Box suggested Cameron was expected to win.
After last week’s Jeremy Paxman interviews with Miliband and Cameron, a Guardian/ICM poll found the prime minister narrowly came out on top. However, Miliband’s personal ratings have also risen as he was widely seen to have performed well in the Channel 4/Sky programme.
Asked why there would not be equal speaking time for the leaders, an ITV spokesman said: “The debate will be chaired by moderator Julie Etchingham who will ensure it is free-flowing, fair to all participants. All leaders will have an appropriate opportunity to be heard during the programme.”
