Summary of complaint
We received some complaints that the host did not treat both candidates equally when managing the debate.
Our response
Viewer feedback is an important part of our ongoing election coverage and we know there was particular interest in this final head-to-head debate before polling day. As the host for the debate, Mishal Husain鈥檚 role is to facilitate discussion with both party leaders and the audience in mind. When a challenge is made or a panellist pressed on a view they have expressed, this is not indicative of bias. It is done to ensure that a question is answered or a point clarified. As Mishal explained at one stage before moving on - 鈥淚 want to turn to the next question because lots of people are waiting and have important questions they would like answers to.鈥 Treating each candidate fairly involves the right balance of courtesy and rigour, to ensure that their message is clear to the electorate too. At times, there may well be a certain amount of talking over another speaker 鈥 we try to minimise this as much as possible.
Viewers can make their own judgements about the tone and conduct of the speakers, but we believe that each participant was able to put their points across in detail, and in full, over an appropriate period of time. These were met with sufficient challenge and clarification when needed 鈥 but the number or pattern of interruptions is not necessarily an indication of favouring one speaker over another.
We feel that both participants聽got a fair hearing on the matters raised across the programme. Viewers will no doubt expect the cut and thrust of political debate to be competitive and charged. We believe each speaker was dealt with even-handedly, and interrupted only when necessary to keep the discussion on track and ensure a response to the audience questions.鈥