So the broadcasters have done what many thought they’d be too afraid to do and have threatened to empty chair David Cameron – or anyone else who refuses to take part – in the TV debates. In a statement released this afternoon, BBC, ITV, Sky and Channel 4 said ‘in the event that any of the invited party leaders decline to participate, debates will take place with the party leaders who accept the invitation’. They have also said the debates will all take place within the short campaign, which Cameron didn’t want either.
Labour has said it will sign up to the debates, while others continue to grumble. But naturally David Cameron has said very little. He cannot plausibly start bleating about the DUP – even though they do have a case for being included, which James sets out here – because he only mentioned the Greens the first time around. So his best bet is to stay quiet and hope that someone else wrecks the debates for him, which has just become rather more difficult with the empty chair threat. But how can the broadcasters really hold the Cameron vs Ed Miliband debate if Cameron refuses to take part? A Miliband soliloquy or confusing conversation with a chair might look attractive to the Labour leader, but it’s not what is conventionally known as a ‘debate’. And if the two seven-way debates take place without Cameron, he may look vindicated for avoiding what could be a totally chaotic bunfight.
UPDATE, 15.45: Cameron’s hopes seem to be being fulfilled so far. The Lib Dems have just said they want to continue discussing the debates, which is a polite way of saying they will have a good long moan about the new format at the broadcasters:
‘We have always been in favour of TV debates and are committed to making them happen but want to continue discussing the most recently proposed format. We have always been clear that as a party of government, we must be able to defend our record in all the TV debates. We will continue to make that case in our discussions with the broadcasters.’
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