The Tories are pushing the TV debate line. They’ve just press-released a letter from David Cameron to Gordon Brown asking for a clarification on Labour’s position on the issue.
It is understandable that the Tories are keen to capitalise on what appears to be a split in Labour’s high command over whether Brown would be game or not. The Tories are also keen to highlight the Cameron Brown contrast, one that undoubtedly plays to their advantage. I also suspect that they rather hope that in a debate, Brown’s temper and his evident disdain for Cameron would boil over and drag Labour down even further.
But if Brown has any political nous left, he’ll say yes to the debate. . If Brown is going to win the next election he needs a dramatic game-changing moment, a head to head debate is one of his best chances of producing one and Cameron is now too committed to back-out.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in