[Archive 2010-04-17] UK politician Nick Clegg wins historic first televised political debate

Historical archive — originally published 2010-04-17. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, has been unofficially declared the winner of the first televised election debate in British history.

A less scientific sample composed of TheGuardian readers yielded 59% support for Clegg, 32% for Brown and 9% for Cameron. However, pundits have dismissed Clegg's win as irrelevant, since voters vote for local MPs, not the prime minister.

Although such debates are usual in the United States, this is the first one taking place in the United Kingdom. That television election debate, which ran on ITV at 8:30 on the 15th, will be the first of three others and was set to focus upon domestic issues, though one of the questions drifted to cover the British nuclear deterrent and the British involvement in Afghanistan.

The second debate is due to take place on Thursday, 22 April 2010 at 8 p.m. It will be broadcasted by Sky and will focus on international issues.

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