STV will be broadcasting the first head-to-head television debate between Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond and chair of the Better Together campaign Alistair Darling live tomorrow at 8pm.
STV will be broadcasting the first head-to-head television debate between Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond and chair of the Better Together campaign Alistair Darling live tomorrow (Tuesday 5th August) at 8pm.
Viewers outside of Scotland will be able to watch the debate between the leaders of the Yes and No campaigns for Scottish independence unfold live on the STV Player, which will be broadcasting a globally available livestream.
The programme will be presented by STV’s political editor Bernard Ponsonby from the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow.
The programme will kick off with results from the latest poll on the country’s voting intentions, followed by opening statements and initial questioning of the speakers by Ponsonby. There will then be a cross examination and the chance for audience questions.
In the fourth part of the show, both Yes and No campaigners will be able to give their reactions from STV’s “spin room”.
The order of speaking was determined last week by a series of coin tosses, which dictated that Mr Salmond would speak first in the opening statements and last in the closing statements. Mr Darling will lead the cross-examination section, which will be a chance for the two men to question each other on divisive referendum issues.
The audience will be made up of 350 members of the public, who have been specially selected by opinion research company Ipsos-MORI Scotland, to ensure that Yes, No and undecided voters are proportionately represented.
Gordon Macmillan, Head of STV News, said: “We’ve had considerable media interest from across the UK and around the world in the first debate involving Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling. We anticipate the STV programme next Tuesday will be informative and engaging, and will be available to watch live on air and online.”
STV is encouraging viewers to engage with the debate on social media, using the hashtag #Scotdecides on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. The channel will be sharing clips from the programme during the debate.
(Credit: STV)