Yahoo News Jeremy Corbyn will not take part in General Election TV debates unless Theresa May does
Jeremy Corbyn has ruled out taking part in television debates ahead of the General Election unless Theresa May appears alongside him.
Mrs May has formally ruled out taking part in head-to-head debates before June 8 but is likely to take part in a question and answer session in front of a television audience.
The Prime Minister has been heavily criticised by her opponents, including Mr Corbyn, for dodging the debates.
Now Mr Corbyn has decided he will not take part without Mrs May.
Mr Corbyn’s spokesman said that it would not make sense for Mr Corbyn to debate other political leaders without Mrs May because the choice is a Labour government or a Conservative one.
The spokesman said: "I don't think that having a debate among opposition parties in any way aids the objective of giving the British public the chance to see what the real choices are in this election campaign and our challenge is to the Prime Minister to have the strength and guts to face a direct debate with Jeremy Corbyn on the issues facing the country..."
Mrs May previously said that she would not take part in television debates because she wanted to go out and meet voters instead.
She said: "We won't be doing television debates. I believe in campaigns where politicians actually get out and about and meet with voters.
"That's what I have always believed in, it's what I still believe and I still do it - as Prime Minister, as a constituency MP, I still go out and knock on doors in my constituency.
“That's what I believe in doing, that's what I'm going to be doing around this campaign."
However, Mrs May's aides have made clear that she is not against taking part in a "long-form television programme", answering questions in front of a live studio audience.
Her predecessor David Cameron agreed to be questioned in front of a BBC Question Time-style audience for live television programmes during the 2015 general election.
Mr Corbyn previously criticised Mrs May’s position.
He said: "She says it's about leadership, yet is refusing to defend her record in television debates and it's not hard to see why."
