during the General election......
The big question though, will Gordon Brown agree?
Mandelson recently indicated he would but I doubt it. Sky has said a debate will proceed anyway with an 'empty chair' for any party leader who refuses to participate.
It will be interesting to see how this develops.
A debate will enliven the election and engage the public more than 'party political broadcasts', poster advertising or photo ops. For too long the public have been patronised with too much sound bite politics. Hopefully a well conducted debate will help to boost public participation.
More about it here:
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2009/09/david-cameron-agrees-to-sky-newss-terms-for-a-general-election-leaders-debate.html