Prime minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn faced off against veteran interviewer Jeremy Paxman last night.
Mr Corbyn was put on the spot about a number of his long-held beliefs including Trident and the monarchy by the former Newsnight presenter, who also labelled Mrs May a “blowhard”.
Jeremy Paxman asks Jeremy Corbyn six times if he thinks it's "morally right" to renew Trident #BattleForNumber10 pic.twitter.com/8vRr1nHLX1
— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 29, 2017
The Battle for No 10 programme also had the pair taking questions from members of the public, and aired on both Channel 4 and Sky last night.
The general consensus is that Mr Corbyn handled Mr Paxman’s grilling of the Labour party manifesto well.
However Conservative leader, Mrs May, faced criticism for her defence of party policies.
The Prime Minister came under fire on cuts to public services and her plans for social care, while Mr Corbyn also faced questioning on his attitude to security issues and past comments about the IRA and the Falklands War.
Both parties claimed victory afterwards.
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/uk-world/437480/may-and-corbyn-put-on-the-spot-in-live-tv-grilling/
During the show, viewers took to social media to vent their thoughts on the unfolding debates with the #TheresaMayGIFs hashtag throwing up some hilarious results.
We’ve included some of the best below:
"A member of the public has a question for you."#TheresaMayGIFs pic.twitter.com/e4IobrBFJP
— James Doleman (@jamesdoleman) May 30, 2017
"Let's get this election campaign back on the road!" #TheresaMayGifs pic.twitter.com/IqtosHOG9w
— Rob Haynes (@robhaynesdrums) May 30, 2017
Theresa May Takes on Corbyn #TheresaMayGifs pic.twitter.com/kO3Lp9K3AN
— Robert Neary (@Robertneary) May 30, 2017
When Theresa thinks about calling the election. #TheresaMayGifs pic.twitter.com/kyz0yxGxcL
— Matt Green (@mattgreencomedy) May 29, 2017
Theresa May when approached by an actual voter. #TheresaMayGIFs pic.twitter.com/4G5Qn0J9mj
— Liam Mulcahy (@LiamMulcahy) May 30, 2017
How Theresa May expected it to go vs how it actually went.#TheresaMayGIFs pic.twitter.com/uRukcKnhe6
— Stuart Brown (@StuartLeeBrown) May 29, 2017
#TheresaMayGIFs May delivering her manifesto pic.twitter.com/y97PbhXPU9
— James Donlan (@jamesdonlan) May 29, 2017
Theresa May's election campaign so far. #TheresaMayGifs pic.twitter.com/vcgL2zZ3qw
— David Schneider (@davidschneider) May 29, 2017
The reaction to Corbyn’s performance had a markedly different tone:
Corbyn back with his speaker after tonight #TheresaMayGifs #CorbynGIFs pic.twitter.com/hxqsuHXYNj
— Rachel Rossi ??☂️✈️ (@MissRachelRossi) May 29, 2017
Anyone else think Paxman went far too easy on May and had it in for Corbyn? Poor interviewing imo #disappointed pic.twitter.com/cBWtmPYPjb
— Dave Rack (@Fireproof_Dave) May 30, 2017
Jeremy Paxman was somewhat confused that the Labour Party Manifesto is a LABOUR PARTY manifesto not Corbyn's own. (The clue is in the title)
— Magpie's View #PCPEU (@MagpiesView) May 30, 2017
Not sure if Corbyn is doing a lot better than I expected or Paxman is doing a lot worse #BattleForNumber10
— Gareth Davies (@Gareth_Davies09) May 29, 2017
Paxman grills Corbyn on the past and hypotheticals rather than the present and realities. #BattleForNumber10
— Allan Rennie (@AllanRennie1) May 29, 2017
Former Labour deputy-leader, John Prescott, was among those to react online:
Paxman on the manifesto: "I had to read it!"
Corbyn: "I had to write it!"
Boom!#BattleForNumber10— John Prescott (@johnprescott) May 29, 2017
However Mr Corbyn’s performance when quizzed by Emma Barnett on BBC Woman’s Hour this morning was received less warmly, with many taking to Twitter to praise her interviewing skills:
Corbyn well-prepared for Paxman; totally unprepared for a much tougher interview by a much better interviewer, Emma Barnett. #womanshour
— Stig Abell (@StigAbell) May 30, 2017
