Inside Politics: Johnson and Corbyn draw in first election debate

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General Election 2019: Opinion polls over the last seven days (EPA)

There are now only 22 days until the general election

“I make my own damson jam thank you very much,” an incredulous Jeremy Corbyn declared at the end of the first ever head-to-head election debate on live television in British politics. Given knowledge of the Labour leader’s love for his allotment is pretty widespread at Westminster, it was perhaps a thoughtless response from Boris Johnson when ITV presenter Julie Etchingham asked what Christmas presents they would gift each other (if forced, obviously). During last night’s debate, both leaders also touched on Brexit, the NHS, the monarchy, and climate change, but there was little sign of breakthrough for either side after the hour-long showdown. A snap poll by YouGov found that 51 per cent of viewers believed the Tory leader performed best while 49 per cent opted for Jeremy Corbyn. I’m Ashley Cowburn, and welcome to The Independent’s Inside Politics newsletter.

Inside the bubble