With just six days to go, hell want to score points tonight that might help close the gap in the polls. He was followed by borisjohnson, who arrived a short time ago. The two leaders policies on brexit, the nhs and the economy are likely to come under scrutiny, as well as issues of trust and character. Were live in the spin room for all the build up and the fall out from the debate. From 9 30pm, well have reaction from the Political Parties and analysis from the bbcs reality check team. Hello, and welcome to viewers in the uk and around the world for this special programme counting down to the bbc Prime Ministerial debate. We have had four weeks of campaigning in the uk general election. Now, there are just six days left till polling day and 30 minutes till this final tv debate. Boris johnson and Jeremy Corbyn will appear shortly, going head to head in front of a live studio audience. We will have all the build up here, from the so called spin room, where you can see the massed ranks of the media are already in their places. During the debate on the bbc news channel and bbc world news, we will have on screen analysis from our specialist correspondents and reality check team. And once its ended, we will have reaction from the Political Parties, including those not represented on the stage tonight. So, do stay with us for that straight after the debate. We have just seen borisjohnson coming into the building in the last few minutes. Jeremy corbyn arrived first and both leaders now and the building and ready to go. So, before we go any further, lets take a look at the studio which i took a look at earlier today, as well as speaking to Nick Robinson who is hosting the debate. And this is the set that youre going to see an bbc one at 8 30pm this evening. Ive been a quite a few sets in my time, this one is pretty slick, wouldnt you say . Youve got the searchlights at the back, almost like the search for truth writ large on the stage. And this is where the audience is going to sit. Just over 100 people. Im often asked how the audience is selected, it is selected by the pollsters, carefully selected so that there will be equal representatives from the two parties, plus a selection of undecided voters as well. Just have a look at the podiums. Because theyre only about an arms length apart, its been set up in quite an adversarial way, which will provide for some of the fireworks this evening. So, lets speak to the man whos got to moderate it all, our very own Nick Robinson. Theyre asking the questions, so what is your role tonight . They ask the questions, but unlike question time, they dont get to follow them up, so myjob is to throw the questions to the two leaders, try to get them to debate, but if they ignore the question, if they dont answer the question, if they ignore points they each make about each other, theres myjob tojump in and try and pin them down a little bit. But im not here to do an interview. Im not the great interrogator. But im a bit more than a referee. Im notjust trying to make sure its free and fair, and everybody gets an equal say. I do want to make sure that whatever questions come from there is answered up here. Lots of facts youve got to have at your fingertips. Its probably a professional question this. Do you memorise them . What do you have on your lectern . Well, ive got a card here for each question, and for each question is a reminder to me of what the key point of the question is, and theres one or two facts just as a reminder, but you know, you do interviewing all the time, if it is not sort of up there, you might want to look down just to check the exact number. But if youre not there, you need to really have it in your head to understand it, yes, you can revise a bit with a number or a quote, but essentially, just got to stress again, im not here as the interviewer, its not some long complicated question, its just, hold on a second, what are you saying to this person here . Please answer the point that mr corbyn made or mrjohnson made, thats really my job. When you look at the history of these debates, and you go back to 2010, remember in 2010, that break out moment, i agree with nick clegg, do you think we have had a break out moment in these debates . I think we havent so far, but remember how rare this is. Really, since the first us president ial Election Debate where we sanohn f kennedy taking on nixon back in 1960 for goodness sake, then, again and again, people said lets have a version of that britain. Wilson didnt do it. Callahan didnt do it. Thatcher didnt do it. Blair didnt do it. Theresa may of course didnt do it. Of course, we had those experiments, three people on stage when nick clegg was there in 2010, we had seven on stage five years later in 2015. This is the first time in the history of britain in this election weve seen head to head debates between the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition. That changes it. I listen to you every morning on the today trogramme, you do this all the time, interviewing these guys. But is this a little bit different . Are you getting nervous . Oh, god, yes. I dont normally get scared, but you get hyped up a bit, you want to make sure you are doing it well, and sometimes you do it well, sometimes badly. Im not going to be apologetic about the fact that im getting woken up in the middle of the night, because i dont want to get in the way of them saying what they want to say, but i also dont want people at home to say, why did you let them get away with that . So finding the right balance of helping them debate, but helping you at home think ive understood what i need to understand and sort of i might get paid after. Best of luck to Nick Robinson tonight. Through that grey door you can see on that screen there was studio to written on it, that is the auditorium. We are only a few metres away in the journalists on these benches have two screens to watch the debate and a lot of them already filing for their various publications and they will be getting all the reaction as will we when the politicians come out after the debate. 0ur deputy Political Editor john pienaar is here with me. Let us talk about that lectern. I was looking at a point they are not very far apart. What do you make of the chemistry between these two men . There Something Like a bit of close proximity to crack a few megawatts onto the charge in the studio. Between the two of them, i dont think there is any great personal animus but i think there is pretty close to zero respect and they view each other i would say with a kind of detached detestation. They abort what the other one stands for absolutely in terms of their politics and their worldview and what they represent. So forJeremy Corbyn, borisjohnson what they represent. So forJeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson is what they represent. So forJeremy Corbyn, borisjohnson is an overprivileged tory educated, 0xford educated from it reasonably well off background with every privilege in life and his career and his political life too. Many is no time for that at all. For borisjohnson, Jeremy Corbyn is the epitome of an old School Left Wing thinker when it comes to the ideology or the view of the world. And when he says comes to the ideology or the view of the world. And when he sasteremy corbyn is someone who dislikes britain and does not like the west and disliked success in enterprise, he means that. He has no time for that at all. There is that kind of negative charge in the air and it will add a bit more of a freeze on to tonights debate. Just watching Jeremy Corbyn coming into the building earlier. Looking at the poll data which pulls data together from the british polling council, they have it as around about a ten point lead. So that tells you that Jeremy Corbyn has to do something tonight if he is going to eat into this lead in the final six days. Tonight if he is going to eat into this lead in the final six daysm may or may not happen on the floor of that studio this evening. These great televised events are often a charge in the air but they really produce a game changer. That is not to say they may not be quite significant. They will set the tone for the final week and you will hear tonight the core messages that each of these two leaders want to lead with. Kind of print them on our consciousness in the final few days of campaigning. So no one will be surprised when borisjohnson bangs the brexit drum very hard in the end maybe invokes a boy he made earlier on thatJeremy Corbyn wants to as he says rick the referendum with eu nationals onto the electoral roll. And he will hearJeremy Corbyn saying Boris Johnson and he will hearJeremy Corbyn saying borisjohnson is a liar and you cannot believe what he says and he has misled Northern Ireland over the implications of this brexit deal and is missed letting all of us with what it means. Brexit getting done means a lot more than brexit getting done and it means all sorts of uncertainty in the future. One of the sickly moments from the itv debate which was in this format at the beginning of the campaigns to where is the laughter of the audience, the spontaneous laughter when they were challenged about truthfulness and challenged in Jeremy Corbyns case about his brexit policy. We have not had that before. It was a bit of a moment. You have to allow for the fact that in an audience you get a certain session who are naturally supportive one of the other of the leaders. And given have a chance, they will laugh at the other man. But it seemed to be more than that. It seems ripple to general mood of deep cynicism to what what they were hearing from the leaders. And it reflects a mood in the country where people are inclined to doubt or disbelief pretty much everything they are hearing. Even when voters are buying the premises as it were, the office from these rival leaders and does not necessarily mean they will turn them into action. But they are the ones on the ballot paper or their parties are in that its a choice they have got to make. It does leave they have got to make. It does leave the thought this election has so much riding on it in terms of the relationship between the british people and its politics. The premises are so big and the capacity for his appointment so huge that you can see that bond between people in politics scraping past the bricking point from what follows in this election. Thank you, john, we will hear from you after the debate but thank you for that for the moment. Nick robinson was say when you look back at the iconic moments of tv debates, you think of Richard Nixon 01 debates, you think of Richard Nixon orjohn f kennedy and we get Something Like that tonight was my probably not. A number of debates in the campaign but do we think any of the campaign but do we think any of the candidates have managed to land a knockout blow. John kay has been to wolverhampton to find out what the voters think. Have you been following the election . Ahead of the conversation tonight, we are in wolverhampton. I guess you are used to these, are you not . Yes. To ask voters if they like leaders going head to head on the box. I think shows like that are going to be good to help inform people. When i was looking for is honesty and openness and straight a nswe is honesty and openness and straight a nswers to honesty and openness and straight answers to straight questions. No point because they all tell lies anyway. Would you watch it . No. Nine yea rs anyway. Would you watch it . No. Nine years and three elections ago. 10 million of us watch the first Leaders Debate and in a decade ago. This professor seemed to think it made a big difference at the time for nick clegg. We can do something different. He got a massive approval rating, better than Winston Churchill in a two and i never thought that would change the shape of campaigning. And in the income of the liberal democrats gotjust one more percentage point and they did in 2005 and they actually lost seats. So i think there is a lot of excitement and this is a new thing and it will change how things happen the end, not so much. This time, we have had all kinds of formats. Some head to head, some big events, some so head to head, some big events, some so low, some with ice blocks and tonight, the final confrontation. How important for the politicians is this debate tonight . It can be finally important. There are people out there who have not yet made up their minds. To present go into the polling booth not knowing who they are going to vote for. 10 . They are going to vote for. 10 . They are the ones who will make an impression on. But many here told me tv debates just mean the same old slogans again and again. So the parties can clip them up for social media. I think it is tv nonsense. They say what they need to say, try to get the message across and that is it really. Do you think you get a nswe is is it really. Do you think you get a nswers to is it really. Do you think you get answers to the questions you have got . We know the answers already. What are they going to want to get out of this tonight . You will hear borisjohnson aware of out of this tonight . You will hear Boris Johnson aware of the out of this tonight . You will hear borisjohnson aware of the question is, he will try and get in got to get brexit done. Jeremy corbyn similarly, if you ask the question, he will try to get around to the nhs. They have already got their lives, it is now repeating the lines and getting it through to a tv audience. What you get is what each of them believe side by side and actually get to hear them all giving a nswe is actually get to hear them all giving a nswers to actually get to hear them all giving answers to the same questions. Actually get to hear them all giving answers to the same questionsm makes it kind of theatrical, like a tv drama rather than about the real issues that are being dealt with. What do you want to know from those two guys . Honestly, are you really doing this for the people . Or for yourself . Do you think you will get a nswe is yourself . Do you think you will get a nswers to yourself . Do you think you will get answers to not . Some of the general public, yes, we do. But obviously the answers you get from the politicians, they are all wishy washy. Politicians, they are all wishywashy. It is Nick Robinson asking the questions. You can be a bit more give and take but if it is member of the public, you have to show deep respect. You look very at home behind the podium. I think maybe you should stand. Some have called for an independent body to oversee Election Debates in the future. But first, tonight, one final showdown. So will you watch the debate . No, im going to yoga tonight. Yes, would any of us feel co mforta ble yes, would any of us feel comfortable behind us podium tonight . Probably not but that is what this is so intriguing. All the rest of the campaign so well planned and orchestrated, this is very different. There might just and orchestrated, this is very different. There mightjust be that moment in the next hour or so when we get one of these politicians caught off guard. Lets talk to henry. Lets pick up some of that with henry zeffman, Political Correspondent from the times, who has been following the conservatives today, and kate proctor, Political Correspondent from the guardian. Jeremy corbyn has an issue tonight because im sure he wants to talk about these Northern Ireland papers, this leak from the treasury department, which raises Big Questions about borisjohnsons brexit deal. But a guest on the brexit deal. But a guest on the brexit line, he is not on safe ground himself. Because he will face questions about where does he stand if there is a second referendum. Is hea if there is a second referendum. Is he a leave supporter or a remain supporter. But hes been around this many times and he can justify what he want to keep a position neutral at this stage. I think is important to talk some of these documents and goes over this treasury leak paper that came this morning and there is so that came this morning and there is so much stuff in there and so much of these people same 90 of Northern Ireland exporters could face tariffs and also the idea that there is a physical bordered on the irish sea and that is what borisjohnson was talking about so much. He has promised there will be no border and anything that Jeremy Corbyn unearthed today and there are these documents in preparation show that there would be. Already in his bedroom, we had the conservatives say tonight hang on, these were put before ministers and what of the conservatives saying today . Their position relies on not getting into these details really. And Boris Johnson say it is a simple message and his opponents would say it is an over message but i think as when Jimmy Coleman mentions this tonight because of course he well as kate says, he has to, borisjohnson will says, he has to, borisjohnson will say ok, if i come of the country home will be thinking i have a deal thatis home will be thinking i have a deal that is ready to go and he likes to say you are slamming the bike and shows how little cooking he does. But he will say it is a clear and civil choice. I will leave the eu on january the 315t and Jeremy Corbyn offers another referendum. I think that question can side you fall on it is more important to the debate tonight and more important to the campaign then perhaps it should be with the minutia of his deal. No doubt, you saw in the report they are from wolverhampton there is a lot of apathy out there. A lot of frustration as well with politicians but there will be an element of the audience tuning into not who are still undecided and were look for some clues which way to vote. People really are undecided and i know we say not from elections but people ive spoken to say theyjust do not know where they fit any more in british politics was what they feel like they cannot really go after any particular candidate so yes there is apathy and i think all of this is about getting people out tonight and getting them to vote. So i think both candidates probably need to try and just hammer home at the bit about why it is so important to cast your vote in the first place because your vote in the first place because you might watch it on tv tonight and it might switch over and just think actually i will not vote at all. That is the worst possible thing that can happen in a dozen to be a malaise about voting at the moment thatis malaise about voting at the moment that is quite worrying. The campaign isa that is quite worrying. The campaign is a series of hurdles. From a conservative mappers with the they probably thought they got over one at the beginning of the week, donald trump was in town, it was reasonably uneventful. If they can get over the line tonight without dropping the vase as is often the metaphor, will they think they are it was a very good chance . Yes, they will pull supposedly, the conservative strategy alternates in dealing with the media generally which is why they have not done this is safety first. They think that they have a decent lead in every poll shows the conservatives having a lead of the lady for over its size. In the conservative view is we need to do nothing to not lose that lead. That is why tonight is a big moment for Jeremy Corbyn because it is his last chance or his last really big chance on stage with borisjohnson chance or his last really big chance on stage with Boris Johnson the chance or his last really big chance on stage with borisjohnson the man he wants to displace as Prime Minister next week to try and rattle him and try and have a big moment people go that changes things. And borisjohnson want people go that changes things. And Boris Johnson want to get out of here without that happening. Boris johnson want to get out of here without that happeninglj should here without that happening. should ask you both on the theme of the report and i want to put you behind podiums but have we got it right how we do the televised debates . I think that there has been an awful lot of televised debates enough and worried about the possibility of the public switching off from having so many to choose from. Do you think it is a saturation point . Potentially. The head to head format is good and i think it works and i think the more of that the better. I think the seven way debates are sometimes a bit difficult but if you dont have them then you dont hear from the other parties. They reinforce a 2 party system. Other parties. They reinforce a 2party system. Exactly. But the most powerful argument and back and forth if they we will hear from the liberal democrats tonight but of course jo swinson liberal democrats tonight but of coursejo swinson sort of the campaign say im running to be Prime Minister and she is not on the stage tonight. It might be hereticalto say it but i think a big reason for her having such a bad campaign is itv and bbc made a decision early in the campaign to agree not to have heron the campaign to agree not to have her on the the campaign to agree not to have heron the podium. The campaign to agree not to have her on the podium. These are the first head to head debates. Her on the podium. These are the first headtohead debates. Would have made a difference . Put it possibly not but it might give her moment early in the Campaign Post of it is true she has floundered on contact with the public but she has not had the same content with the public the others have. It might not have been a difference but i think at that stage before she was pulling quite badly as she is now, not long after they finished second in the National European elections, i think it was certainly a controversial decision. One imagines Jeremy Corbyn to not as much as he speaks to undecided voters is a talking to those who might be ready to straight to the liberal democrats. Yes, and i do feel as though that liberal democrat squeeze is going so far now that i feelJeremy Corbyn in favour. But any to talk about brexit and talk about it at get that lived in vote and a positive way in terms of the remain campus will be 200 say which one he will go but i think he needs to put it out there the party is not all about leave and we have seen so many is not all about leave and we have seen so many shadow cabinet leaders dominating media appearances during the campaign and i think if he wants to get that final lived in vote, any to get that final lived in vote, any to try and talk a bit more about the remain side. Can i ask you a professional question . How do you work on a night like this was meant to be already written for your First Edition . No, we will squeak in as long as we file right at 9 30 p m. So fast and furious or both of you. Best of luck. Thank you for being with us this evening. Henry and kate from the times in the guardian respectively. Let me just remind you if you are just respectively. Let me just remind you if you arejustjoining us because we arejust if you arejustjoining us because we are just around 50 minutes away that under 50 minutes away for the debate. I live tv audience tonight with two leaders in about to ta ke tonight with two leaders in about to take their positions behind the podium and chris morris is with us from our reality check team. Talked about the Northern Ireland papers and surelyjeremy about the Northern Ireland papers and surely Jeremy Corbyn about the Northern Ireland papers and surelyJeremy Corbyn wants to bring that into not. I know you will look at them and what you may . They come from treasury officials and the government says this is not something which is in full government policy and they clearly say there will be a form of trade border down the irish sea within the uk between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And that is awful for borisjust because he said the opposite and said again today there will be no checks. So i thinkJeremy Corbyn will probably hammer away at that point, so you cannot trust what he says. He says he is great different these papers appear to showjust different these papers appear to show just what different these papers appear to showjust what the Democratic Unionists Party are arguing in Northern Ireland that it is not a great because it does create that degree of separation for that you may say it is superficial in some ways and you may say for goods going from Northern Ireland to Great Britain august it was still in an online form, but some of the details in the documents suggest there would be real costs for businesses and Northern Ireland both exporters and for importers. If you not talking when he says its a great deal and you were in the eu consulting and also in the new uk market and thats why he keeps saying its a great deal, is it not . He said it was greater because he thinks he will get brexit done and i have looked into my crystal ball and i predict that he may well be saying that again this evening like i think Jeremy Corbyn will say the nhs is not the saying not for sale. He thinks it is a greater because it is different from theresa mays deal and he thinks he will put it for the trouble with the whole get brexit the argument is even if we leave on january 31 of there is plenty to talk about in terms of trade talks and so forth. You are so important ona and so forth. You are so important on a night like this. There are numbers bandied around and sometimes we forget the numbers to what we see on the side of our scree on news channel tonight and which areas are you looking at picking apart the arguments . I guess the key issue people care about. Brecht is one of them but when it comes to numbers, things like the nhs, is more sensible say again we are building 14 hospitals when they are only refurbishing synced with others to come. WillJeremy Corbyn again say a trade in with the us will cost the nhs another £500 million a week in medicine bills those numbers which we do not think stand up for scrutiny. So we will try and get on screen some of scrutiny. So we will try and get on screen some of what we think are the facts and put what is being said into context. Of course it in mind it does not matter what we say, the parties will still turn out these numbers on social media so they do have an impact on the campaign. Ok, thank you very much indeed for your analysis in the remember we dont have the debate, all of it here on bbc news channel and of course you will have all those graphics on scree and all the information from oui scree and all the information from our correspondents and analysts as you watch this debate, you will be able to see for yourself some of the numbers that they are talking about. I will be back tonight at 9 30pm with all the reaction from the debate and will have all the politicians here pulling their various points across as to how it went. If you cannot get enough of the analysis from the debate that has finished, you can listen of course to that very good election cast podcast is presented by adam fleming who is with me. I see you have been touring the room. Who have you lined up . Talk to Nick Robinson obviously as he comes off the set. I hope he will be dripping with sweat and it will be like rocky and i will be his trainer coming in and not dabbing him with cotton buds because asi dabbing him with cotton buds because ains dabbing him with cotton buds because as i is smashed up and obviously laura is well and ive been in the set with laura to have a pre chat. And at have to say it is what i imagine it is like being on strictly come dancing, the shiny floor sows with the set is so shiny and the lighting is appropriate that you kind of feel really handsome standing there. Has the searchlights and the lights coming over the top like 20 century fox. Im at the point to laura like to say on that big but the audience is it that big but there will be millions watching this at home so the audience is quite a lot larger than the seats laid out there. We have had four weeks of the campaign and you have been tracking every dot and, of it. Do you think anything has shifted . Not for me to say. Talk to people likejohn curtis, not for me to say. Talk to people like john curtis, the not for me to say. Talk to people likejohn curtis, the poster extraordinaire, and he says the poll of polls tells the story. Tory vote, labour boat going up quite dramatically and the other parties really getting squeezed and going down quite dramatically. But there is still a lot of uncertainty to the big picture is it loose on the conservative ten or 11 point lead in the opinion polls but you talk to the opinion polls but you talk to the pollsters and they are not sure if that is more than 11 or less than andi if that is more than 11 or less than and i could have a massive difference on the number of seats they went in a course the polls are a snapshot. Once, twice, three times burnt. Exactly. Explain to those at home and dont understand what a spin room is, how does it work . The most important thing is to that door there, see studio to come of that is there, see studio to come of that is the actual studio where they are doing the debate so if you want to put your ear, you will hear it. Then you have all these journalists, a lwa ys you have all these journalists, always backs to us here are journalists from newspapers, websites, other broadcasters and some are better dressed her in the side. Seat time from the liberal democrats. Spinners from the parties. What is different is this isa parties. What is different is this is a double header. So people from the other party shall not be here saying their party is the best because they are not represented. Just try to get their viewpoints and also the main thing people talk about is the wi fi is a good enough and what is the catering light . There is an american style diner right over there. Like back to the future. What is coming on in the changing room . You have the two camps, one heavyweight contest this weekend in saudi arabia but this is a lot to think a heavyweight contest and the trainers are in there. What are they saying . My favourite spin room story is from the pig bbc debate at the end of the Eu Referendum campaign 2016. Where it was wembley arena and the spin room, 01 was wembley arena and the spin room, or the dressing room for the parties was up in the bar and there was this bar area was up in the bar and there was this bararea in the was up in the bar and there was this bar area in the middle with the remain camp on one side and the leave camp through the door. I recall being at the bar and getting a pipe and michael gove commit to me is that you will find borisjohnson is that you will find borisjohnson is making some excellent points and list russ came to me and said ruth davis is making some points and this is the way to stay ive ever been on. We have plenty more of that to come tonight. Best of luck with your podcast and we will tune in to that, adam a thank you very much. If you arejust tuning in, let me go over again the formats and not full so the two leaders will take to the stage and have a minute each to set up stage and have a minute each to set up their case and then we will have questions from the studio audience about 100 people in the studio tonight. They always get asked, they are tonight. They always get asked, they a re carefully tonight. They always get asked, they are carefully selected by the pollsters. There are conservatives from the conservatives and from labour and there are some undecided voters in the middle. And of course Nick Robinson standing by as the reference rate tonight. The moderator to make sure that it all goes smoothly. Here we go, this is the debate, stay tuned. That they deserve to be Prime Minister. Tonight, borisjohnson, leader of the conservative party, and Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the labour party, go head to head in the bbc Prime Ministerial debate. Applause good evening and welcome to maidstone studios in kent. Have you made up your mind