{"id":146693,"date":"2024-06-05T16:53:32","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T15:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=146693"},"modified":"2024-06-17T09:26:29","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T08:26:29","slug":"uk-general-election-2024-public-conversation-leading-into-the-itv-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/uk-general-election-2024-public-conversation-leading-into-the-itv-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"UK General Election 2024: What was the state of the public conversation leading into the first debate?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Phoebe-Jane Boyd and Dahye Lee.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The first television debate between party leaders took place on Tuesday 4 June, coming at the culmination of two weeks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/rishi-sunak-general-election-announcement\/\">campaigning<\/a> in which both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer set out their stalls for the country. But, as the studio lights went up on Tuesday evening, which policies and points of view had already cut through into public consciousness?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Read the full transcript of the ITV debate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Sunak-V-Starmer_-The-ITV-Debate.pdf\">here<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Using Pulsar TRAC, we analysed social and news mentions of themes in the UK General Election 2024 conversation across X, TikTok, Threads, Facebook, blogs, forums, online news, print news, TV, radio, and podcasts between 23 May &#8211; 5 June 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Here is what is capturing the attention of the media and the public.<\/p>\n<p><em> As the UK prepares for the upcoming General Election, stay informed with the latest news by signing up to our <a href=\"https:\/\/email.vuelio.com\/vuelio-general-election-updates\">Vuelio General Election Updates<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Top mentioned topics in UK General Election 2024 coverage and conversation<\/h2>\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/18236822?516077\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<h3>National Service stirs engagement<\/h3>\n<p>Coverage in the press, and engagement across social media, gave early indicators of what would be covered within the debate.<\/p>\n<p>NHS, foreign affairs, and education featured highly in coverage and conversation between 23 May &#8211; 5 June, due to uproar around the prospect of the return of National Service &#8211; what Starmer called \u2018Teenage Dad\u2019s Army\u2019, and Sunak described as \u2018bold action\u2019 during the debate.<\/p>\n<p>While audible laughs from the in-studio audience met Sunak\u2019s words on the topic on Tuesday night, coverage of the proposal has received serious and significant engagement, particularly from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cpddxy9r4mdo\">BBC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cpddxy9r4mdo\">News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The audience most engaged with the topic? Young people, and many parents, who would be impacted the most should Sunak\u2019s plan come to fruition. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@c4news\/video\/7374120786652712224\">Channel 4\u2019s TikTok<\/a> on this was most shared by the younger generation.<\/p>\n<h3>Balance of conversation<\/h3>\n<p>Tax was always going to be a significant part of the first TV debate for this year\u2019s election, but Sunak\u2019s numerous accusations regarding a supposed (since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/live\/uk-politics-69088663\">disputed<\/a>) \u2018extra \u00a32,000 tax\u2019 from Labour took up a significant portion of TV time last night.<\/p>\n<p>However, it\u2019s the Conservatives who have over-indexed for mentions of tax since the start of the party&#8217;s campaign.<\/p>\n<p>In the lead up to the TV debate, this was partially due to Reform outflanking them on income tax pledges while, after the debate, numerous journalists and influencers factchecked Sunak&#8217;s \u00a32,000 tax allegation.<\/p>\n<h2>Labour vs Conservatives: Who\u2019s dominating discussion around specific topics?<\/h2>\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/18237209?516077\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>Analysis of these key topics broken down by mentions of each party shows a mostly equal split of coverage and conversation for Labour and Conservative&#8230; with the expected outlier of National Service. The Tory proposal has been further amplified by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.itv.com\/news\/2024-06-04\/labour-and-tories-clash-over-2000-tax-claim-so-who-is-right\">ITV\u2019s coverage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As of today, a major focus of mentions for Labour are foreign affairs, NHS\/health, and energy &amp; sustainability, and this was driven by Tuesday\u2019s debate directly. An <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MCJPeel\/status\/1798093752591859915\">X post<\/a> from MP David Lammy regarding the NHS triggered intense engagement online, as did his commentary on bombing in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-146721 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/David-Lammy-tweet.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"463\" height=\"613\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>News vs social media: Where are people talking and engaging?<\/h2>\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/18237077?516077\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>While both social media and news outlets focus on the NHS, the narratives unfolding on each platform differ.<\/p>\n<p>News coverage centres on questions regarding how national service can support NHS issues, while social media users <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HuwRinger\/status\/1798269688126079271\">urge<\/a> support of the NHS and junior doctor strikes.<\/p>\n<p>Immigration is the second highest topic in news coverage. Tackled by Sunak and Starmer during the debate, the resulting high number of mentions is largely driven by write-ups in right-wing outlets. Their focus? Reports regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gbnews.com\/news\/more-than-500-migrants-crossed-channel-bank-holiday-weekend\">migrant channel crossings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Media outlets leading coverage and engagement around the General Election<\/h2>\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/18237349?516077\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>Which media outlets are leading coverage of the 2024 UK General Election so far, and sparking shares on social media?<\/p>\n<p>The Mirror\u2019s reporting of Sunak&#8217;s interactions with Russian associates &#8211; not covered in Tuesdsay\u2019s debate &#8211; has <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MirrorPolitics\/status\/1797023272502223006\">received<\/a> considerable traction among left-leaning readers, who have expressed <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MirrorPolitics\/status\/1796991953764016156\">concern<\/a> over his affiliations with Russia.<\/p>\n<p>While BBC&#8217;s coverage of Sunak\u2019s National Service plan maintains broader audience interest, the Scottish Daily Express has <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AgentP22\/status\/1797547922877563319\">sparked<\/a> controversy, and engagement, with its reporting of alleged \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AgentP22\/status\/1797547922877563319\">outright lies<\/a>\u2019 in the Scottish National Party\u2019s campaigning.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Tuesday\u2019s debate did not necessarily introduce anything new into the fabric of discussion, with both leaders returning to topics and talking points that they know to be important to their audiences and stakeholders, i<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">t did re-entrench battle lines. Tax is now more central to the overall discussion, which had previously not attained much prominence, or airtime. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether it\u2019s Sunak\u2019s \u00a32,000 tax attack line, or the subsequent debunking of the figure the next day, which sticks in voter\u2019s minds, the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">subsequent<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> weeks will reveal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>For extra on the UK political landscape, sign up to the weekly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/vuelio-news-sign-up\/\">Vuelio Point of Order<\/a> newsletter. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Find out more about Vuelio\u2019s solutions for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/ppc-vuelio-political-reports\">public affairs and politics<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The General Election conversation is already dominating UK public life, but which topics are taking up column inches in the press and engaging the interest, and ire, of the public? Check out our analysis of coverage and conversation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":147257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7365,7383,7272,3725,3729],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146693"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146693"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147609,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146693\/revisions\/147609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}