Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, the two biggest rivals in the British election campaign, went live together on BBC television tonight. It was a great opportunity for Labor leader Corbyn to make up for some of his backlog in the Johnson polls. The question is whether that was successful. According to news channel Sky News, 52 percent of viewers thought Johnson was the winner, 48 percent thought Corbyn was better.

The Brexit was again the most important topic in a thorny debate. Johnson and his Conservative Party want to leave the EU on January 31 and then make new trade agreements with the EU and the US and others.

Corbyn warned that negotiations on this will take many years. In the intervening period, the British economy would be seriously damaged. According to Johnson, that is nonsense and there is time enough to conclude new trade agreements.

Johnson constantly attacked Corbyn because he didn’t want to say whether he was for or against a Brexit. If Labor wins the elections, Corbyn wants to conclude a new Brexit agreement with the EU and present it to the British people in a referendum. If it rejects the agreement, the United Kingdom will remain a member of the EU.

Another topic was the fight against poverty. Corbyn said that socialism has improved the standard of living of the poorest in the past. “Our Labor government will do that,” he said. He wants to achieve that by getting the rich to pay more taxes. Johnson said that under his government, health and safety will improve significantly.

Scottish Prime Minister Sturgeon, an opponent of the Brexit, had little appreciation for the debate. “This was deeply sad,” she tweeted. “Two non-inspiring men, both unsuitable for being prime ministers.” She advises Scottish voters to vote for her SNP party so that Johnson does not get a majority.