Scottish Leaders' BBC Debate: What time is the last leaders' debate, what will the Holyrood contenders say, who is involved and how can I watch?

As Scotland’s major political party leaders prepare to go head-to-head for the last time on TV, here is what you need to know before the televised debate on Tuesday night.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

With polling stations opening on May 6, BBC Scotland will host the last leaders’ debate on Tuesday.

Party leaders will have the chance to appeal to the public for their votes in this leaders’ debate finale.

Where can I watch the debate?

Leaders' Debate from the Corn Exchange, Edinburgh. Picture shows L-R clockwise Presenter Sarah Smith, Scottish Conservative Party leader Douglas Ross, Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, Scottish Labour Party leader Anas Sarwar and Scotland's First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon (Photo: BBC Scotland / Kirsty Anderson).Leaders' Debate from the Corn Exchange, Edinburgh. Picture shows L-R clockwise Presenter Sarah Smith, Scottish Conservative Party leader Douglas Ross, Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, Scottish Labour Party leader Anas Sarwar and Scotland's First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon (Photo: BBC Scotland / Kirsty Anderson).
Leaders' Debate from the Corn Exchange, Edinburgh. Picture shows L-R clockwise Presenter Sarah Smith, Scottish Conservative Party leader Douglas Ross, Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, Scottish Labour Party leader Anas Sarwar and Scotland's First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon (Photo: BBC Scotland / Kirsty Anderson).
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Scotsman will be running hustings before the debate and then a live blog to keep you up to date with the latest election news as the debate unfolds.

The debate programme will be live on BBC Scotland at 7.50pm on Tuesday, May 4 and will last just over an hour.

Prior to the show, BBC will air ‘The Campaign’ at 7pm which will focus on interviews with parties contesting the Scottish election.

This includes Alba leader Alex Salmond, All for Unity’s George Galloway, Reform UK Scotland leader Michelle Ballantyne and UKIP Scotland’s Donald Mackay.

Who is involved?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The event will be hosted by BBC Scotland political editor Glenn Campbell with all five main political parties – SNP, Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems and the Greens – in Scotland taking part in the final debate of the election campaign.

Nicola Sturgeon is expected to speak for SNP, Anas Sarwar for Scottish Labour, Douglas Ross for Scottish Conservatives, Willie Rennie for Scottish Lib Dems and either Lorna Slater or Patrick Harvie for Scottish Greens.

What will the format be?

Although a clear format has not yet been announced, we can expect leaders to take to individual podiums and be quizzed on the big issues raised over the last six weeks in Scottish politics.

The BBC has said Mr Campbell will put the leaders of the country’s political parties ‘under the spotlight’ to discuss these issues.

What can we expect the leaders to talk about?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Following on from the past leaders’ debates, we can expect further heated discussions as leaders battle it out over key issues.

The handling of the coronavirus pandemic as well as the topic of Scottish independence are likely to crop up.

Education, health care, the economy, housing, employment and the environment are also general topics we can expect to be raised by the leaders.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.