The first ever Prime Ministerial Debates take place in Great Britain on Thursday 15th April on ITV, at 8.30 pm, in front of a 200 strong invited audience.

The first Leaders’ Debate chaired by Alastair Stewart willl focus on the domestic agenda.

The three leaders, Gordon Brown of the Labour Party, David Cameron of the Conservative Party and Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrat Party will face each other in the first of three debates on British Television.

An estimated 10 million people will tune into the 90-minute debate on ITV. The debate will be held in a Granada Television studio, in Manchester. They will face only eight questions. At the start of the debate the three leaders will be allowed to make a one minute address and they will be allowed to make closing statements. The debates are bound by over 70 rules negotiated with all three political parties.

The US Presidential Debates between Barack Obama and John McCain in 2008 drew between 52 million and 63 million viewers and over 70 million people watched the famous television clash between Richard Nixon and John F.Kennedy in the United States in 1960.

The Prime Ministerial Debates are new to Britain. The second debate chaired by Adam Boulton on Sky News on 22nd April evening will focus on international affairs and the final debate on BBC hosted by Richard Dimbleby on the 29th of April will be on the economy.

Ivan Corea of the UK Autism Foundation said: ‘We welcome the Leaders’ Debates on television, this is history in the making and I am sure that even parents and carers and members of the Autism Community will tune in but we would like to see Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg tackle questions about public services and important issues on education,health and autism/Asperger’s Syndrome. UKAF has been calling for Disability Issues to be included in the debates but whether a question relating to disability/autism will be picked is of course another matter. We have asked the leaders to remember the needs of vulnerable, in the 2010 General Election and speak out for parents, carers and all people with disabilities including autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.’

Autism campaigners in Britain have called for the next Government to consider setting up stated funded autism schools and state funded Autism Academies, initiating an autism strategy for children and an autism strategy for the elderly, permanent increases in the disability living allowance, the carers allowance, child benefit and tax credits in order to support poor families and people with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, ring fenced investment for autism services, among a range of key issues.

For further information on UKAF:
www.ukautismfoundation.org