Voters in Britain are as confused as ever after the Boris and Corbyn TV debate

Apparently nearly seven million people watched Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn debating against each other on ITV last night. That's not as many viewers who watch Strictly Come Dancing every Saturday, but then the BBC hit show is decidedly more entertaining and has an element of suspense and excitement and audience participation when it comes to voting celebrity dancers in or out. However, seven milion is not a bad figure, but did any of them come away satisfied with the answers from either leader? There was no real clarity from either of them, apart from Boris Johnson's insistence that he had a Brexit deal all oven-cooked and ready to go. But even that had a degree of obfuscation. When Corbyn accused him of negotiating a deal that meant there would be border checks dividing north and south Ireland, Boris said that was not true and reminded the seven million viewers that Northern Ireland would enjoy its own customs union as part of the UK and would not be subject to border checks. Well, there are some mirrors here. There will be checks, although not necessarily on the border itself, and in certain circumstances there will be tariffs on goods which the rest of the UK will not have to pay. Politicians are good at broad sweep statements that don't take into account the small print. But with the Brexit deal it's the small print, especially in relation to Northern Ireland, that may still cause Boris trouble in the future if he remains as prime minister. Corbyn was also all over the shop when Brexit came up. He just would not say whether he would vote remain or leave if there were a second referendum on the EU. Surely by now the leader of the Labour Party should have a firm fixed policy on the UK/EU. All he would say was that he would leave it to the people to decide and that a Labour government would then implement the public's choice. But, excuse me, that happened in 2016, and look where we are today, divided as ever. Isn't it encumbent on the major political parties to declare where they stand, to help voters make up their minds if nothing else. The Tories under Boris are definitely going for leaving with a deal. Corbyn says he would negotiate a new deal and then present it to voters in a second referendum. But, no, he would not say whether a Labour gvernment under his leadership would campaign to remain in the EU, or leave. No wonder the Liberal Democrats who want the UK to stay in the EU have made it clear they will never share government with Corbyn in any sort of coalition. Like me I expect most of the seven million viewers last night ended up just shaking their heads in confusion and disbelief.