How to watch tonight's BBC Question Time election special

A family of three (father, mother and teenage daughter)  watching TV on a green sofa
[BBC]

The BBC is hosting a Question Time election special with the leaders of the UK's four biggest political parties.

Presented by Fiona Bruce, the programme will be broadcast tonight from 20:00-22:00 BST on BBC One, radio and online as well as on BBC iPlayer.

Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, Rishi Sunak, Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer, Scottish National Party leader John Swinney and leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Ed Davey will take part.

The leaders will appear separately and will each have 30 minutes to answer questions from a live studio audience in York.

A black and white image of Fiona Bruce with the four leaders who will be taking part in the Question Time debate
[BBC]

Sir Ed Davey will appear first, followed by John Swinney, Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak.

The programme will also be available on the BBC News Channel in the UK and overseas, on the BBC News website as part of coverage and analysis in our live page and on the dedicated “Election 24” audio-only stream available on BBC Sounds and on smart speakers.

An additional Question Time Leaders’ Special, featuring representatives from Reform UK and the Green Party, will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 20:00 BST on 28 June.

How to watch other TV debates

Ahead of the general election on 4 July, the BBC is offering a range of other dedicated debate programmes.

On Wednesday, 26 June at 21:00, Mishal Husain will host a head-to-head TV debate with PM Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer in Nottingham. The programme will be broadcast on BBC One and on local radio across the country and will be available online and on BBC iPlayer.

Additional debates are taking place for Wales and Northern Ireland. Still to come are:

  • Wales: Bethan Rhys Roberts will host the Wales Leaders’ Debate live from Central Square, BBC Wales’ broadcast hub in Cardiff, on Friday, 21 June, broadcast from 19:00-20:00

  • Northern Ireland: Tara Mills will moderate the Northern Ireland Leaders’ Debate on BBC One Northern Ireland on Thursday, 27 June, broadcast from 21:00-22:00

You can rewatch the BBC's debate from 7 June, featuring the leaders of the seven biggest political parties in the UK, on iPlayer and you can also rewatch the Scotland Leaders Debate from 11 June on iPlayer.

Party leaders also facing BBC interviews

As well as the debates, the BBC has also invited the leaders of the seven biggest political parties to be interviewed by broadcaster Nick Robinson.

So far, five of the interviews have taken place and are available to watch back on iPlayer:

  • Rishi Sunak, Conservative Party

  • John Swinney, SNP

  • Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru

  • Sir Keir Starmer, Labour Party

Coming up is an interview with:

  • Nigel Farage, Reform UK, on Friday, 21 June at 19:00

  • Adrian Ramsay, Green Party, on Monday, 24 June at 19:00

  • Sir Ed Davey, Liberal Democrats, on Friday, 28 June at 19:30

The interviews will be BBC Panorama specials and will air at 19:00 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

How to follow the general election on BBC News

BBC News has a wide range of content planned to guide you through the campaign, right up to election night on 4 July.

Whether you are in the UK or overseas, its comprehensive coverage will be available across every platform.

Online

Follow all the election developments on the BBC News website and app.

Daily live pages will bring you the latest from the campaign trail and you can follow General election 2024 for simple explainers and in-depth analysis from BBC News political correspondents and experts.

There will also be full live coverage of all of the BBC TV debates.

International users can access all BBC News election content on BBC.com

On election night, follow the full results as they come in.

And BBC News cameras and reporters across the country will feed live pages and video streams, so you will not miss a thing.

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Television and streaming

Laura Kuenssberg and Clive Myrie will host BBC News' election night coverage, along with BBC political editor Chris Mason and other experts.

The programme will be on BBC One in England, BBC Two in Wales and Northern Ireland, and the BBC News channel for audiences in Scotland and overseas.

Dedicated election results programmes on BBC One in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales will be presented by Martin Geissler, Mark Carruthers, and Nick Servini respectively, with Anne McAlpine hosting a Gaelic-language election round-up on BBC Alba.

You can also keep up to date with the campaign through the BBC News channel’s daily coverage and the Election 2024 livestream on BBC iPlayer.

Clive Myrie and Laura Kuenssberg
Clive Myrie and Laura Kuenssberg will front the election-night TV coverage [BBC]

Radio

The BBC News flagship Newscast programme has been rebranded as Electioncast for the duration of the campaign.

Adam Fleming and the BBC News political team will provide a daily update on all things election.

Audio-only political coverage will also be available on the “Election 24” stream on BBC Sounds and on smart speakers.

On election night, Electioncast will invite listeners to join their audience watch-along.

BBC Radio 4’s election-night coverage will be hosted by Rachel Burden and Nick Robinson.

For analysis, they will be joined by BBC News chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman.

Global audiences can follow events, with a mix of dedicated UK-election coverage and international news, through the BBC World Service.

BBC election banner
[BBC]