In the first TV debate of this election, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer went head to head on topics including tax, the NHS, and immigration. The leaders were at times scrappy, causing the host to intervene and ask them to “lower your voices”. Mr Sunak claimed that Labour would increase tax by £2,000, which Sir Keir dismissed as “absolute garbage”. Both leaders took the opportunity to talk about how their childhood experiences influenced their politics.
Mr Sunak went into the debate with polls predicting a Labour win, with his economic pledges and Rwanda deportation policy under scrutiny. The first question from the audience focused on how each party would tackle the cost of living crisis. The audience member, Paula from Huddersfield, described struggling with energy and food bills, a situation the charity Citizens Advice says they deal with 6,000 queries on every day. The Conservatives set up the furlough scheme during the pandemic, Mr Sunak said, and his plan to grow the economy was starting to work. He claimed Labour would pay for its spending plans with “£2,000 in higher taxes for every working family in our country after all the hard work and sacrifice we’ve been through”. Sir Keir suggested his opponent was out of touch, highlighting that Mr Sunak had said that the plan was working, to Ms Paula’s plight.
Both leaders were asked to raise their hands if they would raise income tax, national insurance, or VAT. Neither did, prompting questions about how they would pay for their policies. The debate continued to be heated as the pair explained their parties’ policies on immigration, which has been thrown into the spotlight after the return of Nigel Farage as the leader of Reform UK.
The discussion led to Ms Etchingham calling for them to lower their voices. Mr Sunak said he’d choose our country’s security if his Rwanda deportation policy doesn’t work, a stance that was applauded. Sir Keir’s defence of the ECHR, saying he wanted the UK to be a respected player on the world stage, not a pariah, was also applauded. The most clarity of the night came when Ms Etchingham asked the pair a simple yes or no question on whether they would use private healthcare to bypass lengthy waiting lists for a loved one; Mr Sunak responded “yes”, whereas Sir Keir said “no,” adding he doesn’t use private health care
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