Rishi Sunak and the senior Conservatives sparked the first major row of the election campaign by accusing “cowardly” Sir Keir Starmer of “cowling” in the weekly TV debates.
The Prime Minister challenged the Labor leader to participate in six television confrontations during the campaign, debating issues such as taxes, cost of living and security.
But the labor high command reacted, claiming Mr KeirHis priority is to spend time on the road talking to voters and he revealed that he will take part in two TV debates with the Prime Minister.
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Realistically, television schedules in June and early July are packed with group stages and knockout games from the Euro 2024 football tournament – with England the favorites – meaning that six election debates are highly unlikely.
But undaunted by a clash between football and politics, Mr Sunak launched his challenge to the Labor leader in an article in The Daily Telegraph in which he declared: “There are big issues at stake in this election.
“Do we continue to cut taxes or increase taxes on working families as the Labor Party would do?
“Do we prioritize energy security and your family’s finances in our approach to net zero emissions or do we put environmental dogma first, as Sir Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband would do?
“And most of all, how do we give this country the secure future it deserves?”
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Sunak added: “I want to discuss these issues with Sir Keir Starmer. But he doesn’t want to because he doesn’t have a plan and doesn’t have the courage to say what he wants to do”.
Using tougher language, Conservative chairman Richard Holden increased the pressure on Sir Keir, telling the Daily Express: “It is no surprise that the cowardly Sir Keir Starmer is chickening out in the debates he publicly promised to hold just a few months ago.
“The time has come for Sir Keir to grow a backbone. The public deserves to listen and scrutinize what the man who wants to be our Prime Minister has to say before he changes his mind again.”
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In January, Sir Keir said in TV election debates: “I’ve been saying let’s get started for a long, long time. I’m happy to debate at any time.”
And dismissing Tory claims of a U-turn, Labor sources told Sky News that Sir Keir will speak to voters and answer questions from the media during the election campaign.
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“Labour believes that spending time on the road talking to voters across the country is the priority and so Keir Starmer plans to take part in the two highest-rated debates: BBC and ITV,” said a senior party source.
“We will not destroy the format established in previous elections just to suit this week’s whims of the Conservative party.”
2010 Sky News election debate
TV election debates began in the United Kingdom in the 2010 general election, when Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg took part in three debates, on ITV, Sky News and the BBC.
It was alleged that they were responsible for the “Cleggmania” that eventually led to Clegg becoming Deputy Prime Minister in Cameron’s coalition government.
During the debates, the phrase “I agree with Nick”, frequently used by Cameron and Brown, became a catchphrase successfully used by the Liberal Democrats during the election campaign.
In the last general election, in 2019, there were two debates between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn and it seems likely that there will be two again in this campaign.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
