Sunak and Starmer couldn’t wait to face off during ‘acrimonious’ debate | Politics News

Both the Starmer and Sunak campaigns agree: the first head-to-head of the election campaign was – in many ways – a difficult watch.

The two men spent two weeks on campaign attacking each other from hundreds of miles apart. It was, without a doubt, arrogant.

Suddenly they were in a room together, able to do it in front of an invited audience – and they couldn’t wait to get it on.

As a result, they couldn’t wait to attack the opponent’s pre-prepared lines, mock and persuade each other, often speaking at the same time.

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Voters think Rishi Sunak beat Keir Starmer in first TV debate, snap poll reveals

Tired ITV presenter Julie Etchingham repeatedly tried to keep them in time, struggling awkwardly at times to shut the two men up as they resisted her attempts to stop them.

The debate quickly settled into a slightly unsatisfactory rhythm: Keir Starmer would accuse your Conservative opponent from allowing things to get worse on his watch. Rishi Sunak would return fire by saying his Labor opponent didn’t have a plan.

Starmer used ridicule to try to gain his points, saying that Sunak would not have called the election early if the economy was doing as well as he claimed and migration was finally under control.

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The moment that pleased Labor advisers most was his mocking of Sunak, who claimed that “waiting lists are getting shorter”. Starmer replied: “They were at 7.2 million (when he arrived) and they’re 7.5 million now… and the guy says he’s good at maths.”

However, Sunak was determined to grill his opponent – pressing 13 times a claim that Labor rejects that it would raise taxes by £2,000 if it came to power.

After, Work The opinion advisors admitted that their man did not reject this point strongly enough, dismissing it rather than explaining why he was wrong and calling it out.

Sunak’s most successful moment was highlighting Starmer’s approach to the doctors’ strike. Asked what he will do, the Labor leader replied: “Go into the room and negotiate with the doctors and reach an agreement.”

This was a level of detail that left his opponent unconvinced.

The Conservatives hope that the lack of details on issues such as tax rises and doctors’ strikes will leave voters wondering what will happen in a Labor government.

O YouGov post-debate poll suggests the public saw no clear winner, with Sunak considered the best by 51% and Starmer by 49%. The parties did not immediately challenge this verdict.

Whether that is enough for Sunak, who is so far behind in this race, we will only find out in the coming days.