British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labor leader Keir Starmer went head-to-head on Wednesday in the final television debate before next week’s election, with each launching highly personal attacks on each other’s credibility, as well as on the credibility of their parties.
With Sunak’s Conservatives trailing Labor by about 20 percentage points in the opinion polls, the Prime Minister launched the attack, accusing Starmer of not being honest with the country on matters of immigration, tax and women’s rights and urging voters not to “surrender” to Labour. Labor Party.
Starmer responded that Sunak was too rich to understand the concerns of most ordinary Britons. According to a YouGov snap poll, the debate was a tie, with both candidates on 50%.
On immigration, a key concern for British voters, Sunak rejected Starmer’s argument that he would seek to return migrants to their countries of origin, noting that many arrived in the UK from Iran, Syria and Afghanistan.
“Go sit with Ayatollah Iranian? Will you try to make a deal with the Taliban? It’s completely ridiculous. You make people look stupid,” the Prime Minister accused.
Opinion polls suggest Labour will win the election with a large majority, ending 14 years of Conservative dominance. The two leaders have faced off in numerous debates and public meetings with voters, with the question of who is best prepared to lead the UK increasingly in focus.
Starmer argued that the country was exhausted after 14 years of Tory-led “chaos” and that he would better understand the challenges faced by many families who have suffered from runaway inflation and the cost of living crisis.
He added: “Part of the problem we have with this Prime Minister is that the world he lives in is millions of miles away from the worlds in which individuals across the country live, as well as the businesses and families they are trying to support.” advertiser.
Betting status
Sunak’s campaign, which began inauspiciously in torrential rain outside Downing Street as the Prime Minister announced the election on July 4, saw several shots to the foot. Leader Conservative Party She was heavily criticized for not attending an event in France to commemorate D-Day, and in recent weeks has faced an internal scandal after five party officials, including two candidates, were investigated over bets on the date of early elections.
On the issue of betting, Starmer accused the Prime Minister of only doing anything about the situation when he had to.
The Labor leader said: “The Prime Minister postponed and postponed and postponed until finally he was forced to act.”
Sunak responded by saying that “given the seriousness and sensitivity of the issues at hand”, it was important for him that these matters were dealt with appropriately, which he said he did, sounding “angry” and “frustrated”. Allegations.
Keir Starmer has also been the target of criticism at public events, where he has been accused of following the script and being a robot, as well as of lacking clarity on how to fund much-needed improvements to public services.
One of the questions asked by an audience member during the debate summed up the feelings of a large portion of Britons. He described Sunak as a “fairly modest Prime Minister” and said he believed Starmer’s “strings” were being pulled by senior members of the Labor Party.
“Are you really the best we have to be the next Prime Minister of our great country?” asked one of the audience members, named Robert, to loud applause. He later told the BBC that he had not yet decided who he would vote for.
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