Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak face off in first UK election debate

None of the men vying to lead Britain after the July 4 vote offered a particularly hopeful vision.

Wait, Sunak said, things will improve, all the dividends of his policies are yet to come, and he will add some “bold” new ones.

Starmer pointed to the past and asked voters if they could survive another five years of Conservative Party rule – “the arsonists have returned the matches”.

With just a month to go before the general elections, this was an opportunity for party leaders to grab the attention of the people. As in the United States, many British voters don’t follow the daily battles of dueling campaigns on social media, but they might be able to catch some lines from a prime-time televised debate.

Labor is headed for a big victory, if the polls are correct. So the party didn’t want any drama. The aim was for Starmer to appear as a calm, authoritarian Prime Minister, proposing “change” but not too much change. Labor tried to cut down on radicals and focus on portfolio issues.

The conservatives had more weight in the debate. Trailing in the polls, Sunak’s camp was praying that the Prime Minister would enjoy a game-changing evening.

A snap poll conducted by YouGov found 51 per cent of respondents said Sunak had won the debate, with 49 per cent saying Starmer. This can be considered a decent exit in conservative circles. But that may not be enough.

Many voters have turned bitter against the Conservatives after their 14 years in power and want to try something new.

Polling averages show Labor getting 45 percent, the Conservatives 24 percent and Britain’s New Reform Party 11 percent. A YouGov poll published on Monday suggests that Starmer’s Labor Party could win a bigger majority than it achieved under Tony Blair in 1997 – and that the Conservatives could experience their worst performance since 1906.

A result like that would mark a reversal of what happened in the last British general election, in 2019, when Boris Johnson’s Conservatives defeated the left-wing Labor Party’s Jeremy Corbyn under the banner “Get Brexit Done.”

During Tuesday’s debate, Starmer accused Sunak of trying to distance himself from his party’s record.

“I know the Prime Minister has already said in the opening minutes of this debate that he wants nothing to do with the last 14 years. I’m sorry, Mr Prime Minister, you might want to let it go, but everyone lives with it,” Starmer said.

Sunak accused Labor of only wanting to look to the past because it had no plan for the future. “If we want to transform our country for the better and deliver a secure future, we must have leaders willing to do bold things,” he said.

A rare moment of agreement occurred when they were asked if “admitted criminal Donald Trump” would be someone they “wish to have a special relationship with.”

“If he is elected president of the United States, then we will look after him,” Starmer said. “This special relationship transcends whoever occupies the position of Prime Minister or President, because it is a very important and strong relationship.

Sunak agreed. “Yes, because maintaining a strong relationship with our closest partner and ally in the United States is essential to keeping everyone in our country safe.”

The rest of the 60 minutes consisted of tense back and forth.

The two were almost out of breath, talking to each other. The ITV moderator kept asking them to take a break.

The only time they stopped was when they were asked to promise they wouldn’t raise taxes. Neither could keep that promise. Britain is in dire financial straits.

Starmer accused the Tories of having “lost control” of the economy and that Sunak’s predecessor, Liz Truss, had “destroyed” it.

The lines about “fairness” were applauded. Sunak said it would not be fair to increase taxes to pay young doctors more than they have already been offered. Starmer stressed that it would be fair for the super rich to pay more tax.

Paula, an audience member, asked a question about the cost of living. She said she spends her weekends cooking in batches so she doesn’t have to turn on her oven at peak times.

Starmer pointed out that “my father worked in a factory, he was a tool maker, my mother was a nurse, we didn’t have a lot of money when I was young, we were sometimes in a position where we couldn’t pay. our bills, so I know what it’s like. In our particular case, our phone was cut off…I don’t think the Prime Minister really understands the situation you and others find yourself in.”

Sunak said he had helped bring inflation under control and that Labor would raise everyone’s taxes by £2,000.

There were shades of difference when it came to immigration. Both men said they would consider outsourcing, sending people who entered Britain illegally to other countries. But they are divided on the issue of human rights and international law.

Sunak said if the European Court of Human Rights tried to block his planned deportation flights he would leave the convention – a treaty Britain helped draft. “If I am forced to choose between the security of our borders and the security of our country or a foreign court, I will choose the security of our country every time,” he said to applause.

Starmer also received applause – for the opposite response.

“We will not withdraw from international agreements and international law that are respected around the world,” he said. “Because I want the UK to be a respected player on the world stage, not a pariah. »