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Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer attacked one another over migration, tax, women’s rights, Brexit and integrity as they traded furious blows during the final party leaders’ live BBC general election debate.
The prime minister claimed the Labour leader was not being straight – but Sir Keir was visibly angry when Mr Sunak repeated the Conservatives’ allegation that Labour would put up tax bills by £2,000.
“That’s a lie – he’s been told not to repeat that lie and he’s just done it,” Sir Keir said.
In a snap YouGov snap poll of viewers, 47 per cent said Sir Keir won, 47 per cent said Mr Sunak did, and 6 per cent did not know.
Meanwhile, a new MRP poll has forecast Reform UK is set to win 18 seats in the upcoming general election.
The Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus survey of almost 20,000 voters, conducted between 14 and 24 June, also predicted Reform will win 17 per cent of the vote share, compared to the Tories’ 15 per cent.
It comes as Westminster reels from gambling accusations, while Labour suspended a party member who was arrested in connection with the honeytrap scandal that rocked Westminster.
Key Points
- Reform UK set to win 18 seats at general election, reveals new poll
- Who performed best? Snap YouGov poll result
- Starmer sticks boot into Sunak over trans issues
- Labour leader vows to reopen Brexit deal
- Cheers as Starmer brands Sunak ‘out of touch’
- Who is Mishal Husain? The host of the final BBC leader’s debate
- Police investigate ‘small number of cases’ in betting scandal
- Top Tory placed £8,000 bet on himself to lose
Has Labour given up fighting Nigel Farage in Clacton?
Labour appears to have given up the fight against Nigel Farage’s bid to become the MP for Clacton.
The party has reportedly ‘seconded’ its candidate from the seaside constituency in Essex to campaign in the West Midlands, suggesting Labour has conceded defeat to the Reform UK leader before polling day.
It comes after the Labour candidate for the seat, Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, went viral on social media, being dubbed “the best dressed candidate in living memory”. He was also named by anti-Brexit campaign group Best for Britain as the candidate in the strongest position to stop Mr Farage’s bid to become an MP for the first time.
Archie Mitchell reports:
Has Labour given up fighting Nigel Farage in Clacton?
The party has reportedly sent its candidate from the seaside constituency in Essex to campaign in the West Midlands instead
Tara Cobham27 June 2024 08:01 1719470784Reform UK set to win 18 seats at general election, reveals new poll
Reform UK is set to win 18 seats at the upcoming general election, a new poll has revealed.
The party is also on track to win a higher vote share than the Conservatives, according to the MRP survey conducted this month.
Reform is predicted to win 18 seats and 17 per cent of the vote share, while the Tories are expected to bag 60 seats and only 15 per cent of the vote share.
Meanwhile, the poll of almost 20,000 voters said the Liberal Democrats are looking to come in at second place, pushing the Conservatives into third – meaning Sir Ed Davey would become leader of the opposition.
The Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus survey, conducted between 14 and 24 June, also forecast that Labour is on track to bag a huge majority, winning 450 seats and 40 per cent of the vote share.
Tara Cobham27 June 2024 07:46 1719468000The number that spells trouble for Keir Starmer
The number that spells trouble for Keir Starmer
According to the opinion polls, the winner of the general election is clear – but Labour is rightly worried that its vote share could yet be outshone by Jeremy Corbyn’s in 2017. Anything less than 40 per cent will store up problems for Starmer’s administration, says Andrew Grice
Salma Ouaguira27 June 2024 07:00 1719464400Behind the scenes as Jeremy Hunt scrambles to defend true-blue seat
Behind the scenes of the Lib Dem assault on Jeremy Hunt’s true-blue Surrey seat
The chancellor is plotting a narrow course to victory in the ‘true-blue’ seat but, on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, Archie Mitchell struggled to see how he can hold on
Salma Ouaguira27 June 2024 06:00 1719460800Exclusive: Starmer’s strongest warning to striking doctors: I won’t give 35% rise
Sir Keir Starmer has warned striking junior doctors in his strongest words yet that he will not give them the 35 per cent pay rise they are demanding.
Junior doctors are set to start their 11th walkout on Thursday morning in a bid to apply political pressure during the general election with a refusal to back down over their pay demands.
The latest five-day strike comes during the hottest week of the year and off the back of a cyberattack on London hospitals which has already resulted in thousands of operations being cancelled.
This week will also see NHS services deal with major events such as Glastonbury and the London Pride march.
Starmer’s strongest warning yet to striking doctors: I won’t give 35% rise
Exclusive: As junior doctors prepare to start another five-day strike on Thursday, Keir Starmer has used his strongest language yet to warn Labour will not meet their pay demands
Salma Ouaguira27 June 2024 05:00 1719457200George Galloway claims he was stalked by Baby Reindeer’s ‘real-life’ Martha
George Galloway claims he was stalked by Baby Reindeer’s ‘real-life’ Martha
Galloway says Fiona Harvey called him ‘hundreds of times and she showed up probably hundreds of times’
Salma Ouaguira27 June 2024 04:00 1719453600Tory candidates beg voters: back me, not Sunak
Tory candidates beg voters: back me, not Sunak
Exclusive: Tory candidates try to separate themselves from Rishi Sunak in desperate bid to get elected
Salma Ouaguira27 June 2024 03:00 1719450000No clear winner in the BBC leaders’ debate
There was no winner in the BBC prime ministerial debate, according to a YouGov snap poll.
In a survey of 1,716 viewers, 47% said Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer won, 47% said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did, and 6% answered they did not know.
Salma Ouaguira27 June 2024 02:00 1719447000Party leaders clashed in a fiery BBC debate
The leaders’ combative back and forths continued until the very end of the debate, with Sir Keir Starmer accusing Rishi Sunak of lying in his closing statement.
Bringing the debate to a close, Mr Sunak said: “I understand why you’re frustrated with our party, with me, I get it. But this is not a by-election, it’s a choice with profound consequences for you and our country. And before you make that choice, think what a Labour government would mean.
“Can you afford to pay at least £2,000 more in tax? And why won’t Keir Starmer be straight with you about what he wants to do? And if you’re not certain about Labour, don’t surrender to them, don’t vote for any other party, vote Conservative.”
In response, the Labour leader said: “That is a lie, he’s been told not to repeat that lie and he’s just done it.”
For his final thought, Sir Keir said: “My message to you is simple: if you want your NHS back, you have to vote for it. If you want a growing economy, you have to vote for it.
“If you want more police on our streets or teachers in our schools, you have to vote for it. If you want to end 14 years of chaos … then that power is in your hands, on July the 4th, vote change, vote Labour.”
Salma Ouaguira27 June 2024 01:10 1719445200Starmer denied claims Labour would allow ‘free movement by the back doors’
Sir Keir Starmer has denied claims from Rishi Sunak that a Labour government would allow “free movement by the back doors”.
“We are not going back into the EU, we’re not rejoining the single market or customs union, and we’re not accepting freedom of movement,” he said.
“I’m not a defeatist like the Prime Minister.”
To applause, he added: “I know we can get a better deal than the botched deal that we’ve got and I’m going to go out and fight for it. Not going to have freedom of movement come back, not going to back to the EU, but going to fight for get a better deal so you can trade more easily, so our economy can succeed, because I believe in our country.”
Mr Sunak said he had negotiated for 18 months and that Sir Keir was saying he could “magic some good thing for us” with nothing expected in return from the EU.
Sir Keir said: “It’s very important when you start those negotiations that you’re very clear on the lines you won’t cross, and I’ve set out the lines I won’t cross.”
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