British Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer went head-to-head in their final debate on Wednesday before next week’s general election, with each man trading highly personal attacks on himself and his party’s credibility.
With Mr Sunak’s Conservative Party trailing Labour by around 20 points in the opinion polls, the prime minister went on the attack, accusing Mr Starmer of not being honest with the country on immigration, tax and women’s rights and urging voters not to “give in” to Labour.
Mr Starmer countered that Mr Sunak was too rich to understand the concerns of most ordinary Britons, and the debate ended with the two leaders tied on 50% each in the latest YouGov poll.
On immigration, one of the biggest concerns for the British public, Sunak said many of the migrants who arrive in the UK come from Iran, Syria and Afghanistan, and denied Starmer’s claims that he would try to deport them to their home countries.
“Is he going to meet with the Ayatollah of Iran? Is he going to make a deal with the Taliban? It’s complete nonsense. He’s making a fool of the people.”
Opinion polls suggest Labour’s Starmer is set to win by a large margin, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. The two leaders have met in several debates and public sessions with voters, with an increasing focus on who is best suited to lead the country.
Starmer said the country had been worn down by 14 years of “disorderly” Conservative government and that he better understood the challenges facing many families struggling with soaring inflation and a cost-of-living crisis.
“One of the problems we have with this prime minister is that his lifeworld is millions of miles away from the lifeworld of the individuals, businesses and families across the country that they are trying to support,” he said.
Harsh criticism
Sunak’s campaign has struggled from the start – he launched his campaign in pouring rain at Downing Street and was heavily criticised for missing the anniversary of the Normandy landings.
He also had to deal with a gambling scandal after five party officials, including two candidates, were investigated over bets on the timing of early elections.
Mr Starmer has also faced criticism at public events, with voters accusing him of sticking to a script and acting like a robot, and of not providing enough information about how he will fund badly-needed improvements to public services.
One questioner, Robert, seemed to speak for many in the audience and expressed his own feelings, calling Mr Sunak a “fairly mediocre chancellor” and saying he believed Mr Starmer’s strings were being pulled by senior Labour figures.
“Are you two really the people who should be the next prime minister of this great country?” Mr Trump said to thunderous applause. He later told the BBC he hadn’t yet decided who he would vote for.
