Sunak and Starmer warm up in final debate before UK election – National
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labor leader Keir Starmer clashed Wednesday in their last debate before an election next weekboth launching very personal attacks on their credibility and that of their party.
With Sunak’s Conservatives trailing Labor by around 20 points in the polls, the Prime Minister went on the attack, accusing Starmer of not being honest with the country on migration, tax and rights women, and urging voters not to “surrender” to the Labor Party. .
Starmer responded that Sunak was too rich to understand the concerns of most ordinary Britons. A YouGov snap poll found the debate was tied, with both at 50%.
On immigration, one of the main concerns of British voters, Sunak rejected Starmer’s argument that he would seek to send migrants back to their home countries, saying many had arrived in Britain from Iran, Syria and Afghanistan.
“Will he sit down with the Iranian Ayatollah? Are you going to try to make a deal with the Taliban? This is completely absurd. You take people for fools. »
Polls indicate that Labor’s Starmer is on track to win the election with a large majority, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. The two leaders met in several debates or public sessions with voters, increasingly focusing on who was best suited to lead the country.
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Starmer argued the country was exhausted after 14 years of Tory “chaos” and would better understand the challenges of many families who have struggled with soaring inflation and a cost of living crisis.
“Part of the problem we have with this Prime Minister is that his world is millions of miles away from that of individuals across the country, the businesses and the families they are trying to support,” he said .
Sunak’s campaign has struggled from the start. He launched the election in pouring rain at Downing Street and was heavily criticized for failing to attend a D-Day commemoration event.
He also faced a betting scandal after five party officials, including two candidates, were investigated over bets placed on the timing of early elections.
Starmer was also criticized at public events, accused by voters of sticking to a script and being robotic, and of failing to provide enough information on how he would fund much-needed service improvements public.
One of the speakers, Robert, seemed to speak for much of the audience when he expressed his feelings. He called Sunak a “pretty mediocre 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? » he said to loud applause. He later told the BBC that he still hadn’t decided who to vote for.
Protesters stifle debate
As the event began, indiscernible but loud screams could be heard outside the venue at Nottingham Trent University in central England where pro-Palestinian protesters had gathered.
Host Mishal Husain acknowledged the distraction, which continued as the two politicians exchanged barbs. Protest is part of British democracy, she stressed.
Neither Starmer nor Sunak made any reference to the protest.
—With additional files from the Associated Press
