For the first time in this year's election campaign in Britain, the two men who could occupy the prime minister's post, faced each other in a debate on ITV, notes the "Telegraph" in a comment about the upcoming election, titled "Rishi Sunak exposes Keir Starmer's flaws".
The debate was tense and full of heated arguments, the newspaper commented. Rishi Sunak, leader of the Conservatives, focused on the potential for tax increases if the other party took power. Labor leader Keir Starmer has highlighted the government's failings on immigration and the NHS, according to The Telegraph.
One of the two party leaders who took part in the first televised election debate of this year's campaign will be prime minister on July 5. It will be the voters' choice, no matter how loud the rest of the noise on the stage, notes the British newspaper.
The purpose of such debates, which are a relatively new element in British elections, is to give voters the first real opportunity to see and hear the main candidates who will present their plans for the coming years.
And yet who won the debate?
Inevitably, both leaders had their carefully rehearsed lines and intended to stick to them. The format of the debate, with constant interruptions and the inability of the participants to present their theses, did not help.
However, it was a good performance for Prime Minister Sunak, who has struggled to make inroads in the polls and was disappointed not to get his message across. He said he has a plan to cut taxes, protect pensions and reduce immigration, while Labor is unpredictable, commented in the "Telegraph".
Keir Starmer, who leads the UK opinion polls, was desperate not to make a mistake or say something unwise - or, indeed, not say much at all, the newspaper noted.
The survey of the institute "YuGov" (YouGov) for the debate saw a narrow victory for Sunak, with 51% of those polled saying he had done best overall, and 49% saying Keir Starmer had done better.
The express poll's breakdown of issues showed Sunak did better on tax and slightly on immigration, while Starmer did better on the NHS, education, cost of living and climate change.
Rishi Sunak most impressed the audience during the live debate time slot on the "Telegraph" and won by more than 52,068 votes.
The British company for sociological research "Savanta" (Savanta), however, found that Keir Starmer beat Sunak in the televised debate between the two leaders on ITV, according to Britain's "Independent".
The study of "Savanta" showed that Keir Starmer had the upper hand over Sunak by 44% to 39%, leading the Prime Minister on the NHS and public services by 63% to 25%, on the economy by 52% to 36% and in the field of defense and security with 43% to 41%.
The UK Treasury denied Rishi Sunak's £2,000 tax hike claim in a televised election debate, and Labor accused him of lying like Boris Johnson about their tax plans. Shadow cabinet minister Jonathan Ashworth said he "exposed himself no less than Johnson.
This happened after the Ministry of Finance "poured cold water" Sunak over his claim that Labor would raise taxes by £2,000 for every household. In the first televised debate of the general election campaign, the Prime Minister repeatedly pointed to the absence of around £38.5 billion in Starmer's spending plans. But on Monday, James Bowler, the permanent secretary of the British Treasury, sent a letter to the Labor Party to reject that claim. The figure "includes costs beyond those provided by the civil service and published online by HM Treasury," he told Shadow Treasury Chief Secretary Darren Jones.
According to "Telegraph" tax clashes have dominated the debate. "Take my word for it, Labor will raise your taxes. It's in their DNA. Your job, your car, your pension and whatever else you can think of, Labor will tax it," Sunak said. At another point, the Prime Minister said of Starmer: "He's going to raise your taxes, he's going to raise your bills, that's clear as day." Sunak also warned: "If you think Labor is going to win, start saving.
An exchange of views on tax matters set the tone for the debate, with the Prime Minister repeatedly pushing for Keir Starmer to announce his plans. The Prime Minister tried to get the Labor leader to set out his resolve to end strikes, tackle the welfare crisis and end migrant boat crossings.
On immigration, there were clear differences between the two party leaders over whether they would consider Britain withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Some right-wing British political figures claim that the ECHR makes it harder to fight the crossing of the Channel by small boats carrying migrants, notes the "Telegraph".
The newspaper said that despite this, Starmer said: "If I am prime minister, we will not withdraw from international agreements and international law that is respected around the world.
Nigel Farage, the newly announced leader of the right-wing British Reform Party, recently called for Britain to leave the ECHR. It was remarkable that he was hardly mentioned in the hour-long debate, notes in. "Telegraph".
Incoming Conservative party leader Richard Holden said after the debate: "Tonight has shown the clear opportunity facing voters in this election.
"Keir Starmer has no plans for our country, no plan and no ideas. He wants to get a blank check," Holden pointed out.
According to "YuGov" however, Sunak behaved "more like a prime minister", is the opinion of the voters, the newspaper notes.
Voters found Keir Starmer more reliable, likable and approachable than Rishi Sunak, but still felt Sunak behaved "more prime ministerially":
Who was more...
Reliable: Sunak 39% vs Starmer 49%
Likeable: Sunak 34% vs. Starmer 50%
Contact: Sunak 17% v Starmer 66%
For the premiership: Sunak 43% against Starmer 40%
The first general election debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer averaged 4.8 million viewers, down more than 2 million viewers from the previous debate in 2019, according to the US entertainment news site "Deadline". Hosted by Julie Etchingham, ITV's raucous battle produced by "Multistory Media" and lasted just over an hour, peaking with about 5 million viewers by the end, according to data from British audience research organization Barb, provided by overnights.tv. It fell short of the previous head-to-head between Boris Johnson and Labor's Jeremy Corbyn in 2019, which drew an audience of 7 million viewers, the Hollywood site noted.
Televised debates have become an established part of Britain's general election political landscape since the island's first-ever televised debate in 2010 between Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg, Conservative David Cameron and Labour's Gordon Brown, which was watched by almost 10m .spectators, and this debate was fierce.
Speaking on a host of topics including tax, the NHS, education, migration and even what advice he would give England national football manager Gareth Southgate, Sunak appeared to come out on top in polls and press reports, but only for little, comments "Deadline".
The most eye-catching moment was Sunak's repeated claims that Starmer's opposition Labor Party would raise taxes on working families by £2,000 ($2,555) - a claim he made several times before it was finally rejected from the Labor leader running on a slate that included refusing to raise taxes on working Britons. The claim was then rejected by the British Treasury.
Starmer looked more nervous but is still far ahead in the polls. Apart from the claim for the £2,000 tax increase, he may have felt relatively unscathed, the US site points out.
The previous debates took place during the ill-tempered winter 2019 election campaign, when Johnson, forced to resign three years later over ``partygate,'' ran saying he would `` dealt with Brexit" and won by a huge margin, notes "Deadline".
Another debate will take place in three weeks' time on the BBC, just days before the July 4 election, and in the meantime there will also be a number of multi-party debates with smaller parties, including one tonight on the BBC.
p>