Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer traded blows on the economy, immigration and the NHS as they faced off in the first TV debate of the 2024 election campaign.
The Prime Minister entered the ITV debate as a significant underdog after the campaign’s biggest polls yet pointed to a Conservative wipeout on July 4.
But a snap poll straight after the hour-long debate finished fell narrowly in favour of the Prime Minister.
YouGov polling shows 51 per cent of people thought Mr Sunak performed best overall in tonight's live debate, with 49 per cent voting for Sir Keir.
Crowds had laughed at the Prime Minister when he claimed that NHS “waiting lists are coming down” and Sir Keir warned re-electing the Tories would be like seeing "the arsonists handed back the matches".
The Prime Minister regularly claimed that the Labour leader planned to hike up taxes, before wrapping up by saying Sir Keir was asking for a “blank cheque”.
Mr Sunak was dealt a double hammer blow on Monday as a new poll showed Labour storming to a historic General Election win bigger than Tony Blair’s minutes after Reform leader Nigel Farage announced he would try for the eighth time to become an MP.
The ex-Ukip leader was welcomed back to frontline politics with a splash as he was coated in a McDonald’s milkshake while launching his campaign in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, on Tuesday.
