British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer have faced off in their final televised debate ahead of the United Kingdom election, going head-to-head over issues from health to immigration and ethics, and struggling to be heard above a noisy protest outside.
The debate took place in the central city of Nottingham and represented Sunak’s last big opportunity to give his right-wing Conservatives, who are trailing Labour by about 20 points, a fighting chance in the July 4 polls.
Sunak accused Starmer of “taking people for fools” over Labour’s plans to reduce immigration, while Starmer accused Sunak, one of the country’s wealthiest men, of being “out of touch” and too rich to understand the concerns of most common Britons.
Sunak repeatedly urged voters not to “surrender” to Labour on everything from borders to taxes, while Starmer stressed that the election was an opportunity for the country to “turn the page” on 14 years of Conservative government dominated by austerity, Brexit and party infighting.
Neither Starmer nor Sunak made any reference to the demonstration, which tapered off in the second half of the debate.
The two men also clashed over an election date betting scandal that has ensnared several senior Conservative politicians, as well as one Labour candidate who placed a bet against himself.
