Combative for their first televised debate of a British legislative campaign which has so far been rather dull, conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Labor opponent Keir Starmer went blow for blow on Tuesday on purchasing power, health, and even immigration.
Will this duel change the order of things one month before an election for which the Labor Party has been clearly the winner for months in the polls? Neither candidate made thunderous announcements or bowed to his opponent in this first exciting meeting, but without surprise.
“I have a concrete plan” in order to “turn the page” on 14 years of conservative governments, launched in his short introductory speech Keir Starmer, first to speak in the room in Salford, near Manchester (north of England). England), where the debate was organized.
“I have a clear plan for a more secure future” for the British, continued Rishi Sunak, praising the recent improvement in the economic situation and accusing his opponent of wanting to increase taxes on the British.
Having come to power 19 months ago to bring stability after Liz Truss’ short stint in Downing Street, Rishi Sunak, 44, has once again taken on the mantle of reasonable manager.
On the other hand, voters who were waiting for the 61-year-old Labor leader who has refocused the Labor Party since the departure of his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn to further clarify his program, were certainly left wanting more.
“Stand there and say I will solve [ce problème]. “It’s not a plan,” Rishi Sunak said, when the two candidates were questioned about their proposals to reduce waiting lists in the public health system.
“Keir Starmer is asking you to sign him a blank check, without having told you what he will buy with it and how much it will cost you,” he insisted in his conclusion.
Facing him, the Labor leader did not fail to once again criticize the results of 14 years of conservative power, while accusing the Prime Minister of wanting to exonerate himself.
“I know the Prime Minister has already said […] that he wanted nothing to do with the last 14 years. I’m sorry, Mr. Prime Minister, you perhaps want to get rid of it, but everyone lives with this record, he said.
Same thing on immigration, “too high”, according to the Prime Minister, who defended his plan to expel migrants to Rwanda. A controversial project that Labor has promised to abandon if it comes to power.
“Who is in power? » retorted Keir Starmer, who promises to attack more harshly the groups of smugglers who take thousands of migrants across the Channel on small boats.
“No magic wand”
“I do not claim to have a magic wand that will solve everything immediately,” he insisted in his conclusion.
The Prime Minister, a former millionaire investment banker who some accuse of being disconnected from the realities of ordinary Britons, tried to show that he understood people’s problems.
“I know how much the last few years have put a strain on your finances,” he told a member of the audience who asked him about the cost of living crisis.
“He lives in a different world,” said Keir Starmer.
A few hours before the debate, Nigel Farage, surprise candidate for the anti-immigration Reform UK party, stole the spotlight by launching his campaign from Clacton-on-Sea (south-east).
At 60 years old, this “ Brexiteer ” of the hard right, close to former US President Donald Trump, called for “reactivating a people’s army againstestablishment “.
His candidacy a few hours before the debate further weakened Rishi Sunak, leader of a party weakened and divided after five successive prime ministers, Brexit, COVID-19, an economic and social crisis, all punctuated by scandals.
A YouGov poll published on Monday predicted that Labor would crush the Conservatives and score its biggest victory in its history on July 4, far bigger than Tony Blair’s in 1997.
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer will debate again at the end of June, one week before the vote.
On Tuesday evening, 51% of viewers estimated that the Prime Minister did better in their first duel than Keir Starmer, according to a survey by the YouGov institute.