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Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer went head-to-head over tax, the NHS and education in the first heated televised debate of the general election campaign.
Sir Keir criticised Mr Sunak’s record in government, accusing the Conservative party of losing control of government and making voters “pay the price”.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak accused Sir Keir’s Labour party of planning to “raise taxes and plunder pensions” and of lacking other concrete policies.
Answering questions from a live audience, the leaders were asked what they would do to improve health care, address immigration issues and help families struggling with the cost of living.
Leaders have confirmed there will be no increase in National Insurance contributions or income tax in the next Parliament.
Both parties also said they would not increase VAT, apart from Labour’s plans to tax private schools.
But in a heated exchange, both men accused each other of talking “nonsense” about tax and spending policy.
Mr Sunak claimed Labour would tax pensioners, while Sir Keir said the Conservatives had piled up “billions of dollars” of unfunded spending.
The debate got off to a rocky start with Sir Keir claiming that Mr Sunak had called an early election because he believed the economic situation was worsening.
Sir Keir said: “He knows inflation will rise again, he knows energy prices will rise again in the autumn, but he’s not telling you that.”
Mr Sunak hit back, claiming the Labour government had no plan to address the challenges.
“There will be a lot of talk of the past in this election,” Mr Sunak said. “This election is about the future and I’ve been clear that I intend to continue to cut people’s taxes just as I am doing now.”
Sir Keir accused the Prime Minister of trying to distance himself from the record of 14 years of Conservative governments.
“You may want to throw it away, but everyone else is living with it,” Sir Keir said.
The Prime Minister defended the Government’s record on health and said strikes by NHS staff were responsible for rising hospital waiting lists.
The Prime Minister’s reference to the strikes drew groans from the live audience, and Sir Keir accused him of claiming health problems were “someone else’s fault”.
Asked how he would tackle education, Sunak said Conservative reforms had made British children the best readers in the world.
Sir Keir said Labour would recruit 6,500 new teachers to fix the “mess” and believes imposing VAT on private schools could bring “necessary change” for children.
2024 Election
Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will return to the campaign trail, taking part in the first ever head-to-head leaders’ debate on ITV on Tuesday night. I‘s general election live blog is your go-to place for 2024 general election coverage.
The Conservatives have announced their proposals to reform gender law, but attention has been drawn to Nigel Farage’s shock move to run for Parliament and become leader of Reform UK. Shortly after the announcement, the Conservatives revealed their proposals for a new immigration cap.
On immigration, Labour has said it is ready to accept asylum seekers from overseas. In London, former party leader Jeremy Corbyn, now standing as an independent, is fighting to keep supporters behind Starmer.
Have a question for our politics experts? Email us at polsquestions@inews.co.uk or tweet us. translation: Jane Merrick or Hugo Gay may respond during the first live readers’ debate.