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Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer are due to face off on Tuesday night in the first televised debate since the general election was announced.
During the hour-long show, which starts at 9pm, the pair will be asked questions by both the ITV presenter and viewers.
The two men have faced off regularly during Prime Minister’s Questions and Answers over the past year, but this will be the first time they have been grilled by the public on the same program.
Here are some topics that might come up:
Questions for Sunak
The Conservative government has made its battle lines clear in recent weeks with high-profile announcements including the return of National Service, a new “triple lock plus” system and plans to amend the Equality Act to protect “biological sex”.
Sunak’s challenge will be that, unlike his opponents, he will have to defend the party’s record in government and its plans for the future.
After 14 years in power, the Conservative Party has much to deliver on, including some of the promises the Prime Minister has made since taking office.
Why have the Conservatives failed to improve the NHS?
Mr Sunak launched his election campaign with five promises that would determine public opinion, one of which was reducing NHS waiting lists.
In that respect, he appears to have failed, as the total number of people waiting for treatment is still higher than he promised.
The Conservative election campaign so far has had little focus on plans for the NHS, an issue close to the heart of many voters.
So the big question for Sunak is why he did not make more progress during his time as chancellor, and why should the public trust him to improve the NHS if he were to return?
Why did immigration levels rise under Conservative governments?
On the morning of the first televised debate, the Conservative Party announced that if it won the election it would impose a visa cap to reduce legal immigration.
This is a key battleground for the Conservatives as they fight the threat not only from Labour but also from Reform UK, which has said it wants to make this an “immigration election”.
Net immigration is set to reach a record 745,000 in 2022, almost three times the level before the Conservatives came to power in 2010.
Meanwhile, the party has been trying for the past two years since coming to power to get flights to Rwanda but has so far failed.
Mr Sunak will therefore be asked why his party is struggling to reduce immigration and why measures such as visa caps were not introduced sooner.
Why are Conservatives so focused on “woke” issues?
There was anxiety within the Conservative party on Monday after the Prime Minister announced plans to change the Equality Act to ensure that sex-based protections only apply to “biological sex”.
The measure was intended to make it easier for public institutions, such as prisons and hospitals, to prevent transgender people from entering single-sex spaces.
Mr Sunak has also frequently criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s stance on gender issues, claiming he “doesn’t know what a woman is”.
But the Prime Minister may now be asking why his party has chosen to campaign on this issue rather than other concerns facing the public.
Questions for Starmer
With opinion polls currently showing Labour is likely to win the general election on 4 July, the big questions for Starmer are likely to focus on his plans to take power.
The presenter will want to ask questions about the Labour leader’s policies, but the Prime Minister will surely bring up his past record both in opposition and as Director of Public Prosecutions.
How can the public trust him when he has watered down past promises?
The Conservative party frequently criticises Starmer for breaking many campaign promises and “changing his stance” on key issues.
But it’s something the public might want to know the answer to: Among the pledges the party has dropped or watered down are spending £38 billion on green energy, stripping private schools of their charity status, abolishing tuition fees and protecting workers’ rights.
If the Labour leader is expected to become the next Prime Minister, voters may want to know that they can trust him to keep his promises on the issues they care about.
If Labour comes to power, will taxes be raised?
Labour denies that if it wins power it would raise tax rates, currently the highest since the Second World War.
But the Conservatives argue many of Labour’s promises are unfunded and likely to lead to higher taxes for working families.
Starmer is therefore likely to be grilled on whether his calculations are right and whether he can really deliver all he promises without raising taxes.
The difficult economic situation in the wake of the pandemic and the continuing war in Ukraine may also lead people to ask when they will see a reduction in tax rates.
Can he lead a united Labour Party after so many years of division?
It’s been a tough week for the Labor party amid widespread anger over reports that veteran MP Diane Abbott has been barred from standing.
Although she has since been allowed to stand again, there has also been criticism of Labour’s decisions to cancel or block the candidacy of a number of left-wing candidates.
Starmer is likely to face questions about what role he played in selecting the next candidate and whether his approach reveals anything about possible future divisions within the Labour party.
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.