Labour leader Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the debate stage yesterday (Picture: Jonathan Hordle/ITV/PA Wire)
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have an opportunity to recover from their first televised debate today, as the General Election campaign winds back for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
The Conservative and Labour leaders will both attend a national commemoration event in Portsmouth to mark one of the turning points of the Second World War.
It will be a considerable shift in tone from last night’s tempestuous head-to-head, during which the pair frequently talked over each other and disagreed on figures.
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ITV host Julie Etchingham had to step in and bring order to proceedings more than once.
Sunak took aim at Labour’s spending plans, saying they would require a £2,000 tax rise on working people – something Starmer described as ‘absolute garbage’.
The Tory leader, meanwhile, was assailed on NHS waiting times and his national service plan for young people.
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In the end, an extremely narrow margin – 51% to 49% – said they thought the prime minister had won the debate over the Labour leader, according to YouGov.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage’s official launch of his campaign to become Clacton’s MP was overshadowed when a 25-year-old woman threw a McDonald’s banana milkshake in his face.
The new Reform leader later posted a tweet capitalising on the attention, including a video where he held up a cup from the fast food chain and said: ‘My milkshake brings all the people to the rally.’