UK: TV duel between Sunak and Starmer
The first televised debate between Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Labour challenger Keir Starmer in the run-up to the British general election on 4 July took place on Tuesday evening. Sunak took an aggressive stance and scored points particularly on taxes and migration, according to a flash poll by Yougov. But this won't be enough to turn the tide for the Tories, commentators say.
A points win for the incumbent
Keir Starmer underestimated his rival, The Spectator notes:
“Every time the Labour leader brought up an example from 14 years of Tory failure, Sunak accused him of being stuck in the past and, more damagingly, of having no plan for the future. Sir Keir eventually began to fight back and draw attention to this audacious attempt at spin but he left it too long. He was clearly unprepared for the aggressive approach taken by the Tory leader. He expected Sunak the underdog but what get encountered was a pitbull. Will any of this make a difference? It seems unlikely. ... He Starmer is still headed for No. 10 and with an eye-watering majority, but he should make this the last time he under-estimates the Prime Minister.”
Childish mud-slinging
Both Sunak and Starmer sank too low, The Times comments:
“The phoney rows, the pretend bickering, all were dialled right up to eleven at the very start and were never dialled back down. ... It was an exercise in each seeking to pile excrement up on top of the other. ... If this was the prism through which the public might be expected to take a view on who they might vote for, then absolutely no light passed through it. ... There's another one of these in three weeks. It should be long enough for both of them to grow up, to drop the spoilt child act.”