Rishi Sunak came out fighting and just about shaded first TV debate – but it probably won’t work in the election

Published

6 months ago

June 4, 2024

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Behind in the polls, Rishi Sunak needed to come out fighting and take the gloves off in the first TV leaders’ debate.

And he did. He was aggressive, repeatedly challenging Sir Keir Starmer, particularly on tax, placing the Labour leader on the defensive.

Election latest: Voters think Rishi Sunak beat Keir Starmer in first TV debate, snap poll finds

The YouGov snap poll scored it at 51% for the prime minister and 49% for Sir Keir Starmer and that’s about right.

The prime minister probably just about shaded it. But Sir Keir needs to raise his game and match Mr Sunak’s fire with fire in the second debate later this month.

Mr Sunak stuck to a simple message on tax rises under Labour. Starmer repeatedly hammered Sunak on the Tories’ record over the past 14 years.

From the start, the prime minister went on the attack and rammed home his message accusing Labour of planning £2,000 tax rises.

He did it over and over again. Simple message: Labour will put up taxes, even for pensioners. It was crude, but effective.

The debate was almost over by the time Sir Keir finally dismissed the tax claim as “garbage” and for much of the debate the Labour leader was forced to react defensively rather than go on the attack himself.

This was raw politics. Yet vegetarian Rishi Sunak was the leader who sounded as though he’d been devouring red meat before the contest. Gorilla biscuits, even.

The Labour leader, a former director of public prosecutions (and how he reminded us of that fact repeatedly), is more used to addressing judges or juries. But not so much a TV audience.

This was the bear pit of politics, far less suited to the Labour leader’s lawyerly approach than facing Sunak at Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons.

Presenter Julie Etchingham was brilliant throughout, particularly when the two leaders were shouting over each other. When Sir Lindsay Hoyle tires of keeping order in the Commons she’d make an excellent Speaker!

The prime minister appeared to have learned from his debates with Liz Truss for the Tory leadership. Then he was the measured, responsible one while she made the wild claims.

But she won then, because the Tory audience didn’t care.

This time it was Sunak throwing accusations around, not just on tax, but on terrorism and defence as well. “Insulting!” complained Sir Keir, but somewhat weakly and also too late.

At times in the first half of the one-hour debate, Sir Keir appeared slow and ponderous. He did better on the NHS than he did on tax, raising a laugh on NHS waiting lists by declaring: “You’re the guy who’s supposed to be good at maths.”

And Sir Keir did surprisingly well when he spelled out Labour’s controversial policy for VAT on private schools and then predictably did well on the plan to tax non-doms.

But he struggled again when the prime minister accused Labour of planning to tax state pensions.

Perhaps surprisingly, though, honours were even on immigration, with Sunak not getting applause for his stop the boats policy, although he then recovered by claiming: “You might not like it, but I’ve got a plan.”

He then put Sir Keir on the defensive again by challenging him: “What would you do with illegal immigrants who come to our country?”

They clashed again on defence and security, with the prime minister aggressive and on the attack again.

But even during that exchange the prime minister came back with his tax attack: “As clear as night follows day, he is going to put up your taxes.”

Starmer won audience support for ridiculing the prime minister’s “teenage Dad’s Army”, but Mr Sunak concluded with the line: “In uncertain times we simply can’t afford an uncertain prime minister.”

That was the sort of argument Gordon Brown used against David Cameron in the general election campaign of 2010. That didn’t work for Mr Brown then.

And unless there’s an almighty turnaround in the opinion polls, despite all his aggression and coming out fighting with the glove off, it probably won’t work for Mr Sunak in 2024.

UK

Harshita Brella: International manhunt under way for husband after woman’s body found in car boot

Published

4 hours ago

November 17, 2024

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Harshita Brella: International manhunt under way for husband after woman's body found in car boot

An international manhunt is under way for the husband of a murdered woman, whose body was found in the boot of a car.

The body of Harshita Brella was found in east London on Thursday, tens of miles away from her home in Corby.

On Sunday, Northamptonshire Police said they were looking for Pankaj Lamba – who they believe has left the country.

Sky News understands she had been under the protection of a court order designed for victims of domestic abuse.

“Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba,” said chief inspector Paul Cash.

“We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car.”

“Fast track” enquires were made after the force was contacted on Wednesday by someone concerned about Ms Brella’s welfare. After she failed to answer the door at her home in Skegness Walk, Corby, a missing person investigation was launched.

Her body was found inside the boot of a vehicle on Brisbane Road, Ilford, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

A post mortem – conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday – established she had been murdered.

More than 60 detectives are working on the case, with lines of enquiry including going house to house and property searches, as well as looking at CCTV and ANPR.

“We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita,” said chief inspector Cash.

“I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”

Force referred to police watchdog

On Saturday, Northamptonshire Police said it had made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previous contact between the force and the victim.

Northamptonshire Police previously said officers had been conducting investigations at three locations: Skegness Walk and Sturton Walk in Corby and Brisbane Road, Ilford, where Ms Brella’s body was found.

East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU) and Northamptonshire Police said they were working “around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place”.

UK

King Richard III given Yorkshire accent using state-of-the-art technology

Published

4 hours ago

November 17, 2024

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King Richard III given Yorkshire accent using state-of-the-art technology

State-of-the-art technology has been used to create a voice for King Richard III – giving him a Yorkshire accent.

A digital avatar of the medieval king’s head went on display in front of excited history fans at York Theatre Royal.

Richard III was king of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32.

His remains were found in a car park in Leicester in 2012 by historian Philippa Langley.

Speaking about the recreation, she said: “We’ve got leading experts in their fields who have been working on this for 10 years and so everything has been meticulously researched, meticulously evidenced, so you are seeing the most accurate portrayal of Richard III”.

A team based at Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University created the avatar based on the reconstruction of Richard III’s head with the help of a craniofacial expert.

Experts from various fields helped put the pieces of the puzzle together, including speech and language therapy, dentistry, forensic psychology and archaeology.

His voice has been created by Professor David Crystal, a leading linguist in 15th-century pronunciation. He admitted that it’s impossible to know exactly how he spoke, but this is as close as they will get.

The king was born in Northampton but spent a lot of his life in Yorkshire. His parents were also from the north of England.

Vocal coach Yvonne Morley-Chisholm spent a decade researching how the monarch would have sounded. She worked with the actor Thomas Dennis who was chosen as his body and face were such a good physical match.

Speaking to Sky News, she said people will be shocked at how different he sounded compared with traditional portrayals of the king on stage and screen.

The coach and actor also examined the king’s letters and diary so that “as you pronounced a word that’s how you would write it”.

The voice shows the change in pronunciation over the centuries – from regional variations to the Queen’s English.

History fans at the unveiling were delighted with the accent, with one telling Sky News: “Northerners are known to be happy, positive, all those lovely qualities.”

Born in Northampton but a northerner through and through, technology has brought the king’s speech back to life

UK

South Yorkshire Police warning after 13 dangerous dog reports in 48 hours

Published

4 hours ago

November 17, 2024

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South Yorkshire Police warning after 13 dangerous dog reports in 48 hours

South Yorkshire Police have warned pet owners to “step up before someone dies” after receiving 13 reports of dangerous dogs in less than 48 hours.

One man was attacked by his own American bulldog in Sheffield on Thursday afternoon, the force said, when he attempted to separate it and a pocket bully inside a property.

The owner suffered lacerations to his face, neck and head, and was taken to hospital, while his dog was seized and remains in police kennels.

Warning: Distressing images below

Another incident saw a woman walking home with her baby in a carrier on her chest, when she was approached by a loose XL bully who began to show aggression and jump up to her baby.

An elderly woman and her grandchild were attacked by another loose dog in Sheffield.

“As dogs causing harm and fear in our communities continues to place significant demand on our force, we’re urging owners to step up, before someone dies,” South Yorkshire Police said in a statement.

The warning comes after 10-year-old Savannah Bentham was killed at her family’s home in North Yorkshire by their dog on 1 November.

Chief Inspector Emma Cheney, leading the work on dangerous dogs across South Yorkshire, said: “Recently we have sadly seen another fatal incident in the UK of a dog causing death.

“People think it won’t happen to them, that their dog won’t cause harm, but it can happen to anyone. Any dog can cause fear and harm and owners who do not step up and prevent harm to our communities will not be tolerated.

“You are responsible for your dog’s actions, and we continue to put people before the courts.

“We only have a limited number of resources, attending dangerous dog incidents takes officers away from other calls. If every owner steps up and makes small changes, we can make a difference.”