Keir Starmer brands Rishi Sunak’s tax claims ‘garbage’ – but poll suggests PM came out on top
Sir Keir Starmer said it was “garbage” to claim he would raise taxes by £2,000 as he traded blows with Rishi Sunak in their heated first TV debate.
The Labour leader initially failed to challenge the prime minister’s repeated accusations that Labour’s spending plans would cost each family £2,000.
He eventually called it “nonsense” and “absolute garbage”, saying his pledge to invest in green projects would result in cheaper energy bills.
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Labour said the figure is based on misleading information put out in a “dodgy Tory dossier” and called on Mr Sunak to correct the record.
One of their 11 rebuttals is that the costings rely on “assumptions from special advisors”, rather than an impartial Civil Service assessment.
Sir Keir initially struggled to explain this during a debate that saw the pair repeatedly talk over each other, forcing ITV host Julie Ethcingham to intervene and cut them off.
A snap YouGov poll after the clash suggested Mr Sunak narrowly came out on top – with 51% of the audience believing he fared slightly better than Sir Keir.
However, Labour’s shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth told Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates that Labour are leaving the debate “stronger tonight” as he accused Mr Sunak of “lying” about Labour’s tax policies.
“Rishi Sunak out of desperation had to collapse into lying in that debate,” he said,
“We do not have a plan to tax households in the way in which Rishi Sunak described, and we are not putting up income tax, or national insurance and VAT.
“The only party that has made uncosted commitments in this campaign is Rishi Sunak’s party.”
Labour has previously said it does not plan to raise personal taxes and its policies are fully costed.
Sunak laughed at over NHS claims
As well as the economy, the pair clashed over the NHS and immigration, with Mr Sunak groaned at and laughed at by the audience on some occasions.
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Audience groans over NHS comment during leaders’ debate
The first rumbling of discontent came after the prime minister was asked how long it would take to fix the “broken” health service.
He pointed to the damage done by the COVID pandemic but said “we are now making progress: waiting lists are coming down”.
The Labour leader countered: “They were 7.2 million, they’re now 7.5 million. He says they are coming down and this is the guy who says he’s good at maths.”
Mr Sunak said NHS waiting times are “coming down from when they were higher”, prompting laughter from the audience. He then blamed industrial action, eliciting groans.
“It’s somebody else’s fault,” Sir Keir said.
In another key moment, both were asked directly whether they would use private healthcare if a family member was on a long waiting list for NHS care – with Mr Sunak saying he would and Sir Keir saying he wouldn’t.
Immigration debate gets heated
There was also a heated debate over immigration.
Mr Sunak offered his strongest suggestion yet that he could be willing to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if the government’s stalled Rwanda deportation plan remains blocked by the courts.
He said: “If I am forced to choose between securing our borders and our country’s security, or a foreign court, I’m going to choose our country’s security every single time.”
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer during the ITV General Election debate. Pic: ITV/PA
However, he said deportation flights will take off to Rwanda “in July, but only if I’m your prime minister”.
“Stick to our plan and illegal migrants will be on those planes – with Labour they will be out on our streets.”
Sir Keir hit back: “The levels of migration are at record highs – 685,000. It’s never been that high, save in the last year or two.
“The prime minister says it’s too high. Who’s in charge? He’s in charge. He’s the most liberal prime minister we’ve ever had on immigration.”
The Labour leader also said Mr Sunak had “completely failed” to meet his pledge to stop small boats crossing the Channel.
On the issue of the ECHR, he said the UK risked becoming a “pariah” state if it left international conventions.
Who came out on top?
The pair dished out their usual attack lines throughout the debate – with Mr Sunak accusing Sir Keir of having no plan and the Labour leader going in on the Tories’ 14-year record in government, particularly highlighting the impact of the Liz Truss mini budget.
A break down of the YouGov polling found that Mr Sunak came out on top in the sections about tax and immigration.
But while he also “won” the debate overall, Sir Keir was victorious in the discussions about the cost of living, the NHS, education, and climate change.
However, in bad news for both leaders, the poll found 60% of people thought the debate was frustrating, compared to 17% who found it helpful and 4% who found it authentic.
Following the heated debate, election campaigning is to take a back seat for a couple of days, as commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day begin.
The leaders’ differences will be put to one side as the Normandy landings are remembered.
Both Mr Sunak and Sir Keir will attend the UK’s national commemoration event in Portsmouth alongside members of the Royal Family and armed forces veterans on Wednesday, before attention is focused across the Channel for further anniversary events in Normandy.
NHS league tables revealing failing NHS trusts and cancelled pay rises or dismissal for managers who don’t turn things around are to form part of the government’s plans to improve the health service.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is confirming new measures he hopes will boost failing hospital trusts and encourage successful ones.
The changes form part of the Labour government’s strategy to reduce waiting lists “from 18 months to 18 weeks”.
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Health and the state of the NHS were consistently among the most important issues for voters at this year’s general election – with Labour blaming the Conservatives for “breaking” it.
As health is a devolved area, any reforms proposed in Westminster would only apply to England.
Chief among Mr Streeting’s proposals is a “league table” for NHS trusts.
An announcement from the Department for Health and Social Care said: “NHS England will carry out a no-holds-barred sweeping review of NHS performance across the entire country, with providers to be placed into a league table.
“This will be made public and regularly updated to ensure leaders, policy-makers and patients know which improvements need to be prioritised.”
It also promises to replace “persistently failing managers” – with “turn around teams” being sent in to improve trusts running sizeable deficits or offering poor service to patients.
The government says “senior managers” who fail to make progress will not be eligible for pay rises.
There will be “financial implications” for more senior figures such as chief executives if their trust does not improve.
On the flip-side, those trusts that are deemed to be “high-performing” will get “greater freedom over funding and flexibility”.
Senior leaders at these trusts will also be “rewarded”.
The government says the current system is not incentivising trusts to run a budget surplus, as they cannot benefit from it.
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NHS reform: ‘Be careful what you wish for’
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Mr Streeting said: “The budget showed this government prioritises the NHS, providing the investment needed to rebuild the health service.
“Today we are announcing the reforms to make sure every penny of extra investment is well spent and cuts waiting times for patients.
“There’ll be no more turning a blind eye to failure. We will drive the health service to improve, so patients get more out of it for what taxpayers put in.
“Our health service must attract top talent, be far more transparent to the public who pay for it, and run as efficiently as global businesses.
“With the combination of investment and reform, we will turn the NHS around and cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Concerns from health representatives
Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, said: “While NHS leaders welcome accountability, it is critical that responsibility comes with the necessary support and development.
“The extensive package of reforms, developed together with government, will empower all leaders working in the NHS and it will give them the tools they need to provide the best possible services for our patients.”
Further plans on how monitoring will be published by the start of the next financial year in April 2025, the government said.
Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation – a body that represents all NHS trusts – said healthcare leaders welcome the “government’s ambition”.
However, he said he was concerned league tables and reducing pay may “strip out” the nuance of what’s going on.
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Mr Taylor said: “NHS staff are doing their very best for patients under very challenging circumstances and we do not want them feeling like they are being named and shamed.
“League tables in themselves do not lead to improvement, trusts struggling with consistent performance issues – some of which reflect contextual issues such as underlying population heath and staff shortages – need to be identified and supported in order to recover.”
UK
Princess of Wales’s annual carol concert to focus on ‘how much we need others in difficult times’
The Princess of Wales will host her Christmas carol concert this year, reflecting on “how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives”.
The service, which has become an annual festive event for Kate, will take place on the 6 December at Westminster Abbey, as part of her return to public duties after finishing her chemotherapy treatment earlier this year.
In September, the princess said her focus is “doing what I can to stay cancer-free”.
Last week, Prince William described how the past year had been “brutal” and probably “the hardest year in my life”, with his father, the King, also receiving cancer treatment.
Both the King and Kate joined other members of the Royal Family for the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in London on Sunday.
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Princess of Wales at Remembrance Sunday
Announcing the date of the Together At Christmas carol service, Kensington Palace said: “This year’s service provides a moment to reflect upon the importance of love and empathy, and how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives.
“The service will shine a light on individuals from all over the UK who have shown love, kindness and empathy towards others in their communities.”
The Princess of Wales’s family at the service in 2021. Pic: PA
It will be the fourth time Kate has staged the carol service, which is supported by her and her husband’s Royal Foundation.
Around 1,600 people will be invited to sing carols and see musical performances by stars including Paloma Faith, Olivia Dean and Gregory Porter.
Those who have supported others, either on a personal level with friends and family or through their work or volunteering, have been nominated to attend.
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Kate ‘doing really well’
The palace added that this year Kate “wanted to celebrate the many people supporting those in need – individuals who have inspired, counselled, comforted, and above all else shown that love is the greatest gift we can receive”.
The theme takes inspiration from the Christmas story, “which encourages us to consider the experiences of others and the important human need of giving and receiving empathy”.
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Across the UK, 15 Together At Christmas community carol services will also be held, including at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro and Blackpool Tower Circus.
The event will be filmed as part of a special programme which will air on ITV and ITVX on Christmas Eve.
Fines of £10,000 for social media bosses who don’t remove illegal knife adverts are being considered by the government.
The proposals are part of attempts by Labour to fulfil their promise to halve knife crime levels in the next decade.
The Home Office wants to introduce the measures to stop the “unacceptable use of social media and online marketplaces to market illegal weapons and glorify violence” and ensure content is quickly removed.
Under the plans, police would be empowered to issue warnings to senior officials at online companies and demand specific adverts and content be removed – potentially within two days.
A second notice could then be given if action is not taken – with senior executives “personally liable” for a “significant fine” if nothing is done.
While the exact scale of the financial penalty has not been confirmed, a consultation suggested £10,000 for the worst offenders, according to the PA news agency.
Sir Keir Starmer previously spoke of his desire to make buying knives online harder.
In September, he hosted a meeting of a new anti-knife crime coalition including actor Idris Elba and bereaved families, among others.
Elba told the meeting: “Talk is good, but action is important.”
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Idris Elba: ‘Talk is good, action is more important’
As well as reducing the sale of knives online, the government also wants to change the law around ninja swords.
Work is currently ongoing to decide a definition of the weapons.
It comes on the back of campaigning by Pooja Kanda, the mother of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda.
Ronan was killed in Wolverhampton by two 17-year-olds in 2022, who used a weapon purchased online under an alias and collected from a Post Office.
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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said perpetrators “must face the full force of the law” as she announced the “tough new sanctions”, adding: “The epidemic of knife crime that has grown over the last decade is devastating families and communities right across the country.
“That’s why this government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve knife crime over the next decade and today we’re taking determined action to get lethal blades off Britain’s streets.”
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Home Sec vows to halve knife crime
Commander Stephen Clayman, who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s work on knife crime and is also heading a review of online sales of the weapons for the Home Office, said: “For far too long, deadly weapons have been far too easily accessible online, with content promoting their use for protection and combat rife on many platforms and seemingly little being done to remove it.
“We welcome the chance to take part in the consultation and explore the most effective means of achieving this, including using the findings of the ongoing online sales review.”
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