Politics

‘Defeatist’ Sunak and ‘robot’ Starmer: Grimsby audience members give their verdicts on leaders at Sky News event

Published

1 year ago

June 12, 2024

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The prime minister seemed “defeated” to audience members in Grimsby after Sky’s Battle For Number Ten.

Some also questioned whether Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had fully answered the questions they asked.

The 90-minute TV grilling left the audience asking how the prime minister could fight back and win the election.

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Amy Green had travelled from Leeds to ask a question and said he seemed beaten.

“Sunak needs to drop the act, speak to us like an electorate as humans,” she said.

“I think he was quite defeatist – if I was fighting for my job, I would be out there socking it to people… he has given up and lost the will.”

She used to play a prominent role in her local Conservative Party but quit a few years ago.

She had started the night unsure of who to vote for and afterwards was still no closer to a decision.

“I am still undecided to be honest,” she added.

Grimsby resident Sharon Westerman asked the first question of the night to Sir Keir about inequality in her hometown.

She told Sky News she wasn’t 100% convinced by him, but thought he would become the next prime minister.

“I think Labour will get it, but there will be fierce competition from other candidates – it’s not just about Labour and Conservatives,” she said.

“There were some questions answered, but others such as the NHS and housing and child poverty we still need to know how it is going to be achieved.

“Not enough detail from both men.”

Christina Ashibogu had travelled to Grimsby from London. The lawyer had asked about rebuilding trust between the police and communities.

“I feel a bit bad for Rishi, he does look defeated… with Starmer, I wasn’t entirely impressed,” she told Sky News immediately after the event.

“Someone asked Starmer why he seems like a robot and he was startled by it.”

She thought it was the audience that actually came out on top: “We did well, when we weren’t satisfied with the answer people went back to try and get clarity.”

Retired teacher Ian Miles from Grimsby said the longer format really helped understand the two men better.

He too saw a prime minister who didn’t seem confident enough.

“After the D-Day disaster [when the prime minister departed early from commemorations] it’s like he doesn’t believe in himself anymore,” he said.

“For Keir Starmer, I think it’s a question of him not giving people enough to get people to be enthusiastic about him.”

Some left the Town Hall in Grimsby still undecided but agreed the Battle for Number Ten had challenged both leaders.

Crypto’s path to legitimacy runs through the CARF regulation

Published

10 hours ago

July 5, 2025

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Crypto’s path to legitimacy runs through the CARF regulation

The CARF regulation, which brings crypto under global tax reporting standards akin to traditional finance, marks a crucial turning point.

Tokenized equity still in regulatory grey zone — Attorneys

Published

10 hours ago

July 5, 2025

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Tokenized equity still in regulatory grey zone — Attorneys

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Rachel Reeves hints at tax rises in autumn budget after welfare bill U-turn

Published

16 hours ago

July 5, 2025

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Rachel Reeves hints at tax rises in autumn budget after welfare bill U-turn

Rachel Reeves has hinted that taxes are likely to be raised this autumn after a major U-turn on the government’s controversial welfare bill.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill passed through the House of Commons on Tuesday after multiple concessions and threats of a major rebellion.

MPs ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to universal credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.

Initially aimed at saving £5.5bn, it now leaves the government with an estimated £5.5bn black hole – close to breaching Ms Reeves’s fiscal rules set out last year.

In an interview with The Guardian, the chancellor did not rule out tax rises later in the year, saying there were “costs” to watering down the welfare bill.

“I’m not going to [rule out tax rises], because it would be irresponsible for a chancellor to do that,” Ms Reeves told the outlet.

“We took the decisions last year to draw a line under unfunded commitments and economic mismanagement.

“So we’ll never have to do something like that again. But there are costs to what happened.”

Meanwhile, The Times reported that, ahead of the Commons vote on the welfare bill, Ms Reeves told cabinet ministers the decision to offer concessions would mean taxes would have to be raised.

The outlet reported that the chancellor said the tax rises would be smaller than those announced in the 2024 budget, but that she is expected to have to raise tens of billions more.

It comes after Ms Reeves said she was “totally” up to continuing as chancellor after appearing tearful at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Criticising Sir Keir for the U-turns on benefit reform during PMQs, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the chancellor looked “absolutely miserable”, and questioned whether she would remain in post until the next election.

Sir Keir did not explicitly say that she would, and Ms Badenoch interjected to say: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”

In her first comments after the incident, Ms Reeves said she was having a “tough day” before adding: “People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday.

“Today’s a new day and I’m just cracking on with the job.”

Sir Keir also told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby on Thursday that he “didn’t appreciate” that Ms Reeves was crying in the Commons.

“In PMQs, it is bang, bang, bang,” he said. “That’s what it was yesterday.

“And therefore, I was probably the last to appreciate anything else going on in the chamber, and that’s just a straightforward human explanation, common sense explanation.”