Europe, UK (Commonwealth Union) – The BBC Prime Ministerial final Debate held on Wednesday showcased a riveting exchange of ideas and perspectives among the key contenders vying for the nation’s top executive position. The event, broadcasted live on various media platforms, garnered significant attention from citizens eager to witness the potential future leaders in action. The debate commenced with opening statements from each candidate, outlining their visions for the country and highlighting their respective policy agendas. The candidates addressed a range of pressing issues, including taxes and economic growth, border security, healthcare and women’s rights presenting their strategies to tackle these challenges head-on. As there were just a few days left for the election it was expected to be intense.
The debate consisted of questions from the audience and online. The initial question was on the betting scandal, and integrity to which the host of the debate Mishal Husain pointed out that 5 conservatives and 1 labour member who had bet on his own defeat. Both candidates were firm on their condemnation on members of their party engaging in illegal activities and stated that stern action should be taken against them.
A high point in the debate for Sir Keir Starmer was when both candidates responded to questions surrounding welfare and getting back to work. As the opposition leader was responding to the question, the Prime Minister gave fiery responses to which Starmer responded by saying “If you listened to people in the audience and across the country more often, you might not be quite so out of touch,” to which he received a loud applause from the audience. During debates in parliament both candidates have often accused the other of being disconnected with general public and both candidates often highlighted the fact that they came from families with hard working parents.
High points for the Prime Minister came in response to a question surrounding borders, security and illegal immigration. Sir Keir Starmer responded by stating that the Rwanda plan was not going to work and high number of immigrants were still coming in. The labour leader was pressed by both the PM and the moderator on what he would do to tackle the situation to which he stated that he would process them and send them back to the countries of origin. The PM then questioned whether, Keir Starmer, intended to negotiate agreements with Iran’s ayatollahs or the Taliban in Afghanistan to repatriate asylum seekers whose applications had been denied by the United Kingdom.
“Will you sit down with the ayatollahs? Are you going to try to do a deal with the Taliban? It’s completely nonsensical – you are taking people for fools,” said Sunak to which he received a loud applause from the crowd in approval of his response.
“The Rwanda plan is a deterrent, you just have to listen to what the illegal migrants themselves are saying,” PM continued.
Many political commentators stated the PM came out stronger in the final debate in regards to immigration and the economy, however many stated that he also spoke more over his opponent which was likely due to Sunak being below Starmer in the Polls.
