Election latest: Rishi Sunak questioned on 'catalogue of broken promises' - as Sir Keir Starmer likened to 'political robot' (2024)

Sky's leaders event - TheBattle For Number 10 - took place last night, and what an evening it was..

Both Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak had plenty of time to get their points across and covered a huge range of topics.

But did either man do enough to convince you to vote for them on 4 July?

If you didn't manage to catch either leader answer questions from political editor Beth Rigby or our live audience in Grimsby, read on to see the key points.

Sir Keir Starmer

• "It must be country first" - The Labour leader started the event by defending his history of U-turns, including on Jeremy Corbyn and a second EU referendum, saying he is putting the country ahead of his party, dragging Labour "back into the service of working people";

• Sir Keir was punchier on questions of tax than he was in last week's debate, and got the first big round of applause from the live audience after attacking the Tories on this issue. He said: "The Tories are in no position to lecture anyone about tax rises";

• Beth Rigby got a big clap when she pointed out that just because Sir Keir ruled outa rise in VAT, national insurance and income tax, there are still other taxes he could raise such as fuel duty or council tax;

• Asked what he fears most about becoming PM, the Labour leader said he's worried about the impact it'll have on his family, including his children aged 16 and 13;

• We then moved to the audience questions and Sir Keir was firm when he said he's prepared to roll up his sleeves, "get in the room and settle this dispute" with doctors over pay;

• Another audience member asked the Labour leader on his plan to levy VAT on private school fees. Sir Keir said he has "nothing against"private schools but there are "too many" state school students not getting the best education possible;

• Sir Keir appeared slightly taken aback when told he seems "like a political robot" before saying he has had a "constant theme" in his life of trying to serve the public.

Rishi Sunak

• "It hasn't been an easy 18 months" - Things started on the defensive for the PM as he was asked what's gone so wrong for the Tories. Mr Sunak said he'll keep fighting until the last day of the election in response;

• He was then cornered over his early exit from the 80th D-Day anniversary events, and he sounded contrite when he asked for forgiveness.The audience seemed in an unforgiving mood;

• "We need to have somewhere safe to remove them" - the PM was grilled on his Rwanda policy next but refused to put a number on how many people would be put on flights. There was a round of applause when he answered on stopping the boats, though;

• "You were Dishy Rishi!" - Beth Rigby finished her grilling of the PM by asking him to tell the audience one thing they might not know about him. He said he's not as healthy as he appears and has a real sweet tooth. Haribo and Twix are apparently his favourites;

• The first question from the audience was on housing and Sunak talks about buying a house costing £425,000. There were groans from the audience, many of whom agreed that a house that price is out of their reach;

• NHS worker Hamzah told Rishi Sunak he had seen "the chronic effect" of underfunding in the NHS. The PM replied by saying the government is "investing record amounts" and that the Conservatives are "recruiting and training more staff and nurses than we ever have";

• Mr Sunak was pushed on trust, with his D-Day gaffe and the COVID-19 parties in Downing Street both mentioned. Sunak said "trust takes time to rebuild", which didn't win him any applause;

• The PM said he is "incredibly excited" for his daughters to do national service in response to a question from William, a student from Grimsby. "I think it will be transformative for our country", he said.

Good morning!

Welcome back to the Politics Hub on day 22 of the fight for the keys to No 10.

We are precisely halfway through the general election campaign, with polls opening in exactly three weeks - hasn't time flown?!

After both men hoping to lead the country for the next five years faced a grilling from Sky's Beth Rigby and our live audience in The Battle for Number 10, they both have busy days ahead as we enter the second half of the race.

Here's what's happening today:

• The Labour Partyis launching its manifesto this morning at an event in Greater Manchester, with Sir Keir Starmerand his team due to unveil their plans for the next five years;
• The party has promised it will have "wealth creation" at its heart, and they are pitching a potential Labour government asboth "pro-business and pro-worker";
• The manifesto launch will be a chance for Sir Keir to convince floating voters by outlining more detail on Labour's plans for power - though a party source told Sky News it would be a "slim" document;
• Plaid Cymruis also unveiling their manifesto this morning, with the party pledging to "fight for economic fairness" and secure "fair funding" for Wales;
• The party say Wales is owed "billions" after HS2 was scrapped, and the funding model is currently not "fair";
• They will unveil their plans around protecting devolution, more investment in the NHS, and assistance for families amid the ongoing cost of living crisis;
• Rishi Sunak, meanwhile, has jetted off to Italy for the G7 summit as the essential business of government continues amid the campaign;
• The government has confirmed thata £240m aid package will be provided to Ukraine, to be used for emergency humanitarian aid and to rebuild critical energy infrastructure targeted by Russian bombing, as well as wider reconstruction;
• This is not new money, however - it is part of the £2.5bn aid package announced by the PM on a trip to Kyiv in Ukraine;
• On the campaign trail, the Conservative Partyis highlighting its commitments on security, including raising defence spending to 2.5% of GDP;
• Elsewhere, the Lib Dems, SNP, the Green Party, and Reform UKare expected to be out and about this morning ahead of another debate tonight - with deputies and leaders due to take to the stage in another multi-party contest.

We'll be discussing all of that and more with:

• Wendy Chamberlain, deputy leader of the Scottish Lib Dems, at 6.45am;
• Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, at 7.15am;
• Lord Cameron, foreign secretary, at 8.10am.

Following along for live coverage of the day on the general election campaign.

Thanks for joining us for what's been a massive night in the campaign calendar as Sky hosted The Battle for Number 10.

It saw Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer scrutinised by political editor Beth Rigby and audience members in Grimsby.

We are pausing our coverage here for the evening.

But if you missed anything - or just can't get enough - you can scroll back through our minute-by-minute updates below.

You can also check out our summary of the key moments here:

Take a look at our recap of the leaders' responses on the main issues facing the country here:

Plus, you can see how viewers thought both leaders performed here:

We will be back first thing tomorrow morning for another busy day, with Labour next in line to launch their election manifesto.

Until then, goodnight!

By Faye Brown, political reporter, in Grimsby

The first audience member to ask a question tonight was Sharon from Grimsby.

I caught up with her afterwards and she tells me she was generally happy with the Labour leader's answer on her question about what he could do for the local community, such as devolution, but there's more that needs to be done to tackle poverty.

She says she is very involved in her community and has seen first hand the impact of austerity - from people choosing between heating and eating, to parents relying on uniform banks and "diabolical" housing conditions.

She says she has always been a Labour voter, but her support for Sir Keir is "strengthened" after tonight.

She says she's glad Sir Keir has changed the party and realised "he needs to put the country first" - so she isn't angry about the U-turns he has made on on many of his leadership pledges.

"I appreciate the honesty, there are going to be tough decisions".

She says her message to the Labour leader is, "we're giving you a chance, don't waste it".

"I am just hoping we get that change that is so needed and we can start to look forward to positive change.

"Local people being able to make decisions about their local towns, that's really important."

At this point, we are all aware that Sir Keir Starmer's dad was a toolmaker.

He has brought it up on plenty of occasions, including during the first election debate - and tonight, when the comment earned some laughter from the audience.

Asked why people may have laughed at this, Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth said: "Perhaps because they know that he talks about it quite a lot but, as he said, he's very proud of coming from that working class background, as I'm very proud of coming from a working class background as well.

"And I think the issue in politics is when politicians try to pretend they were hard up when they weren't, perhaps saying that they didn't have access to this new thing called satellite TV back in the 1990s as if that somehow indicates they were short of a few bob."

That last comment is a reference to Rishi Sunak earlier saying he went without Sky TV as a child.

By Faye Brown, political reporter

Lauren Smith, 35, says that overall she was impressed by Sir Keir Starmer this evening and he will be getting her vote.

But she said she felt frustrated by both leaders for their "Americanised style" - something she described as a "lack of want or ability to answer a question straight on".

"After what the country has been through, we need someone to be able to answer a question," she says.

"I would like to see them stand true to themselves and to their word... and show us a bit of respect."

She says Rishi Sunak in particular is "treating us like idiots" with his comments on the cost of living - saying that while inflation is coming down, the cost of things is not.

And Lauren has seen first hand the impact of this. She lives on the East Marsh in Grimsby - "one of the poorest wards in Britain".

"The deprivation is incredulous... the poverty, it's the consequence of so much austerity," she says.

She says she has always leaned towards Labour and while she thinks there are things Sir Keir can do better she has a fondness for him that "remained resolute" after tonight.

"He's our best chance of getting a grown up in politics. Not too centre, not too left".

And she says that this seemed to be the overall vibe from the audience too, saying that despite efforts to "soundproof the room" she could hear people outside "booing Mr Sunak quite ferociously" when he arrived.

She points to the revolving door of recent Tory leaders that Beth Rigby touched upon in her questioning.

"We have had enough. We are struggling, we need change we can believe in. We've had a complete roller-coaster and we need something steady."

Scotland's deputy first minister Kate Forbes says Scottish voters are angry at the Conservatives and uninspired by Labour following the Sky News leaders' event.

Neither Sir Keir Starmer or Rishi Sunak gave much attention to Scotland during their time on stage being grilled by Sky Newspolitical editor Beth Rigby or when taking questions from the audience.

Asked by Sky's lead politics presenter Sophy Ridge who she thought performed best in Grimsby, Forbes said: "I think looking at the debate this evening with only a passing mention of Scotland, voters are very angry with the Conservatives and they're very uninspired with Labour.

"And of course, in Scotland there is an alternative to vote for the SNP."

She continued: "We know that in this election voters really want to see change. They want to get rid of the Conservatives because they've given us austerity, Brexit and the cost of living crisis.

"And the question is whether Labour will double down on Tory austerity or do something different. And Sir Keir Starmer seemed pretty clear tonight that he was doubling down on Tory austerity."

Tonight's event saw Sir Keir pushed to explain his tax plans, saying he "won't reach for the tax lever" to solve Britain's problems.

Asked by Ridge whether she thought Labour would go ahead and put up taxes if Sir Keir reached Number Ten, Forbes said: "In Scotland we've tried to mitigate against that austerity with some progressive changes, taxation.

"But Labour seem to be completely ignorant and disinterested in how we reverse 14 years of austerity to our public finances.

"And to quote the Labour health secretary when it comes to devolved public services - 'all roads lead back to Westminster', so this really is a change election.

"Unfortunately, I don't think voters going down the Labour route are going to see much in the way of change, and we need strong Scottish voices, SNP MPs to hold Labour's feet to the fire and make sure they don't forget about Scottish voters."

By Faye Brown, political reporter, in Grimsby

I've just caught up with Amy Green, 42, an undecided voter who is.. still undecided after tonight's event.

Amy was the audience member who asked Rishi Sunak questions about his D-day gaffe and the partgate scandal, telling him he had a lot of work to do to regain the people's trust again.

Did he regain her trust tonight?

Amy says she has always been a Conservative voter but the prime minister appeared "really defeatist".

However she feels like Labour are "parking their tanks in the Conservatives lawn" and she's not quite convinced by their vision either.

"It felt like more of the same".

I ask Amy what are the issues she cares about most.

She says LGBT rights, as she has lots of friends who are drag queens, and she does not like the "cheap political point scoring" from the Tories about knowing what a woman is.

Education and the NHS are the other two main issues for her.

She's going to see how the rest of the campaign pans out, but she said she is "not against spoiling her ballot".

"I would rather do that and not vote, I've got some work to do in the next few weeks".

Sky's political editor and leaders' event inquisitor Beth Rigby says there was a key moment tonight which showed "there is a change of dynamic here".

She is giving her take after having a front-row seat to Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer's performances.

During Sir Keir's Q&A session Beth says he said categorically "when I'm in government".

Usually, Beth says, Sir Keir will caveat his take on the outcome of the election by saying "if I'm lucky enough" to win.

She describes it as the "most revealing moment" from the Labour leader.

"I think there is a change in dynamic here where Labour are feeling more confident now," Beth says.

She also says there was a "bit more clarity about Labour and tax", and that she "came away thinking yeah, they're going to put up some taxes".

On Rishi Sunak, Beth says the audience dynamic in the room was "hard going" for the prime minister as he made his first big public appearance since the fiasco over him leaving D-Day commemorations early.

We got "more emotion" from Mr Sunak about the D-Day commemoration, she says, adding that one of the strongest audience questions came from a "lifelong true blue" voter who said his early departure make her feel "ashamed”.

Asked by Sophy Ridge how she prepared for tonight's event, Beth cites Sky's very own Kay Burley.

She says Kay's advice to her has been "fail to prepare, prepare to fail".

"I prepared a lot," she says, "so by the time you get to it, you're ready to go".

The Liberal Democrats' deputy leader Daisy Cooper says tonight's audience in Grimsby and the public at home could see through Rishi Sunak's answers during the Sky News leaders' event.

Asked by Sky's lead politics presenter Sophy Ridge who she thought won the Battle for Number 10, Ms Cooper said the audiences' reaction to the PM told the tale of the tape.

She said: "I think the audience's reaction spoke volumes about this evening, didn't it? And when they were listening to Rishi Sunak's answers, you could see it in their faces and in their questions.

"Their reaction was one of either exasperation or just pure anger. And I think we can see that people were just so exasperated and angry about the state of the country, about the state of the NHS, about the state of our education system.

"And there was this overwhelming sense from the public that just everything is broken."

As for her thoughts on Sir Keir Starmer and his grilling from Beth Rigby over Labour's tax policy, Ms Cooper said she was expecting more tomorrow once the opposition's manifesto was released.

"I think every political party needs to be open and honest about the taxes that they are going to rise or lower or leave the same," she added.

"What I can say for our poll as Liberal Democrats is that we have said repeatedly that we won't be raising taxes on struggling families during a cost of living crisis, because that would be the wrong thing to do.

"Like many people, I'm sort of waiting to see what the what the meat on the bones is going to be tomorrow in terms of their manifesto.

"But I think really what the what you can see from the audience is that they are crying out for a change and most of their anger and frustration was really directed towards the prime minister."