Pressure is on Starmer, Sunak has less to lose

We have received update from the debate about what Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have to achieve in tonight’s debate.

Baroness Kate Fall, Conservative peer and former deputy chief of staff to David Cameron, says: “The pressure is often on the frontrunner, so Rishi comes to that with less to lose.

“But he’s got to strike a balance, I think, tonight between trying to get a sort of message across to the people at home, the folks in front of their TV, and resisting being too much of the sort of school debating society.”

Sir Ben Bradshaw, who was the Labour MP for Exeter until parliament was dissolved last week, says although the Labour leader is ahead in the polls, it’s “very difficult not to do some” debates during the campaign.

On Sir Keir’s mind will be that it’s “Labour’s election to lose”, and Sir Ben adds: “If I were him, I would just not want to slip up and give anything away that could be a game-changing moment.”

He says debates don’t tend to change much overall, and “people have already made up their minds”.

Looking back at previous leaders’ debates, Baroness Fall shares the David Cameron team brought over staff from former US president Barack Obama’s team to “role play” and learn how to land blows.

‘Country has most to lose if they hand matches back to arsonist’

Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, is now speaking to Sophy Ridge and is asked if Sir Keir Starmer has the most to lose tonight.

The Labour MP says “it is the country that’s got the most to lose this general election if they hand the matches back to the arsonist to finish the job”.

He says tonight’s debate is about “five more years of chaos with the Conservatives” or “change for the better”.

Mr Streeting also says the last 24 hours have just felt like “another chapter in the Conservative Party’s psychodrama”. 

“You’ve got Rishi Sunak crying into his cornflakes this morning because it’s seen as a disaster for him,” he says.

 “And you’ve got people who are currently Conservative candidates almost endorsing Nigel Farage on social media today.”


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