Election latest: The morning after the night before - fresh Rishi Sunak-Keir Starmer debate poll has very different result (2024)

There's been rather a lot of mention today of one particular moment in last night's head-to-head between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

In the debate, the prime minister claimed there's a £38bn black hole in Labour's plans for government.

Mr Sunak repeatedly alleged that this would result in a £2,000 tax rise for each British household.

Sir Keir initially failed to challenge the accusations, but eventually called it "nonsense" and "absolute garbage", saying his pledge to invest in green projects would result in cheaper energy bills.

And Labour frontbencher Jonathan Ashworth today told Sky News that Mr Sunak had "lied" about Labour's tax outlook.

He said: "I think last night, what was exposed was just how desperate Rishi Sunak has become, because he lied about Labour's tax plans.

"What he said last night about Labour's tax plans is categorically untrue. Labour will not put up income tax, not put up national insurance, will not put up VAT.

"And I think what we showed last night with Rishi Sunak, what we saw last night was just how desperate he becomes.

"What desperate people do, is they lie."

Keith Brown, the deputy leader of the SNP, has insisted that last night's televised debate was "not for viewers in Scotland".

Yesterday, First Minister John Swinney insisted that he should have been invited to take part in the debate, the first of the general election period.

Mr Brown echoed his view, saying: "There wasn't one mention of Scotland.

"The largest party in Scotland - the third largest party in the House of Commons - was excluded from it, and of course the really important things for Scotland... weren't really covered.

"It really was not relevant, or helpful or instructive for the people of Scotland."

"Neither of them are blessed with natural charisma."

This rather damning assessment of both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer - the UK's choice of future prime minister - focuses on their speech and body language, not how they might lead the country.

The leaders of the two main parties face weeks of interviews, speeches, and walkabouts as part of their general election campaigns.

Ahead of their first live TV debate, Sky News spoke to Paul Boross, a business psychologist and body language expert who has coached several politicians and celebrities, and Elizabeth McClelland, forensic voice, speech, and language analyst, about the gestures and verbal characteristics that offer an insight into who the two frontrunners really are.

You can read more from our news reporter Lara Keay below...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard with their guide to the election day ahead.

This is day 14 of the campaign. Jack and Sam discuss last night’s debate in Salford, the upcoming 80th anniversary of the D Day landings, and Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething faces a motion of no confidence.

Email Jack and Sam: jackandsam@sky.uk

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The Sky News live poll tracker - collated and updated by our data and forensics team - aggregates various surveys to indicate how voters feel about the different political parties.

See the latest update below - and you can read more about the methodology behind the trackerhere.

Last night, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer went head-to-head in the first televised debate of the general election campaign.

An initial snap poll, published by YouGov after the clash, had suggested Mr Sunak narrowly came out on top - with 51% of the audience believing he fared better than Sir Keir.

However, another published this morning had a different result.

Researchers at Savanta found Sir Keir Starmer beat Rishi Sunak by 44% to 39%.

Savanta said Sir Keir outperformed Mr Sunak on NHS and public services 63% to 25%, on the economy 52% to 36%, and defence and security 43% to 41%.

Pollsters at the firm also found Sir Keir "came across as most honest" 54% to 29% for Mr Sunak, and that the Labour leader "remained the calmest" 51% to 36% for the Conservative prime minister.

Chris Hopkins, Savanta political research director, said in a statement: "Presentationally, it felt like the prime minister had the upper hand at times - in particular towards the end of the debate - and although our figures suggest he lost narrowly, he probably still outperformed expectations."

Jonathan Ashworth has accused Rishi Sunak of spouting "desperate lies" in last night's debate, after the prime minister pointed to a "black hole" in Labour's spending plans.

Mr Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, says Mr Sunak made claims that are "categorically untrue".

This relates to Mr Sunak's claim that Labour has a £38.5bn black hole over four years, which would force the party to hike taxes substantially.

The frontbencher says: "I think last night, what was exposed was just how desperate Rishi Sunak has become, because he lied about Labour's tax plans.

"What he said last night about Labour's tax plans is categorically untrue. Labour will not put up income tax, not put up national insurance, will not put up VAT.

"And I think what we showed last night with Rishi Sunak, what we saw last night was just how desperate he becomes.

"What desperate people do, is they lie."

Tax and the economy

Mr Sunak claimed Labour's plans for the country were not costed and would require tax rises of £2,000. He pointed to the Conservatives bringing inflation down, cutting NI and his pledge to cut taxes for pensioners through the "triple lock plus" as reasons why people should vote for him.

Sir Keir said Mr Sunak's £2,000 claim was "absolute garbage" and his plans were fully costed. He pointed out the tax burden had risen to the highest level in 70 years under the Tories and used Mr Sunak's vast personal wealth to suggest he did not understand the cost of living crisis.

The NHS

Mr Sunak was groaned and laughed at for claiming waiting lists were coming down and blaming industrial action on the backlog.

Sir Keir pointed to Labour's plans to create 40,000 new appointments while bigging up his credentials as the husband of an NHS worker.

When Mr Sunak claimed "waiting lists are coming down", Sir Keir responded: "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."

Education

Mr Sunak said parents who "work hard" should be allowed to send their children to private schools, in an attack on Labour's VAT policy to tax private schools.

Sir Keir said that one of Labour's first steps would be to recruit 6,500 teachers to fill gaps, and he "will get rid of the tax break on private schools to pay for it, that's a tough choice, I do understand that".

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, but said flights should be taking off in July.

Sir Keir said the UK risked becoming a "pariah" state if it left international conventions and pointed to his plan to target criminal people-smuggling gangs to stop small boat crossings.

Climate

Mr Sunak defended his decision to water down policies designed to help the UK reach net zero carbon emissions, saying the targets would still be met, it would cost households less, and the UK's energy security would be maintained.

Sir Keir said there was a "huge opportunity" in the renewable energy sphere that would see cheaper bills, energy security for the UK, and more jobs. He said he would deliver clean power by 2030, despite scaling back the initial investment he intended to put forward to get there.

Closing statements

Rishi Sunak appealed to voters wavering between the Tories and Reform UK in his closing statement at the ITV debate.

He said: "Either Keir Starmer or I will be your prime minister and a vote for anyone else makes it more likely that it will be him."

He also told voters "you don't know what you'd get" if they chose Labour.

While in his closing argument, Sir Keir said: "I don't offer you the gimmicks or unfunded promises that Rishi Sunak does.

"I don't pretend there's a magic wand that will fix everything overnight. Instead, I offer a practical common sense plan to change Britain."

On 12 June, Sky News will host an election leaders' event in Grimsby - a key marginal seat and one of our Target Towns this election year.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the Conservative leader Rishi Sunak have been invited to attend, and we are looking for a live audience to join us on the night.

If you would like to be part of this studio audience, and be given the opportunity to ask a question to one of the party leaders, please complete the short questionnaire in this link.

By Faye Brown, political reporter

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.

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.

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