Sunak V Starmer

Well I had a headache just looking at that dreadful setting with all the gaudy colours, hard glass and bright lines everywhere. I couldn't watch it. I'm not surprised they were shouting because the angry background would not help with rational debate.

It was embarrassing. Using the audience members who were asking questions to score points. Julie Etchingham was also embarrassing. She was enjoying being ringmaster. They were all patronising.

* turn off the microphones when the other person is talking.*

Good idea. Give 5 minutes or similar. But really, still not the best overall format. Too much like PM question time in the HoC and the politics of clever words but no content just sounding slicker.

I forgot it was tonight - but my daughter and son in law played "word bingo" with them - and both won!...

Like Johnson, Sunak talks over people and hogs the time. Starmer played by the rules and didn't always challenge Sunak's 'facts'. But I doubt this programme will shift the polling.

Is there any truth in this £2,000 worse off under Labour that Sunak kept saying? If not he should have been called out for it.

MayBee70

Is there any truth in this £2,000 worse off under Labour that Sunak kept saying? If not he should have been called out for it.

I read that the figures show what a 40% rate taxpayer would pay that (extra) over a four year parliament, including VAT and so on. Starmer did try to call it, but Sunak talked over him and the moderator didn’t stop him. It was a disgrace, really.

Constantly said and I don't believe it. Who? everyone the same?
If true, what is the money going on.....

This isn’t where I saw it (I can’t remember) but this fact-checker is also saying the figures are per household and over four years, but are estimates based on Conservative guesses, as the manifesto is not published yet.

pa.media/blogs/fact-check/fact-check-tory-claims-over-labour-tax-plans-are-based-on-policy-assumptions/

So assuming an average of two earners per household over four years it would amount to £250 a year each, and even that is a guess based on the worst case scenario the Conservatives could find.

I also got annoyed at the insistence that Labour would raise tax on pensions- it was the Tories who froze the nil-rate tax band that will suck pensions into being taxable🙄

Thank you for that fact check article.

"Some of the estimates in the document have been carried out by civil servants at the Treasury, using assumptions provided by Conservative Party special advisers. Other calculations were not provided by the civil servants.

Labour has disputed the figures in the document. During Tuesday night’s debate, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “What’s happened here is they put in pretend Labour policies to the Treasury, and then they get a false readout."

We watched it through to the end. Nothing new in it that we weren’t already aware of. The next one is on the BBC. I hope Fiona Bruce won’t be the interviewer.

Agree with many posters here. Didn’t like the format - how can you give a reasonable answer to an important question in 40 seconds? Sunak came across as rude and arrogant - talked over the presenter and kept interrupting Starmer. Starmer is a measured, thoughtful orator, not a short, sharp gimmick man - this format didn’t lend itself to his style of presentation. Will this debate change anything? We’ll have to wait and see. Personally, I’m taking nothing for granted in this election, despite what the polls say. Starmer has got the right wing media against him and I don’t trust the public not to be swayed by them. All I know is that this country needs a Labour government!

Agreed, maddie. She would be just as bad. TV debates just don’t work, though.

I can’t see the point in these artificial TV debates. It’s an American idea, seems to me, based on their equally pointless presidential candidate debates. They may display the candidates’ manners (eg talking over each other or shouting) but not much else.

We enjoyed Sewing Bee instead. 🧵🪡

Nooooo! These one-to-one debates are worse than useless. A couple of Man-Babies sniping at each other and almost bitchy about it.
I can get plenty of that from listening to "Question Time" on Radio 4.

maddyone

We watched it through to the end. Nothing new in it that we weren’t already aware of. The next one is on the BBC. I hope Fiona Bruce won’t be the interviewer.

According to the BBC web site it will be Sophie Raworth. 26th June.I hope she's better than last night's presenter and that there are some better ground rules.

Oh dear. Fiona Bruce is doing a Question Time leaders' Special on 20th. According to the BBC web site it will involve the leaders of the UK's 4 biggest political parties. Until Monday I would have taken that to be Labour, tories, Lib Dem and SNP. I'd be surprised if the SNP don't get ousted now...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c722nv38j88o

Having slept on it, I have come to the conclusion that the whole thing is totally unedifying.

It is nothing but a circus that perhaps satisfies the media but no one else.

In my view they should be stopped.

I would think most people have already made up their minds who they will be voting for, and this tedious debate won’t change them.

Sunak was thought to have edged it 51%-’49%, but even the Tories don’t think it’ll shift the polls.

Waste of time.🤷‍♀️

It’s just that, a circus, promises never to be realised a great big charade. I will vote for whom I’ve decided as don’t believe any election promises. I watch uplifting things or documentaries, my favourite is Sewing Bee.

Sunak might be able to “charm” and make his points well BUT has everyone forgotten he and his party have had 14 years to make decisive, effective, positive long term changes and have not done so?

IMO it would have been better to wait for the manifestos.

I wonder if 1-1 in depth interviews would be a better format - asking them the same questions. It would cut out the arguing and posturing and get much more detail out of them.

The reality is that Starmer is going to need to find £35 billion to fund his budget, averaged out at £2000 per tax payer. Some will come from tax increase some from benefit cuts some from borrowing.

Ending Non Dom and VAT on private schools is popular with the supporters but is a small part of what is needed, those below average income will not have to pay much, if any extra, which means those above average will have to pay a lot more.

Starmer is going to need to be much better in any future debates, this is not a courtroom where everyone is polite and under control.

I 'lasted' eight minutes. Awful. Is this seriously the best our Country can come up with?