Audience laughs at Rishi Sunak for 2 main blunders in dwell ITV debate
Rishi Sunak faced laughter and groans from the studio audience as he took part in the first election debate on ITV.
The PM was ridiculed over his claims about the NHS – as well as his plan to bring back National Service for 18-year-olds.
Mr Sunak appeared alongside Keir Starmer for the 70-minute showdown hosted by Julie Etchingham exactly one month before the General Election on July 4.
With polls suggesting Labour has a commanding lead, the Tory leader desperately needed a game-changing moment. But instead he was the subject of humiliation at times during the primetime TV debate.
Mr Sunak also was tackled for not understanding what struggling families are going through as he took part in the first television debate of the election campaign. Mr Starmer accused the PM of calling the election now as he knows the economic situation will get even worse before the end of the year.
Mocked for National Service plan
The audience at the studio in Salford laughed at Mr Sunak as he talked about his plans to reintroduce National Service for 18-year-olds, claiming they were “going to be transformational for young people in our country”.
Asked what policies they had for young people, Mr Starmer said it was important to have further education opportunities and the chance to get on the property ladder. “What I won’t be doing is sending you on National Service, some sort of ‘teenage Dad’s Army’, which would be what the Prime Minister would say,” the Labour leader said.
Mr Sunak hit back claiming the idea would be “transformational for young people in our country, giving them the skills and opportunity they need to succeed in life”. But this was met by laughter.
Mr Sunak insisted the scheme would be “incredibly positive”.
Laughter at NHS waiting list claim
Mr Sunak also faced laughter from the audience as he was challenged over the massive NHS backlog.
The PM claimed hospital waiting lists were falling but Mr Starmer hit back, saying waits have risen from 7.2million when he promised to reduce them to 7.5million now. The Labour leader quipped: “I thought he was the guy who’s meant to be good at maths.”
Mr Sunak replied: “They’re coming down from where they were when they were higher.” The audience laughed in response.
The PM then blamed industrial action held by NHS workers including doctors and nurses, eliciting groans from the audience of the ITV debate. “It’s somebody else’s fault,” Mr Starmer said.
