Keir Starmer lets slip TV debate techniques forward of ITV showdown
Keir Starmer has revealed his TV debate tactics as he prepares to go head-to-head with Rishi Sunak on ITV tonight.
The Labour leader let slip his strategy for the televised showdown while on the campaign trail in Bolton with Mirror this morning. Speaking to pensioners in the Bridge Cafe, he said he will be “trying to reach through the lens to try and speak to you”.
Mr Starmer said he welcomed the debate as “a good opportunity for us to get our argument across.” He went on: “It’s a pretty straightforward argument. 14 years and nothing is better than it was.”
One man asked him: “What’s better now than it was 14 years ago?” Mr Starmer replied: “That’s a good question. The health service? No. Public services? No. Living standards? No. Our roads, our rail. I think it’s pretty shocking.”
It comes as the Labour leader prepares to face off against Mr Sunak in the first TV debate on the General Election campaign. The high-stakes clash will be hosted by Julie Etchingham at 9pm.
Mr Sunak’s campaign is floundering after Nigel Farage unexpectedly declared he would stand as a candidate for Reform UK – and take over the reins of the right-wing party. Reform was already proving a headache for the Tories before Mr Farage entered the fray, with pollsters putting the insurgent party at around 11%.
And the former Ukip leader’s announcement triggered panic in Tory ranks as he claimed he could effectively take over the party in several years time. He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “You can speculate as to what’ll happen in three or four years’ time, all I will tell you is if Reform succeed in the way that I think they can, then a chunk of the Conservative Party will join us – it’s the other way around.”
He added: “I don’t want to join the Conservative Party, I think the better thing to do would be to take it over.”
The Tories are desperately hoping that Mr Sunak can land a killer blow on Mr Starmer in tonight’s debate as poll after poll showed they have failed to make a dent in Labour’s commanding poll lead. A mega-poll by YouGov on Monday suggested the Tories were on course for their worst result in more than 100 years, which could leave them with just 140 seats.
