Who gained ITV General Election debate as Rishi Sunak blames nurses for NHS waits

Rishi Sunak tonight faced groans as he tried to blame hard-pressed doctors and nurses going on strikes for NHS waiting lists.

The PM was laughed at on live TV as he tried to claim he was bringing waits down. 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.

Keir 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. In a direct appeal to the voters, he declared that “this election is all about a choice”. “More of the chaos of division we’ve seen for the last 14 years. Or turning the page and rebuilding with Labour,” he said. “I have ambition for our country. I have a practical plan to deliver it.”

As they took part in a showdown on ITV, a woman called Paula from Huddersfield said she’s been unable to use her oven because of soaring energy costs. She told how despite having a job she finds it “very difficult to make ends meet” and is “genuinely worried about my future”.

“The money simply doesn’t go far enough,” she said. “All I do is work to live. My food bill has nearly doubled. I’m in arrears with my bills. I don’t think you actually understand how this is for people like me.”

The Prime Minister told her: “I know how much of a strain the last few years have put on your family finances”, adding “That’s why my priority has always been to do what I can to support you”.

But Mr Starmer warned “this Government has lost control” and that “it’s people like you that are paying the price”, as he said: “There will be millions watching this who feel the cost of living crisis bearing down on them.” He added: “We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, so I know how that feels. I do know the anguish of worrying what happens when the postman comes with a bill, what is that bill going to be. I don’t think the PM understands the position you and others are in.”

The Labour leader accused Mr Sunak of calling the election now “because he knows inflation will go back up, energy bills will go back up in the autumn”. “That’s what he’s not telling you. If he thought the plan was working he would not have called this election right now,” he went on.

The audience at the TV studio in Salford laughed at Mr Sunak as he was challenged over the massive NHS backlog. The PM claimed NHS 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.

The audience also laughed at Mr Sunak as he talked about his plans to reintroduce National Service for 18-year-olds, claiming it is “going to be transformational for young people in our country”.

Mr Starmer criticised Mr Sunak for being “the most liberal PM we’ve ever had on immigration”. The Labour leader won applause from the audience as he pledged to stop small boats in the Channel, saying: “I will smash the gangs.”

Mr Starmer accused the PM of being “desperate” after he claimed he would be a risk to national security. “This is shocking,” he added. “Before I was a politician I was the director of public prosecutions, I was working on national security, I was dealing with terrorist plots.”

Mr Sunak desperately needs to turn around the disastrous Conservative campaign. Just an hour before the debate, the PM was hit by another catastrophic mega-poll.

The Survation survey of 30,444 people, conducted on behalf of Best for Britain, suggested the Tories are on course to have just 71 MPs. That would be the party’s worst result in history, seeing them lose 294 of the seats they won in 2019. Labour is projected to win a mammoth 487 seats, with the Lib Dems in third place on 43.

A BBC election debate on Friday will see Penny Mordaunt and Angela Rayner take on representatives of the smaller political parties. Mr Starmer and Mr Sunak are both expected to part in a Sky News Q&A with voters in Grimsby next Wednesday.

The pair have also been invited by the BBC to appear on Question Time special the following week and a final head-to-head debate in the week before the election.