Rishi Sunak's chances of serving another term as Prime Minister suffered yet another setback last night.
Last night brought the final leader’s debate before next week’s election day as the BBC hosted a head-to-head showdown between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.
There is now just one week to go before we find out which party will be in power for the next five years, but did this final opportunity to prove their worthiness help or hinder their chances?
Starmer has been the front runner throughout the election campaign, but was pegged back in early exchanges as Sunak interjected and interrupted the Labour leader at almost any opportunity.
Sunak threw jabs over taxes, including claiming Labour want to include a ‘retirement tax’ which Starmer labelled as a complete lie and has been verified as such since.
There were also fiery exchanges over rising immigration, Sunak’s Partygate fine, the recent election betting scandal as well as women’s and trans rights. Neither leader allowed the other even an inch on any of these topics.
The audience, however, were left unimpressed with the debate, with one member asking if the parties leaders were really the best the country could offer - to vast applause!
Neither Sunak or Starmer seemed to accelerate beyond the other, and the debate finished in a stalemate. YouGov’s post-debate snap poll of just over 1700 viewers reflected this, with a 50/50 split the outcome after asking who had won.
But, when considering who was more 'prime ministerial’ Starmer pipped Sunak at 42% to 41% in the same poll. And, Starmer continued to gather favour with the public as he was seen to be more ‘in touch’ at 63% to Sunak’s 18% - more likable - 52% to 33% - and more trustworthy - 50% to 39%.
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Overall, the final debate saw a marginal Labour victory. Starmer held his nerve against a torrent of Sunak slandering, remaining calm against a man who is desperately clinging on to any hope of actually being democratically elected.
Starmer remains far and away the favourtie to win the election, with a Labour majority now 1/20 (Ladbrokes), while Sunak has very, very little hope indeed at 125/1 (AK Bets).
So ill-favoured are the Conservatives that Nigel Farage’s Reform Party are 40/1 (William Hill) with some bookmakers to form a majority which would perhaps be the biggest shock in modern political history.
But, with just seven days of campaigning remaining this is Labour’s election to lose - perhaps it would be an even bigger shock should they fail to win on July 4th.
Next Prime Minister Odds
| Candidate | Best Odds | Implied Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Keir Starmer | 1/41 | 98% |
| Rishi Sunak | 33/1 | 3% |
View the latest General Election odds here.
