SIR Keir Starmer was first up to be grilled in the TV battle and was pinned down on his flip-flopping on policy and his previous fawning over Jeremy Corbyn.
The Labour leader faced questions on the cost of living, junior doctor strikes, and private schools.
He was repeatedly pressed over his tax promises and looked rattled when Sky News’ Beth Rigby noted that when a politician says “no plans”, they mean “I might”.
In a snap poll published straight after the end of the interviews, Keir came out on top with 64 per cent of viewers saying he performed better.
The YouGov survey found that just 36 per cent of respondents thought Rishi had been more impressive in the heated showdown.
Pushed on the spectre of raising taxes – something the Tories have said he will hike – Sir Keir says: “Let me be absolutely clear, all of our plans are fully-costed, fully-funded, we will not raise taxes on working people. There is nothing to raise taxes.
“I want to do things differently. I want to grow our economy, I accept that previous Labour leaders have sort of pulled the tax lever every single time and driven up spending. I want to grow the economy – the manifesto tomorrow will be one for wealth creation. For me that is the most important thing.”
Asked whether he would put taxes up, Sir Keir said to the first applause of the night: “The Tories are in no position to lecture anyone about tax rises. We’ve got the highest tax burden in 70 years… We’ve got to get the economy going.
“The economy is flatlining. We have to address that problem, tomorrow our manifesto is a plan for growth.”
Asked if he has a trust issue with voters, Keir Starmer said: “No, because I decided it must be country first. So every decision after that, I judged against previous decisions.”
Beth Rigby said that in the last two elections, Starmer campaigned for and stood alongside Jeremy Corbyn – asking if he honestly believed he would make a good prime minister.
He said: “I was certain that we would lose the 2019 election. I did campaign for Labour, of course I did.
“I wanted good colleagues returned into the Labour Party.”
Probed again if he meant it when he said he would support Corbyn, he repeated: “I was certain we would lose”.
‘My dad was a toolmaker’
He managed to mention again that his dad was a toolmaker – which drew some much needed light relief from the audience.
“It’s not a laughing matter”, said a nervous Starmer, who highlighted his relatively modest upbringing.
Labour believes his working-class background is a strength, and that there is electoral mileage in comparing it with Sunak’s wealth.
He got the first round of applause of the evening when he said that the Tory party is in no position to lecture on tax.
The tax burden is currently at an 80-year high – despite Rishi Sunak promising to bring it down.
Earlier this week we told how Sir Keir did not commit to freezing Fuel Duty – one of The Sun’s long-running campaigns.
Tonight he said it will be decided “Budget by Budget”, adding: “If we just do things in the same way as we’ve done for the last 14 years, we’ll just end up in the same mess. And I’m not prepared to do that.
“I ran a public service for five years, I ran a public service in the austerity years. I absolutely care about our public services… I absolutely want our public services to function.”
He also insisted raising Capital Gains Tax would not be in the manifesto released tomorrow.
Asked what he fears the most, he says: “The only real fear I suppose I have is for my family. I’ve got a boy who is just turning 16, he’s 15-and-three-quarters, and a girl who is 13, these are really difficult ages for my children… My only fear is the impact it’s going to have on them.
“I want them to be able to walk to school and be unaffected as much as I can.
“My only fear is for them. It’s why we never bring them into politics, we never have a photoshoot with them.
“I never fear big decisions. In fact, I relish the chance to make changes.
“The only thing that keeps me up at night is worrying about my children.”
‘How can you help Grimsby?’
The first question from the audience came from Sharon from Grimsby, who pressed Sir Keir on how he will help disadvantaged communities in her town.
The Labour leader said he wants to ensure the Government works with local communities and local businesses.
He added: “I don’t want someone standing in Whitehall and Westminster looking at a map and deciding what they think is best for Grimsby because I think the people with skin in the game are the people who make the best decisions.”
He also mentioned his plan to tackle the scourge of potholes and his childcare offer, which he says will create 100,000 new places and more than 3,000 new nurseries.
The second question comes from Jonathan, a junior doctor who says he has been on strike for a year.
He asks: “I have more money working part-time as a university student than I do as a junior doctor.
“Scotland. Scotland or Wales have paid the NHS doctors fairly. How and when will you commit to doing the same in England?”
Starmer said: “We won’t be able to do anything unless we win the election. We’ve obviously only been in opposition. So far.
“I have been frustrated if I’m honest. The strikes have gone on as long as they have gone on and that is very bad for patients.
“I don’t think doctors want to be on strike – as I said earlier, my wife works in one of the big London hospitals, so I know firsthand the unrelenting pressure the NHS staff have been under.”
He added we need to “get in the room and settle this dispute so that patients can get the care they need.”
“Doctors can get back to work and the country can move forward because we can’t go on like this anymore.
“The sooner we have a bunch of grown-up politics in this the better I think because we absolutely need to do for this country.
“Almost everything is now in a worse state than when they started in government. This is not about Labour or Tory. If you leave the NHS in a worse state than when you came into government you should be booted out.”
