Keystone-SDA
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June 27, 2024 – 02:34
(Keystone-ATS) One week before the British general elections on July 4, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labor opposition leader Keir Starmer faced off on Wednesday evening in their last televised debate. They didn’t hold back.
As the poll draws closer, Labor is still promised an overwhelming victory according to polls which have changed little, with the Tories (conservatives) paying the price for a laborious campaign marked by controversies and now by a scandal. fraudulent bets.
After a first duel at the beginning of June, during which the two adversaries were offensive, the tension rose again a notch during this new debate.
The tone was set from the very first exchanges. In response to a question from a woman in the audience about the crisis of confidence between voters and their elected representatives, Keir Starmer castigated the Conservatives’ record, directly attacking Rishi Sunak. He recalled, for example, that he had been fined for violating the lockdown rules during the Covid-19 epidemic.
Immigration
“I think over the last 14 years politics has become too focused on complacency and MPs thinking about what they can get for themselves,” he said. He promised to “reset politics so that it serves the public again”.
Rishi Sunak replied that integrity in politics was about being “clear about what you want to do”. He accused his opponent “of not being honest about his plans to raise taxes”, one of his favorite lines of attack against Labor in the campaign.
The most lively exchange focused on the fight against illegal immigration. The Prime Minister defended his plan to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda and sharply attacked Keir Starmer over the lack of precision in his program.
“What would you do? What would you do? “It’s a simple question,” he said, while the Labor leader seemed in difficulty, limiting himself to repeating that he wanted to “tackle the gangs” of smugglers and improve the management of immigration requests. asylum to return more quickly those who have no intention of remaining in the United Kingdom.
For Keir Starmer, 61, the challenge was not to make a mistake so close to the vote, even if the cautious line – advocating change and budgetary seriousness – that he has maintained for months may have left voters unsure. hunger.
