Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer will go head-to-head in the first televised election debate next week. it was announced today.
The PM and Labour leader are due to face off at 9pm on Tuesday on ITV – with Tories hoping Mr Sunak can land some blows and start to narrow the gap in the polls.
The hour-long debate will be moderated by Julie Etchingham and take place in front of a studio audience.
The parties have been wrangling with broadcasters over the formats for the clashes, with Downing Street pushing for as many set-pieces as possible before July 4.
Labour has been trying to limit the potential for slip-ups, with Sir Keir seen as having more to lose given his huge advantage in the polls.
One Tory source told that Sir Keir had ‘chickened out’ of accepting the PM’s challenge.
As the election battle gathers pace today:
Michael Jermey, ITV’s Director of News and Current Affairs said: ‘Millions of viewers value the election debates.
‘They provide a chance to see and hear the party leaders set out their pitch to the country, debate directly with each other and take questions from voters.
‘ITV is pleased to be broadcasting the first debate in this year’s election campaign.’
Mr Sunak was in Cornwall this morning as he pushes another big Tory policy announcement, vowing to scrap ‘rip off’ low-quality university degrees and boost apprenticeships.
He picked up breakfast for the media pack and staff at a local cafe – although he when he offered to pay he was told a ‘handsome’ official had already settled the tab.
The latest stage of the drive towards July 4 came as a YouGov poll suggested Labour’s lead has extended to 27 points. Redfield & Wilton and Survation have also shown the gap widening in the early stages – although JL Partners has given Mr Sunak a glimmer of hope by indicating a narrowing.
Speaking to the Telegraph podcast, Mr Sunak said he was in touch with Mr Johnson – amid hopes from MPs that the ex-PM might campaign in Red Wall seats.
‘He’s a busy guy as well, but we were in touch literally just the other day, actually, about the risk that Starmer poses to the country’s security and the damage he would do. I worry about Keir Starmer’s complacency around security,’ Mr Sunak said.
Survation and Redfield & Wilton Strategies both found that Labour is 23 points ahead overall.
A survey by Deltapoll of 1,517 British adults online, carried out from May 23-25, put Labour on 45 per cent, the Conservatives on 23 per cent, Reform on 10 per cent, the Liberal Democrats on 9 per cent, and the Greens on 6 per cent, with the SNP on 3 per cent, Plaid Cymru on 1 per cent and other parties on 2 per cent.
The latest poll by Opinium, carried out on May 23 and 24 among 2,050 UK adults online, put Labour on 41 per cent, the Conservatives 27 per cent, Reform 10per cent, the Lib Dems 10 per cent and the Greens 7 per cent, with the SNP on 2 per cent, Plaid Cymru on 1 per cent and other parties on 1per cent.
But the JL Partners research, conducted Friday and Saturday, put Labour on 40 per cent, while the Tories were on 28 per cent – up two points since the start of May.
Labour’s lead has slipped from 18 points in April and 15 points in early May.
The pollster said the main reason was a shift among over-65s, with the Conservatives going from a 10-point lead over Labour to a 20-point lead in the age group.
A simple average of all polls carried out in the seven days to May 28 puts Labour on 45 per cent, 21 percentage points ahead of the Tories on 24 per cent, followed by Reform on 11 per cent, the Lib Dems on 9per cent and the Greens on 5per cent.
Mr Sunak took the overnight sleeper train from London Paddington to embark on a day of campaigning in the south west of England.
Chatting with staff at a seafront cafe, Mr Sunak described his journey as ‘jolly’. But when he went to pay for the breakfast the woman serving him said a ‘handsome’ aide had already done so.