Tonight's TV debate Sunak v Starmer - any predictions?

[CallingOccupantsOfInterplanetaryCraft]

Anyone up for a watch thread? Maybe even debate bingo. I know I know, don't threaten me with a good time. (Bingo suggestions: natural party of business, Labour has no plan, end the chaos, Rayner will take over, assorted references to Starmer's time as DPP probably blaming for Jimmy Saville again, inflation is down etc etc.)

At this point I seriously doubt anything like this will remotely change the game Nick Clegg style. I read somewhere the only way Sunak could come out of this ahead in the polls is if Starmer pulled off a mask scooby-doo style to reveal he's Jeremy Corbyn, which admittedly would be great telly.

I'm so fed up with the endless rhetoric but will definitely watch later anyway.

😂😂😂😂😂. You're joking right?

Whole thing was a shambles.

I thought the Labour Party didn't engage in revealing their alternative ideas or policies because the Tories might nick them ... You'd think they'd be relieved to let the lid off?

Sunak's closing statement was basically 'please don't vote Reform'. He knows he's not going to be our next PM and is just on a damage limitation exercise.

TRIP now live on YouTube.

I think this has likely changed very few minds and just cemented what people already thought.

Rishi didn’t win anything in my eyes, I’ve listened to him too often at PMQ’s trotting out the same attacks and deflections. They were bollocks then and they are now. Also the flashes of petulance and hostility when he was clearly thinking he’s better than anyone.

I thought Rishi did better than I was expecting.

KS threw that away. Let’s hope he doesn’t go for a photo call with his wife on a beach and end up being in the opening credits of Have I got news for you forever more like dear old Neil Kinnock.

The format was not helpful and Julie Etchingham was poor. It would have been good to hear them talk in more detail. Starmer definitely the more impressive though.,

Sunaks answer was way worse, he just basically said "I met Gareth Southgate once" like that was impressive!"

*Keir... Damn iPhone.

Having this meeting before manifestos are published was a bit pointless.

I suspect it’s more I’m not a fervent Labour supporter , I’m ann open minded voter, so can be honest about it.

we all watched it, saying starmer won doesn’t make it so. We all saw starmer get outclassed,no point in pretending otherwise.

Sunak was by far the more articulate, confident speaker.

Pains me to say it, but I don't think Starmer came across that well. He struggled to get to the point at times and, sadly, it did show him up as being unable to fully explain Labour's plan. I think that was partly down to the 45-second answer format. These were really important questions the public needed to hear the answers to and they couldn't even get a full minute?!

But my god, Sunak is a tetchy little twat.

Completely agree!

This isn’t a plan at all. A plan has implementation details for a huge fucking rollout that this would be. This is just saying “money will be gotten”. No mention of cost to state of pupil influx either it’s just nonsense

Furlough isn't really an achievement though.

Loads of governments worldwide did it and so would labour have if they were in charge. It's part of contingency planning.

Not one single party would have just said stay home, don't work and don't get paid.

Especially the Tory's as it was those in public sector jobs who remained in work in public spaces in the whole!

I think we've had an invasion of unhinged Tory bots tbh. Sunak was dire.

It’s not possible to answer a question when somebody is shouting over you every time.

Rishi isn’t just a posh cunt, he’s a rude cunt. 🤮

Taking over people doesn't make you confident.

The question was “how would you deal with issues, bold decisions or play it safe”.

Starker answered that he would consider the best course of action for issues on an individual basis.

Your response makes no sense?

Outclassed? Now I know you are taking the pee.

But they must of known the format and sunak was just direct in answering. No reason why starmer couldn't of done the same if he actually had a plan to be direct about

Robert Peston summed it up on Twitter -

Sunak repeatedly said Labour would raise taxes.

Starmer said conservatives have messed up the last 14 years!

The debate on a nutshell unfortunately!

For those not watching the TRIP analysis, Rory Stewart rightly pointed out that people watch these debates with their own prejudices- if you’re already going to vote Labour then you will see it as a win for Starmer and vice versa.