Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer clash in final live TV debate - LIVE (2024)

Here ends our live coverage of this evening’s election debate.

You can read a full round-up of the fiery head-to-head between Sunak and Starmer, by the Standard’s chief political correspondent Rachael Burford, here.

There was no winner in the BBC prime ministerial debate, according to a YouGov snap poll.

In a survey of 1,716 viewers, 47 per cent said Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer won, 47 per cent said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did, and 6 per cent answered they did not know.

We’ve just had news that the Met police will lead on investigating a “small number of cases” related to the Westminster gambling row to “assess whether the alleged offending goes beyond Gambling Act offences to include others, such as misconduct in public office”.

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: “The Met is not taking over the investigation into bets on the timing of the General Election.

“The Gambling Commission will continue to lead the investigation into cases where the alleged offending is limited to breaches of the Gambling Act only.

“Met detectives will lead on investigating a small number of cases to assess whether the alleged offending goes beyond Gambling Act offences to include others, such as misconduct in public office.

“We will provide further information tomorrow.”

Keir Starmer said he was not surprised by a question from an audience member who asked “are you two really the best we’ve got to be the next prime minister of our great country?”

The Labour leader said: “I’m not surprised after 14 years of this that people feel this way because the country is in such a state.

“They’ve had loads of promises made in the last election about what will happen which haven’t been delivered on, that does beat the hope out of people.

“The very first question was about integrity in politics, and again people haven’t seen that integrity – they’ve had partygate, they’ve had breach of Covid rules, you’ve had the contracts for Covid – the instinct of some people to think the first thing in Covid i’m going to do is try to make money.

“So, this is an opportunity to restore that hope. I don’t think we can do that by making sort of grand promises of things that can’t be delivered.”

Rather, he said, it’s “the ordinary hope of getting on yourself, getting on for your family, getting on for your community, your country. It has to be rooted, if we’re going to restore hope in my view, in returning politics to service, the sense that you come into politics to serve”.

Sir Keir Starmer is now making his closing address.

“My message to you is simple,” he said. “If you want your NHS back, you have to vote for it.

If you want a growing economy, you have to vote for it.

“If you want more police on our streets, more teachers in our schools, you have to vote for it.

“If you want to end 14 years of chaos and rebuild our country, then that power is in your hands.

“On July 4, vote change - vote Labour.”

The leaders are now giving 30-second addresses summing up their messages to voters.

First up is Rishi Sunak, who said: “I understand why you’re frustrated with our party - with me. I get it. But this is not a by-election. It’s a choice with profound consequences for you and for our country.

“And before you make that choice, think what a Labour government would mean.

“Can you afford to pay at least £2,000 more in tax?

“And why won’t Keir Starmer be straight with you about what he wants to do?

“And if you are not certain about Labour, do not surrender to them. Don’t vote for any other party, vote Conservative.”

Both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have committed to protecting women’s rights to single-sex spaces, regardless of whether someone has a gender recognition certificate.

Questioned on this, the Prime Minister said: “Yes, unequivocally yes. And we will do that by changing the law, so that the old Equalities Act recognises that sex means biological sex.”

The Labour leader said “yes” because it is “very important” to protect women-only spaces.

He added: “What I will also say is that I do recognise that there are a small number of people who are born into a gender that they don’t identify with, and I will treat them, as I treat all human beings, with dignity and respect.”

Mr Sunak replied: “That’s not what I did, I was pointing out that you’ve changed your mind on this question multiple times.”

“Do not surrender our borders to Keir Starmer and the Labour Party,” said Sunak. “The situation will just get worse. We will become the soft touch of Europe...they are queuing up in Calais waiting up for a Keir Starmer to be in charge.”

Starmer retorted: “They’re not queuing up, they’re on the boats.”

Rishi Sunak asked if Keir Starmer was planning to make a deal with the Taliban to send back asylum seekers rejected from the UK.

He blasted Starmer’s plan as “nonsensical”.

The migrants are coming from Iran, Syria and Afghanistan, Sunak said.

“Will you sit down with the Ayatollahs? Are you going to try to do a deal with the Taliban? It’s completely nonsensical – you are taking people for fools,” he said.

Starmer has faltered as he was repeatedly asked what he would do with migrants, if he was elected.

Mr Sunak said: “I can tell people what I will do with them. I will put them on planes to Rwanda because they shouldn’t be able to stay.

“What will you do with illegal migrants that come to our country? It’s a simple question. What will you do with them?”

“They need to be processed,” Starmer responded, after being asked multiple times and attempting to avoid the question.

He is referring here to the thousands of unprocessed migrants that are being housed in hotels and other accommodation in the UK.

“Processed?” Sunak laughed, asking the Labour leader: “But what will you do with them?”

Mishal Husain pointed out processing migrants would mean “most” would then be given the legal right to remain in the UK.

Starmer responded: “At the moment, 100 per cent of them are effectively being given asylum in this country...because they aren’t being processed.”