Election latest: 'Kitchen sink moment' for Rishi Sunak in final head-to-head of campaign against Keir Starmer (2024)

The first question in today's leaders' debate comes from a member of the audience, Sue, who points to a lack of integrity and honesty in politics.

She asks how Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak would restore trust in government, in light of a scandal over betting on the date and result of the election.

Mr Sunak says again that he was "furious" to hear the allegations of informed betting on the date of the election, with two Conservative members suspended.

As he speaks, protests can be heard outside the hall.

Sir Keir then picks up, saying he would like to "reset politics, so that politics returns to public service".

He also says there is a "question of leadership", pointing to "partygate" and the COVID contracts.

Sir Keir notes that when a member of his party was implicated in the betting scandal, they were suspended quickly.

Meanwhile, the Labour leader says Mr Sunak was "bullied into taking action".

Hitting back, the prime minister says it was important that these matters were "dealt with properly".

Sir Keir is then asked about a Labour candidate, who bet on himself to lose his seat on 4 July.

He says that the member was suspended as soon as an investigation was confirmed.

"My candidates know I expect the highest standards," the Labour leader says.

But does Sir Keir know other candidates haven't publish similar bets?

He says he has made clear the consequences of doing so.

By Tim Baker, political reporter, in Nottingham

As the debate gets under way, a pro-Palestine demonstration can be heard echoing through Nottingham Trent University.

A group was seen gathering outside the venue several hours ago - but it was only a couple of people at that point.

These events have happened at many of the leaders events during the election.

But despite that, the Middle East has not come up much during the debates.

It's extremely audible here, though, as the leaders speak.

The final round of head-to-head debates between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer is now under way, held by the BBC in Nottingham.

The clash is due to last 75 minutes, held in front of alive audience, that has been chosen by pollster Savanta, rather than the BBC.

It will include Conservative and Labour supporters, in addition to undecided voters.

We'll bring you live updates throughout - stay tuned.

It's now or never for Rishi Sunak.

The final leaders' TV showdown in this general election campaign is the underdog PM's last chance to fight back against runaway frontrunner Sir Keir Starmer.

This is number seven in the series of clashes, five of which have involved Mr Sunak and the Labour leader.

The other two, with seven combatants, involved Penny Mordaunt for the Conservatives and Angela Rayner for Labour.

The first Sunak vs Starmer head-to-head, on ITV, was memorable for the PM hitting Sir Keir with a relentless onslaught on tax, claiming Labour is poised to mount a £2,000 tax grab, and for the Labour leader's sluggish response.

The venue was ITV's studios in Salford. The spin room was in Granada's Coronation Street experience and the showdown was the first episode in a six-week election soap opera that reaches its climax tonight.

Next came a BBC seven-way debate, coming in the week of Mr Sunak's astonishing D-Day blunder when he left the Normandy ceremony early, which Ms Mordaunt slammed as "completely wrong". Not exactly, helpful.

Then came Sky News' The Battle For No.10 in our target town of Grimsby, when Sir Keir struggled to answer questions from Beth Rigby on why he backed Jeremy Corbyn in the 2019 election and said: "I always knew we wouldn't win."

From Grimsby, it was back across the Pennines to Salford for an ITV seven-way debate which saw a jubilant Nigel Farage celebrating an opinion poll which suggested his Reform UK had overtaken the Conservatives for the first time. "We are now the opposition to the Labour Party," he declared.

At York University, a BBC Question Time saw Mr Sunak, Sir Keir, the SNP's John Swinney and the Liberal Democrats' Sir Ed Davey each given a half-hour grilling from a hostile audience.

It was here that Mr Sunak broke his silence on the gambling scandal, on the day it was revealed that Tory candidate Laura Saunders and her husband, party campaign chief Tony Lee were named.

He was "incredibly angry" he said - and anyone guilty would be "booted out" of the party.

Then on Monday, on the 17th floor of the News Building overlooking the Thames, at The Sun's Election Showdown, Mr Sunak came out fighting on "stop the boats", claiming migrants were "queueing up in Calais waiting for a Starmer government".

Why do these highlights from the six previous clashes matter?

Because these issues are bound to come up again in the final showdown, as Mr Sunak attempts to damage his Labour rival on tax, Jeremy Corbyn and illegal migration and Sir Keir hits back on D-Day, gambling and the Tory "chaos" of the past 14 years.

Many people will have already cast their vote by post.

But polls suggest many are still undecided.

So, with barely a week left before 4 July, it's Mr Sunak's last chance. Now or never, in fact.

ByTim Baker, political reporter, in Nottingham

One of the inherent dangers of the spin room is the hard work of organisation and logistics usually taking place behind the camera is there for all to see.

Crouching down and waving to get someone's attention for a microphone? That will go out on the broadcast.

Necking the dregs of a Diet co*ke? Thousands of people can see you do it.

The messages are already coming in...

But the chaos is closely co-ordinated with perspiring advisers dragging politicians from one camera to the next on tight deadlines.

Producers and floor managers are doing the opposite as they convince the ministers and shadow cabinet members to do their show as well.

It's situations like these that demonstrate the hard work that goes into producing television shows like the Politics Hub.

Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have arrived in Nottingham ahead of this evening's election debate.

They were greeted in Nottingham by BBC director-general Tim Davie, who shook both men's hands as they arrived.

The debate gets under way at 8.15pm.

Ali Fortescue now asks shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson about her stance on gender identity guidance in schools.

"I don't think it is right that you should have ideology pushed to children," she says. "We do need guidance that sets out clear direction to teachers and school leaders about how to do that."

However, she says this has to be done in a way that puts "children's wellbeing at the heart of it".

She says: "There will be guidance if Labour forms that next government."

Politics correspondent Ali Fortescue asks shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson if there is any point to tonight's debate, given that Labour seem all-but-certain to win the election.

"There are an awful lot of people out there that are still to make up their minds and if you were to look at polls... there is big variation between them," Ms Phillipson replies.

"I think it's Sir Keir's opportunity to seek to persuade those voters who haven't made their minds of the clear choice that this election is between a Labour Party focussed on delivering the change our country needs, and the Conservative Party that will just give us five more years of chaos and division."

Bridget Phillipson is asked about tonight's debate, and whether Sir Keir Starmer's performance will improve on the last one.

The shadow education secretary says Sir Keir "likes being challenged" - and "being able to set out Labour's position".

She says: "Right throughout this campaign it's been about a Labour Party with a clear plan for the future - a sense of optimism about our country can achieve."

The Labour frontbencher says the Tories have only communicated negativity and lies about what Labour would do.

"Unless people want to wake up to five more years of Conservatives on 5 July, then they've got to go out and vote to deliver that change."

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson is next to speak to Sky News from the spin room in Nottingham.

We're just over half an hour away from the start of the final election debate before polls open next week.

We heard from Home Secretary James Cleverly just a few minutes ago, who said Rishi Sunak would be targeting Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party's honesty record, particularly on how they plan to pay for their manifesto pledges.

Ms Phillipson says "everything is fully costed" in the Labour manifesto, when the green pledge funding is called into question.

Politics correspondent Ali Fortescueasks her if Labour's growth plan is optimistic.

"We do absolutely have to get our economy growing... everything in our manifesto has got a plan behind it so people can be confident that what we're sending out, we know we can deliver," she replies.