A snap YouGov poll after Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer were questioned on live television has found 64 per cent of viewers – nearly two in three – thought the Labour leader came out on top, and only 36 per cent said the prime minister did better.
Both party leaders insisted they would not raise taxes for working people, as they were grilled in front of an audience.
The prime minister said taxes for working people would “continue to come down” under a Tory government.
The Labour leader said: “I am not wanting to raise tax. I think people are taxed too much already. What I want to do, my central mission is to grow the economy.”
Sir Keir said he would negotiate with doctors over pay but the country could not afford their 35 per cent claim.
Mr Sunak was repeatedly challenged on health service staff shortages by NHS workers.
The prime minister pointed to funding provided by the government before noting: “What we have not done, for not just years but for decades, is train enough staff and then be reliant on having to bring people here from abroad.”
