LIVE: ITV election debate between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer (2024)

End of live coverage

That brings or live coverage of tonight's debate and interviews to a close. Thanks for joining us!

'Absolute garbage'

Labour's Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, has said Rishi Sunak’s claims that Labour would raise taxes during the deabte were “absolute garbage”. He said: “What he was saying tonight about Labour’s plans was absolute garbage.

“The dossier he put out, based on Tory special adviser assumptions, was absolute nonsense. Indeed Nick Macpherson, the former permanent secretary of the Treasury, described it as ‘garbage in, garbage out’.

“I’ve been a Treasury special adviser, I know how to do those assumptions when it comes to spending commitments and those assumptions they put in there were frankly embarrassing.”

Greens: 'This election is boring'

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay says this election has been 'boring' so far. He says the environment hasn't come up enough.

Reform: 'Job share'

Reform UK chairman Richard Tice is now being interviewed on ITV. He's asked about the decision to appoint Nigel Farage as leader yesterday.

He says the pair discussed it and make decisions together. He rejects claims it is a 'job share'.

Who won the debate?

Following the debate, a snap YouGov poll of 1,657 viewers revealed how people feel each party leader performed, and who they think came across best. 51 per cent of viewers said they felt that Rishi Sunak performed better in the debate, compared with 49 per cent for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. You can read more about the results of the poll here.

Angela Rayner: 'I would press the nuclear button'

During the debate, Rishi Sunak said Labour's Angela Rayner doesn't believe in our nuclear deterrent. The Manchester Evening News asked her about this a few hours ago during a campaign visit in Ashton-under-Lyne. Here's what she said.

SNP: Scotland not mentioned in debate

Stephen Flynn is asked who he thinks won the election debate. He says the people of Scotland didn't win because Scotland wasn't mentioned once.

Next up: SNP

The Scottish National Party (SNP) leader in Wesminster, Stephen Flynn, is being interviewed now. He says the party wants to win a majority of seats in Scotland, but unlike his predecessor Nicola Sturegon, he says the election is not a referendum on independence.

Lib Dem stunts

Sir Ed Davey, whose party have been known for pulling stunts, is asked about his next one. He says 'They don't tell me about them until a few hours before'.

Lib Dems: 'People can make their own mind'

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey is asked who performed better in the debate. He says: "People can make their own mind."

Sunak wins snap poll

Rishi Sunak has narrowly won a snap poll with 51 per cent of viewers saying that he performed better in tonight's debate.

SNAP POLL/ Who performed best overall in tonight's debate?

Rishi Sunak: 51%
Keir Starmer: 49%https://t.co/055i80mtbx pic.twitter.com/6YIfRATsCt

— YouGov (@YouGov) June 4, 2024

The other leaders

The leaders of the other major parties - Lib Dems, the SNP, Reform UK and the Greens - are now being interviewed on ITV. First up is Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey.

That's a wrap

The debate is over. It was quite chaotic at times, but lots of topics were covered.

Rishi Sunak attacked his opponent with claims Labour will raise taxes. He also said Labour can't be trusted on national security.

Sir Keir told voters that five more years of Conservative government would only mean more chaos and 'broken' public services.

Closing statements

The leaders are summing up. Sir Keir repeats his opening gambit, saying the Conservatives will only create more chaos if they win. Mr Sunak says a vote for anyone but him makes a Labour government more likely and 'you don't know what you're getting'.

Play it safe or take a risk?

A 'tongue in cheek' question to end. The leaders are asked by 'Gareth on his way to Germany' about good leadership.

Play it safe or take a risk? Mr Sunak says you need bold action. Sir Keir says a game plan and a good squad is needed.

'Too hard to buy your own home'

Mr Sunak admits it is 'too hard' to buy your own home and says he wants more young people to have the opportunity to do it. He accuses Labour of wanting to concrete over the countryside to build new homes. Sir Keir says Labour has a plan to buid more houses.

National service

There's some laughter in the audience as Mr Sunak mentions his national service policy after Sir Keir calls it a 'teenage Dad's Army'. There are some groans as he repeats his tax attack. He says: "Whatever you think of it, it's transformational for our society."

More tax attacks

Mr Sunak has repeated his claim that Labour will raise tax and will force people to spend money on environmental measures.

He says: "If you think Labour are going to win, start saving." Sir Keir says insulating homes will save people money on energy bills.

Climate change

Both leaders are accused of breaking promises on the environment. Mr Sunak says he will meet targets without raising bills.

Sir Keir says he has promised 'clean power' by 2030. He says he'll keep the 'fully-funded' promise and it'll be in Labour's manifesto.

National security

Mr Sunak says Labour can't be trusted on national security. Sir Keir cites his credentials in the CPS prosecuting terrorists.

Next question: Gaza

Omar from Manchester says he's worried about the UK's lack of leadership on the world stage. He asks what should happen next to stop the war in Gaza. Host Julie Etchingham says a lot of people are not happy with the stance the two leaders' have taken.

Sir Keir says Israeli hostages must be released, humanitarian aid must get into Gaza and there must be a two-state solution. Mr Sunak says he is pleased Sir Keir agrees that Israel has a right to defend itself, but he says a lasting settlement is needed.

Foreign courts

The leaders are asked whether they would break international law to tackle immigration.

Mr Sunak says: "If I am forced to choose between securing our borders and our country's security or a foreign court, I will choose our security every single time."

Sir Keir says: "No, if I'm Prime Minister we will not pull out of international agreements which are respected the world over."

'Smash the gangs'

Sir Keir is asked what he would do to bring down illegal immigration. The audience applauds as he says we need to 'smash the gangs'.

But there's more applause after Mr Sunak says Labour voted against 'smashing the gangs'. Sir Keir says the current plan is failing.

Next question: immigration

Mr Sunak says immigration is too high and bold action is needed to bring it down, including introducing caps and stopping small boats by sending those who arrive unlawfully to Rwanda. He says: "Stick to our plan and illegal migrants will be on a plane."

Sir Keir says migration is at record levels, claiming Mr Sunak is 'the most liberal Prime Minister we've ever had'. He says Mr Sunak has failed to keep his promise to stop the boats, saying that illegal crossings in the channels are up. Mr Sunak denies this claim.

And we're back

The second half begins with host Julie Etchingham giving both leaders a 'gentle reminder' not to talk over each other.

Half time analysis

Well, that was a chaotic first half to the debate. Host Julie Etchingham has had to cut the two leaders off as they quibble.

Rishi Sunak has attacked Keir Starmer with claims that Labour would raise taxes. Sir Keir took a while to tackle this head-on.

Sir Keir has got a bit of laughter out of the audience, ridiculing Mr Sunak's claims about NHS waiting lists going down. But there seemed to be a bit of a grown when the Labour leader mentioned the ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss for a second time.

Where's the money coming from?

Both leaders are asked to raise their hand if they will raise income tax, national insurance and VAT. Neither of them do.

Keir Starmer says: "We will raise specific taxes." This incldues ending tax breaks for private schools and non-doms.

Mr Sunak says there's a 'retirement tax' coming for pensioners. He says people would pay tax on the state pension under Labour.

Starmer denies tax claims

Keir Starmer has responded to Mr Sunak's claims that Labour will tax everyone £2,000 more. He said: "They put in pretend Labour policies to the Treasury and then they get a false read-out."

Labour's plan

Keir Starmer says Labour would recruit thousands of teachers funded by taxing private schools. The audience applauds.

Education

Rishi Sunak says he is proud that children in England have the highest level of reading in the Western world. But Keir Starmer says education is broken. The Labour leader says every child should have the teachers they need in core subjects like maths.