Rishi Sunak has made a pugnacious last-ditch bid to try to avert electoral disaster for the Conservatives in next week’s general election, repeatedly urging voters in a television debate not to “surrender” the UK to Labour.
With new opinion polls pointing to a massive Labour majority, the prime minister came out fighting on Wednesday evening, insisting that Sir Keir Starmer would raise taxes, allow welfare spending to spiral and lose control of the country’s borders.
The Labour leader used the primetime debate on the BBC to seek to link the scandal on election betting affecting Tory candidates and officials with the prime minister’s past breach of Covid lockdown rules.