Election latest: The morning after the night before - fresh Rishi Sunak-Keir Starmer debate poll has very different result (2024)

By Josephine Franks, news reporter and Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business reporter

When Rishi Sunak moved into Number 10 two years ago, he was described as Britain's first hedge fund prime minister.

Sky's Economics and Data Editor Ed Conway wrote at the time that Mr Sunak's background makes for aCV unlike almost every other resident of Downing Street.

It was a career that started aged 21 at Goldman Sachs and saw him co-found a firm registered in the Cayman Islands.

But it is Mr Sunak's three years at hedge fund TCI straddling the 2008 financial crash that is now being revisited.

Both the Conservatives and Labour have been releasing "attack ad" videos in thegeneral election campaign- and the prime minister's financial background is the subject of Labour's latest one.

You can read more from Sky News below:

Both the Starmer and Sunak campaigns agree: the first head-to-head of the election campaign was - in many ways - a difficult watch.

The two men have spent a fortnight on the campaign trail attacking one another from hundreds of miles apart. It was undoubtedly snippy.

Suddenly they were together in a room, able to do it in front of an invited audience - and they couldn't wait to tear into each other.

As a result they couldn't wait to bludgeon their opponent's pre-prepared lines, mock and cajole one another, often talking at the same time.

You can read more from Sam here:

A top Treasury civil servant wrote to Labour to warn them that the Tory assessment of their tax plans "should not be presented as having been produced by the civil service".

The letter, sent by Treasury permanent secretary James Bowler, could undermine Rishi Sunak's repeated claim last night that Labour's financial plans include a £38bn black hole.

The prime minister has claimed this would result in a £2,000 tax rise per household, alleging Labour's policies were costed by "independent Treasury officials".

Labour, however, has rubbished this claim as a "desperate lie".

It has now emerged that, in a letter to shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, a civil servant distanced himself from the Conservative analysis.

Mr Bowler said: "As you will expect, civil servants were not involved in the production or presentation of the Conservative Party’s document 'Labour’s Tax Rises' or in the calculation of the total figure used."

He added: "The £38bn figure used in the Conservative Party's publication includes costs beyond those provided by the Civil Service".

There's been rather a lot of mention today of one particular moment in last night's head-to-head between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

In the debate, the prime minister claimed there's a £38bn black hole in Labour's plans for government.

Mr Sunak repeatedly alleged that this would result in a £2,000 tax rise for each British household.

Sir Keir initially failed to challenge the accusations, but eventually called it "nonsense" and "absolute garbage", saying his pledge to invest in green projects would result in cheaper energy bills.

And Labour frontbencher Jonathan Ashworth today told Sky News that Mr Sunak had "lied" about Labour's tax outlook.

He said: "I think last night, what was exposed was just how desperate Rishi Sunak has become, because he lied about Labour's tax plans.

"What he said last night about Labour's tax plans is categorically untrue. Labour will not put up income tax, not put up national insurance, will not put up VAT.

"And I think what we showed last night with Rishi Sunak, what we saw last night was just how desperate he becomes.

"What desperate people do, is they lie."

Keith Brown, the deputy leader of the SNP, has insisted that last night's televised debate was "not for viewers in Scotland".

Yesterday, First Minister John Swinney insisted that he should have been invited to take part in the debate, the first of the general election period.

Mr Brown echoed his view, saying: "There wasn't one mention of Scotland.

"The largest party in Scotland - the third largest party in the House of Commons - was excluded from it, and of course the really important things for Scotland... weren't really covered.

"It really was not relevant, or helpful or instructive for the people of Scotland."

"Neither of them are blessed with natural charisma."

This rather damning assessment of both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer - the UK's choice of future prime minister - focuses on their speech and body language, not how they might lead the country.

The leaders of the two main parties face weeks of interviews, speeches, and walkabouts as part of their general election campaigns.

Ahead of their first live TV debate, Sky News spoke to Paul Boross, a business psychologist and body language expert who has coached several politicians and celebrities, and Elizabeth McClelland, forensic voice, speech, and language analyst, about the gestures and verbal characteristics that offer an insight into who the two frontrunners really are.

You can read more from our news reporter Lara Keay below...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard with their guide to the election day ahead.

This is day 14 of the campaign. Jack and Sam discuss last night’s debate in Salford, the upcoming 80th anniversary of the D Day landings, and Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething faces a motion of no confidence.

Email Jack and Sam: jackandsam@sky.uk

👉Tap here to follow Politics at Jack at Sam's wherever you get your podcasts👈

The Sky News live poll tracker - collated and updated by our data and forensics team - aggregates various surveys to indicate how voters feel about the different political parties.

See the latest update below - and you can read more about the methodology behind the trackerhere.

Last night, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer went head-to-head in the first televised debate of the general election campaign.

An initial snap poll, published by YouGov after the clash, had suggested Mr Sunak narrowly came out on top - with 51% of the audience believing he fared better than Sir Keir.

However, another published this morning had a different result.

Researchers at Savanta found Sir Keir Starmer beat Rishi Sunak by 44% to 39%.

Savanta said Sir Keir outperformed Mr Sunak on NHS and public services 63% to 25%, on the economy 52% to 36%, and defence and security 43% to 41%.

Pollsters at the firm also found Sir Keir "came across as most honest" 54% to 29% for Mr Sunak, and that the Labour leader "remained the calmest" 51% to 36% for the Conservative prime minister.

Chris Hopkins, Savanta political research director, said in a statement: "Presentationally, it felt like the prime minister had the upper hand at times - in particular towards the end of the debate - and although our figures suggest he lost narrowly, he probably still outperformed expectations."

Jonathan Ashworth has accused Rishi Sunak of spouting "desperate lies" in last night's debate, after the prime minister pointed to a "black hole" in Labour's spending plans.

Mr Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, says Mr Sunak made claims that are "categorically untrue".

This relates to Mr Sunak's claim that Labour has a £38.5bn black hole over four years, which would force the party to hike taxes substantially.

The frontbencher says: "I think last night, what was exposed was just how desperate Rishi Sunak has become, because he lied about Labour's tax plans.

"What he said last night about Labour's tax plans is categorically untrue. Labour will not put up income tax, not put up national insurance, will not put up VAT.

"And I think what we showed last night with Rishi Sunak, what we saw last night was just how desperate he becomes.

"What desperate people do, is they lie."