Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer trade blows on tax, immigration and NHS in fiery first TV debate

Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer clashed on immigration, tax rises and the state of the NHS in a heated first TV debate of the general election campaign.

The two leaders repeatedly spoke over each other in fiery exchanges as they traded blows in the crunch debate a month ahead of polling day.

In his opening pitch to voters in the ITV debate on Tuesday night the Prime Minster claimed Labour would "raid" pension pots and hike taxes on workers.

Sir Keir hit back by questioning the timing of the July 4 vote. He argued that Mr Sunak had only called a summer polling day because he "knows" inflation and energy prices will take a turn for the worse in winter.

Both leaders sought to paint the other as offering higher taxes for the public.

The Labour leader said Mr Sunak had raised the burden 25 times, adding: "He is the British expert on tax rises. They are at the highest level for 70 years."

But Mr Sunak replied the election was "about the future" and insisted he would keep cutting taxes while Labour would raise them.

The PM repeated Conservative analysis that claims Labour plans to raise a household's tax bill by over £2,000, something which has been disputed by the opposition.

Sir Keir said the claim was “nonsense” and suggested the wealthy Mr Sunak did not understand the plight facing hard-pressed families.

Referring to his own childhood, he said: "I do know the anguish of worrying, when the postman comes with a bill, what is that bill going to be, can I pay it?

"I don't think the Prime Minister quite understands the position that you and other people are in."

The leaders also sought to draw clear dividing lines between their parties on tackling the small boats crisis.

Sir Keir accused Mr Sunak of being "the most liberal prime minister we've ever had on immigration".

Asked by an audience member why either leader should be trusted to do anything about illegal migrants, Mr Sunak said deportation flights will take off to Rwanda "in July, but only if I'm your Prime Minister".

"Stick to our plan and illegal migrants will be on those planes - with Labour they will be out on our streets."

Sir Keir replied: "The levels of migration are at record highs - 685,000. It's never been that high, save in the last year or two. "The Prime Minister says it's too high.

“Who's in charge? He's in charge. He's the most liberal prime minister we've ever had on immigration."

He added that Mr Sunak had "completely failed" to meet his pledge to stop small boats crossing the Channel.

The Conservative leader implied he would be willing to take the UK out of the European Court of Human Right (ECHR) saying membership of a “foreign court” should not jeopardise UK security.

Sir Keir dismissed the plan and argued he were PM he would “want Britain to be respected” on the world stage.

The first laughs - and groans - from the audience came during questioning on the NHS.

When the Tory leader challenged Sir Keir to say how he would resolve the long-running dispute with junior doctors, he earned a round of applause as he said he would not offer strikers a 35 per cent pay rise.

But Sir Keir drew audience laughter as he ridiculed the PM over his claim that NHS waiting lists were coming down.

He said: "They were 7.2 million, they're now 7.5 million. He says they are coming down and this is the guy who says he's good at maths."

Mr Sunak then blamed industrial action, eliciting groans from the ITV audience.

"It's somebody else's fault," Sir Keir said.

In his initial statement, Mr Sunak said: "Beyond raising your taxes and raiding your pensions, no one knows what Labour would actually do.

"But you know what I would do? I'll cut your taxes, protect your pension and reduce immigration."

Sir Keir said: "This election is all about a choice. More of the chaos and division we've seen for the last 14 years or turning the page and rebuilding with Labour.

"I have ambition for our country. I have a practical plan to deliver it."

Mr Sunak will be hoping to move the dial against a backdrop of dire opinion poll ratings for the Tories, with recent YouGov analysis suggesting the party is heading for an electoral wipe-out.

A snap poll found Mr Sunak was the winner of the debate with the public, but only just.

The survey by YouGov found 51 per cent of viewers thought the Prime Minister, who trails 20 points behind Labour in UK-wide polls, performed better compared to 49 per cent for Sir Keir.