The first TV debate of the election campaign turned out to be a fiery matchup, with mixed views across Wednesdayâs front pages despite a snap poll showing 51% of people thought Rishi Sunak performed best, with 49% voting for Sir Keir Starmer.
The Guardian leads with âLeaders clash on migration, tax and NHS in ill-tempered debateâ. Political correspondent Eleni Courea notes that Starmer âhammered the Conservative record after 14 years in governmentâ, while Sunak sought to portray the Labour leader as an âunreliable politician who was pursuing power for powerâs sakeâ.
The Telegraph has âStarmer on the ropes over taxâ, highlighting one of the major themes of the debate; Sunakâs continued assertion that analysis shows a black hole in Labourâs spending plans that would inevitably lead to higher taxes.
Post-debate fact checks noted that Sunakâs calculations were based on assumptions set out by Conservative-appointed political advisers and are also heavily contested by Labour.
Despite the unproven nature of that claim, other papers were quick to jump on it, with the Express even claiming that it handed Sunak a âknockout blowâ.
Under the headline âKapow! Feisty Rishi floors Starmer over £2,000 tax riseâ, the paper describes the PMâs performance as ârumbustiousâ.
âFiery Rishi comes out swinging â and lands big blowsâ is the headline in the Mail, which also highlights Sunakâs claims over Labour tax rises.
The paperâs panel of viewers rated Sunak as having ââtrust factorâ but Sir Keir was âmore relatableââ The Mail says the panel also said the debate was âbad-temperedâ and told viewers ânothingâ.
Scotlandâs Daily Record however has a different reading, saying âSunak loses the plot in TV debateâ.
Under the headline âAll over bar the shoutingâ, the paper says that the PM âshowed voters the general election is a lost cause as he resorted to shouting over Keir Starmerâ.
The i says the debate saw both leaders âfalter under pressureâ. Claiming that the âangry TV clashâ was the moment the election âignitesâ, the paper also notes that Starmer was âslow to deny Sunakâs claim about £2,000 tax hikesâ.
The Mirror relegates the debate to a small container on its front page, but highlights that there were âgroansâ for Sunak over claims made about the NHS.
After Starmer pointed to the fact that NHS waiting lists had risen under Sunakâs leadership, the prime minister responded that they were âcoming down from where they were when they were higherâ. It was this comment that drew laughter from the audience.
The Times leads with âLabour accused on tax as Sunak comes out fightingâ. Both leaders traded personal attacks, the paperâs political editor writes, while analysis from Matthew Parris noted that âfrom time to time this debate descended into over-prepared stuffingâ.
His commentary concludes by saying âwe saw two men, whose plans do not radically differ and who both sounded like decent chaps, apparently a bit stumped about what to do next.â