UK’s Sunak Prepares for First TV Debate amid ‘Election Crisis’
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hunkered down Tuesday as he prepared to go head-to-head with Labor opposition leader Keir Starmer in the first televised debate of the UK general election campaign on the back foot.
It comes with Sunak under intense pressure to reset the Tories’ faltering campaign following the release of two polls Monday showing they face defeat in a historic landslide on July 4, AFP reported.
The embattled leader also faces the perilous prospect of the right-wing vote splitting between the Conservatives and Nigel Farage’s Reform party, after the Brexit figurehead U-turned Monday and announced he will stand as a candidate.
Farage’s announcement grabbed headlines and he was set to officially launch his campaign in the seaside resort of Clacton, east of London.
His arrival into the fray diverted attention away from the hour-long debate between Sunak and Starmer, which is due to start at 2000 GMT, and see both quizzed by the audience.
Sunak will reportedly spend the entire day off the campaign trail preparing for the clash, with his performance seen as critical to his party’s fortunes — and the threat posed by Farage.
Sunak, 44, has made a series of headline-grabbing promises in the campaign’s early days in a bid to appease right-wingers who want him to be tougher on immigration and law and order.