ITV General Election debate: How to watch Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer go head to head
It comes after Rishi Sunak announced a snap July 4 election last month, ending months of speculation about when a national vote would be called. Now he's set to debate Labour Leader Keir Starmer.
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer will face each other on the debate stage tonight in what promises to be a testy encounter between the two party leaders.
It comes after the Prime Minister announced a snap July 4 election last month, ending months of speculation about when a national vote would be called.
Sunak and Starmer have faced each other on a near-weekly basis in the House of Commons, but always within the parliamentary format, which limits how many questions the leader of the opposition can throw at the PM.
But at the leaders' debate on Tuesday, the two men will face each other on an equal footing despite their contrasting political fortunes.
Labour is riding high, with several major polls pointing to an electoral wipeout for the Tories, while Sunak will be fighting for his political life.
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How to watch tonight's debate?
The first of the two televised debates will be on ITV before another on the BBC towards the end of the month.
Tonight's hour-long showdown, billed as Sunak v Starmer: The ITV Debate, will see the party leaders have their say in front of a live audience, with presenter Julie Etchingham moderating.
Michael Jermey, ITV's director of news and current affairs, said: "Millions of viewers value the election debates. They provide a chance to see and hear the party leaders set out their pitch to the country, debate directly with each other and take questions from voters. ITV is pleased to be broadcasting the first debate in this year's election campaign."
The BBC will host the second and final televised head-to-head between them, the corporation has confirmed. The pair will face off on June 26 a week out from polling day.
The debate will be hosted by BBC newsreader Sophie Raworth and is set to be held in Nottingham, broadcast on BBC One and BBC News on 26 June.
Sunak has challenged the Labour leader to debate him every week of the campaign, but Starmer has agreed to two, saying: “I can do one debate or 100, I know what Sunak is going to say.”
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What time is the debate on?
The first head-to-head debate between the two men will take place on June 4 at 9pm, exactly one month before the nationwide poll.
The economy, national security, migration and the NHS have been front and centre in the campaigning, and are sure to get plenty of attention tonight.
Labour is currently polling with a 20 percentage point lead and Sunak faces an uphill battle to convince the Conservative Party still has fresh ideas after 14 turbulent years in power.
