Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, Sir Ed Davey and John Swinney faced questions from the BBC Question Time audience as there are just two weeks left until the General Election
Keir Starmer has promised to cut the NHS backlog within five years if he becomes prime minister.
The Labour leader has promised two million extra hospital visits a year, funded by a crackdown on tax evaders. Appearing on the BBC’s election programme Question Time, he criticised Rishi Sunak for failing to keep his promise to cut NHS waiting lists. Now the backlog stands at 7.5 million.
“He’s blaming NHS staff,” Mr Starmer said. “We will never do that because I know how hard you work all the time.” He promised the party would hold extra meetings in the evenings and at weekends. “While Parliament is working we will look at this and we will clear the backlog completely,” he added. “We did that last time we were in power.”
Mr Sunak, the Liberal Democrats’ Sir Ed Davey and the Scottish National Party’s John Swinney also appeared on the programme.
The Prime Minister has faced criticism for his decision not to suspend two Conservative candidates who are under investigation over a betting scandal. Craig Williams and Laura Saunders are being investigated by the Gambling Commission over alleged general election bets.
Mr Sunak said he was “incredibly angry when he learned of these allegations”. “This is a really serious issue. It is right that they are properly investigated by the relevant law enforcement authorities,” he added.
But asked why both candidates had not been suspended, he said: “Those investigations are ongoing. “If anyone is found to have broken the rules, not only will they face the full consequences of the law, but I will ensure they are expelled from the Conservative Party.”
In the discussion room after the debate, Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth said Sunak’s decision not to act showed he was a “weak leader”.
The audience laughed at Mr Sunak when he suggested that young people could have their driving licenses or bank cards withdrawn if they refused military service. The Prime Minister was asked how he would punish 18-year-olds who do not take part in his scheme, under which they can choose between a year of military service or 25 days on community projects.
He said: ‘Well, there will be a mix of sanctions and incentives and we will look at the models that exist in Europe to find the right mix.’ When asked for examples, he said: ‘In Europe, people do lots of things, whether it’s getting a driving licence, accessing finance and lots of other things.’
But presenter Fiona Bruce interrupted: ‘Access to finance? So if people don’t want to do military service, do you take away their bank cards? Can’t they get a loan? At that moment the audience started laughing. Mr Sunak said: “There are many different models in Europe – this has been done in many countries in Europe.”
After the Prime Minister suggested he might take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights, viewers shouted: “Shame on you.”
Sir Ed admitted he made “huge mistakes” when challenged over his role in the postal service scandal. The Liberal Democrat leader was criticised for not doing more to help wrongly convicted sub-postmasters when he was Postmaster General between 2010 and 2012. Alan Bates said he wished he had not been fooled by assurances given by the Post Office at the time. “I wish I could see through that lie,” he said. “Over that 20-year period, there have been many ministers from all political parties who have not seen through that lie.”
A student called Violet has challenged the party’s decision to break its promise to abolish tuition fees when it formed a coalition with the Tories. “How can my generation trust you?” she asked. Sir Ed said: “I understand why your generation has lost faith in us. It has been difficult being in that Government.” He said the loss of faith in his party after that time was “very painful”. ‘You shouldn’t promise something you can’t keep… that was a big lesson I learned,’ he added.
The Liberal Democrat leader has defended his election stunts after being warned he could not be taken seriously. So far he has gone down a water slide, fallen into a lake while kayaking, built sandcastles and taken part in car races. He responded: ‘I take your concerns and the concerns of voters very, very seriously. And if you look at our manifesto, we have a very well thought out strategy to save the NHS. But I don’t think politicians should take themselves too seriously.”
Mr Swinney was angered by the chaos in the Scottish National Party which led to him becoming Scotland’s third First Minister in 18 months. “I think the honest answer is that we’ve had a really tough time as a party over the last few years,” he admitted. “It’s been a turbulent time.”
The clash comes ahead of the final showdown between the Prime Minister and the Labour Party leader, which will be shown on the BBC on Wednesday. A special Question Time with Reform UK’s Nigel Farage and the Greens’ Adrian Ramsay will be shown next Friday evening.