Sir Keir Starmer beat Rishi Sunak in today’s televised general election showdown, according to a flash poll.
A YouGov poll after the Battle for 10 for Sky News showed that 64 per cent of respondents thought the Labour leadership was stronger.
Meanwhile, the poll of 1,864 people showed that around 36 per cent of respondents thought the Prime Minister was in the lead.
The leading candidates deviated from the usual face-to-face debate format and were questioned separately by Sky News’ Beth Rigby.
During the show, the two candidates had to face separate questioning by Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby.
Mr Sunak and Sir Keir also answered questions from the audience at the event in Grimsby Town Hall.
The Labour leader was at the front of the line and was quizzed on topics including the U-turn and his previous support for Jeremy Corbyn.
He looked momentarily taken aback when an audience member said he had become a “political robot” and asked how he would persuade people to vote for him.
When Sir Keir asked if he had persuaded him, a viewer said: “I don’t think you’re answering the question.” However, the audience booed during the heated show.
Responding to the early opinion polls, Cabinet Minister Mark Spencer said: “I wouldn’t say so, but if it’s a poll, it’s a poll.”
“It’s all about centrist voters and how they see it. People will know that Keir Starmer hasn’t answered the questions. He gave a solid performance” and a “clear answer”.