Starmer performed best overall in Sky News leaders’ event, poll suggests

Sir Keir Starmer performed best overall in the Sky News leaders’ event, a snap YouGov poll suggests.

Almost two thirds – 64% – of those questioned said the Labour leader came out on top, compared to 36% who thought Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did better.

The question was: leaving aside your own party preference, who do you think performed best overall in tonight’s televised leaders’ event?

Latest updates from the leaders’ special event

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0:51

Starmer accused of being a ‘political robot’

During the Battle For Number 10 programme, broadcast live from Grimsby Town Hall, the leaders each faced a 20-minute interview from Sky News political editor Beth Rigby followed by 25 minutes of questions from audience members.

Afterwards, when the voters in the poll were asked who came across as more trustworthy, 58% said Sir Keir, while 28% stated Mr Sunak.

Also, 56% said Sir Keir was more likeable, compared to 29% for his rival.

According to 71%, the Labour leader came across as more in touch with ordinary people, while 13% opted for the prime minister.

And when the voters were asked who came across as more prime ministerial, 50% said it was Sir Keir, with 35% saying Mr Sunak.

Those sampled were also asked who they thought performed best during the section on the NHS.

According to the poll, 70% chose Sir Keir, compared to 20% for Mr Sunak.

Read more from Sky News:
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Boos, groans and revelations at leaders’ event

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2:17

Sunak: Immigration ‘too high’

When it came to who performed best in the section on issues facing young people, 58% opted for Sir Keir, with 27% choosing the prime minister.

On the section about the economy, it was closer – 49% for the Labour leader and 42% for the Conservative leader.

It was almost honours-even on the tax section – 42% for Sir Keir and 41% for Mr Sunak.

Also when the voters were asked which words (up to three from a list) they would use to describe the event, 52% said “interesting”, 47% went for “frustrating”, 37% chose “engaging”, 27% said “helpful” and 26% picked “vague”.

During the event, Mr Sunak was questioned by Beth Rigby about the progress he has made on the five key priorities he set out at the start of last year.

As part of his reply, he commented that junior doctors’ strikes have had an impact on NHS waiting lists – and was loudly booed by a member of the audience as a result.

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Earlier, Sir Keir briefly seemed stumped after an audience member suggested he had become a “political robot” and asked how he would convince people to vote for him.

After a brief pause and a laugh from the audience, Sir Keir stressed a history of public service, particularly as director of public prosecutions, and said he was not “tribally political”.

Asked whether Sir Keir had convinced him, the audience member said: “You don’t seem to answer the question.”

The Labour leader also said his party’s manifesto, set to be published on Thursday, will contain no surprises on tax, while Mr Sunak continued to insist he will “keep fighting hard until the last day of this election”.

Some 1,864 respondents took part in the poll.

See the full table of results here.

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