Sunak and Starmer clash in final head-to-head duel over gambling scandal – The Irish Times

Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer clashed over their responses to the Westminster gambling scandal after it was announced that the Metropolitan Police would expand its role in investigating betting on the UK general election.

In the last head-to-head debate before the election, the Labour leader launched a fierce attack on the culture at the top of the Conservative Party, saying it showed the “wrong instinct” of placing bets on the country’s future – and compared it to the arrogant attitude towards Covid rules.

In the heated exchanges, Sunak repeatedly urged the country not to bow to Labour’s tax and immigration plans and said the general election should not be decided by frustration with the Conservatives.

“I understand why you are unhappy with our party, with me, I understand that. But this is not a by-election, it is a decision with profound consequences for you and our country,” he said. “And before you make that decision, think about what a Labour government would mean.”

“Can you afford to pay at least £2,000 more in tax? … And if you are unsure about Labour, do not give in, do not vote for any other party, vote Conservative.”

In response to the claim that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000 per household, the Labour leader said: “That is a lie. He was told not to repeat that lie and he just did it.”

The UK Statistics Office had previously warned the Conservatives about this claim, saying it was not clear how the figures had been calculated.

Five Conservative politicians and staff have now been suspended for allegedly betting on the election date. Labour was embroiled in the betting row on Tuesday after it had to suspend one of its own candidates for betting against the result in his constituency.

Starmer said he suspended his Labour candidate “within minutes” – and compared his actions to Sunak, who took days to make the decision. “I think for the last 14 years politics has been too much about self-entitlement and MPs thinking about what they could achieve for themselves,” he said.

“The instinct of these people to try to make money first and foremost was the wrong instinct, and we need to change that.”

He said Sunak had “hesitated and hesitated and hesitated” and had been “forced to act”. “My candidates know I have the highest standards. They have seen the consequences of my actions,” he said.

London police had previously confirmed that they were investigating “a small number of cases” related to the gambling dispute in Westminster to “determine whether the alleged offences go beyond breaches of the Gambling Act and include other offences, such as abuse of office”.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said further details of the investigation would be released on Thursday.

The Guardian uncovered the gambling scandal two weeks ago, revealing that Craig Williams was the subject of a regulator’s investigation for betting that the election would take place in July three days before the election was called.

The regulator is also investigating alleged betting by Tony Lee, the Conservative Party’s campaign manager, and his wife Laura Saunders, the Tory candidate for Bristol North West, as well as Nick Mason, the Tories’ chief data protection officer.

So far, six British police officers have been implicated in the scandal. One of these officers, a security guard for the Prime Minister, is being investigated for abuse of office because he allegedly placed five bets on election day.

Labour suspended Central Suffolk and North Ipswich candidate Kevin Craig and announced it would now repay £100,000 he donated to the party under Starmer’s leadership. Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting will repay £13,000 donated to staff costs.

The second and final debate between the two politicians, moderated by the BBC, saw clashes over the economy, immigration and their qualities as prime minister. Loud protests could be heard outside the Nottingham building during the exchanges.

Starmer said Sunak would be “Liz Truss Mark II” and the same damage would follow. “He has now openly admitted the damage the Conservatives have done to this country and is now saying: vote for me.”

He also received applause from the audience when he challenged Sunak on the cost of living issue, saying: “If you listened to people across the country more often, maybe you wouldn’t be so out of touch with the world.”

Starmer accused Sunak of using transgender people as a “political football to divide people”, even though both said they would protect women’s rights to gender-segregated spaces.

The Labour leader drew thunderous applause when he said he believed transgender people should be treated with “dignity and respect.” “If that doesn’t happen, we’ll end up with the British Prime Minister standing in Parliament and making an anti-trans joke in front of the mother of a murdered trans teenager.”

Sunak replied: “I did not do that. I pointed out that you have changed your mind on this issue several times.”

But Sunak took a swipe at Starmer earlier in the debate, questioning his plans on illegal migration and saying his plans for migrant return deals were “nonsensical” when it came to countries such as Iran and Afghanistan.

“He says he will sit down with people. Are you going to sit down with the Iranian ayatollahs? Are you going to make a deal with the Taliban? What you are saying is utter nonsense. You think people are stupid,” Sunak said.

The Labour leader said that Sunak’s plans to deport people to Rwanda would also have no deterrent effect.

“Right now, their applications are not being processed… tens of thousands of people are sitting in hotels and their applications are not being processed. Right now, 100% of them are actually being granted asylum… and because their applications are not being processed, they cannot be sent back to where they came from,” he said.

The prime minister said Starmer also had no plan for how he would deal with the asylum seekers currently in limbo. “If Keir Starmer becomes prime minister, all of these illegal immigrants will be off our streets and that is your decision,” he said.

“Don’t let Labour control our borders. If Labour wins, the people smugglers will need a bigger boat.”

– Guardian