‘Is the NHS Broken?’: Keir Starmer Wins ITV Audience Applause In Clash With Rishi Sunak Over Health Service

Labour leader Keir Starmer won both the first applause and laughter from ITV’s audience during Tuesday’s debate, attacking Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s record on National Health Service (NHS) waiting lists.

In response to a direct question from an audience member about how long it will take to fix the NHS, the pair both invoked their personal connections to the health service.

Starmer highlighted his family ties, began: “My mother was a nurse and my wife works in the NHS. It’s in my DNA.”

Sunak, not to be outdone, responded: “My dad was a GP, my mum was a pharmacist, so I’m speaking as someone who was brought up in the NHS.”

However, anecdotes gave way to a heated exchange as Starmer interrupted Sunak’s claims about reducing waiting lists. Statistics show waiting lists in March stood at 7.54 million, compared to 7.8 million in September 2023.

“He says he’s good at maths,” Starmer quipped, pointing out the rise in waiting lists, which drew the first laugh from the audience.

Sunak shot back: “They’re coming down because they were coming down from where they were when they were higher.”

The atmosphere quickly soured again when Sunak attributed the increase to industrial action, prompting a loud groan from the crowd.

Starmer then drew the first laugh of the night when mocking Sunak for blame-shifting: “What happened to personal responsibility?”

Watch above on ITV.