British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer struggled to get their messages across to voters on Wednesday, as protesters threatened to drown out their final televised debate of the U.K. election campaign.
As the two politicians vying to become Britain’s leader after the July 4 election faced off live on the BBC, indistinguishable but loud shouting could be heard from outside the venue at Nottingham Trent University in central England.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the building before the debate.
Host Mishal Husain acknowledged the distraction, which continued as the two politicians traded barbs about ethics, tax and migration. Protest is a part of Britain’s democracy, she noted.
The ruckus made for a messy end to a series of debates that have seen Starmer, Sunak and other party leaders appeal directly to voters.
Next week British voters will elect lawmakers to fill all 650 seats in the House of Commons, and the leader of the party that can command a majority — either alone or in coalition — will become prime minister. Labour currently has a double-digit lead in opinion polls over the Conservatives, who have been in power for 14 years under five different prime ministers.
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