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Wes Streeting referenced the “sure Jan” meme as he clashed with James Cleverly following the Sky News leaders debate on Wednesday, 12 June.The home secretary and the shadow health secretary had a heated conversation after Mr Cleverly repeated Tory claims that Labour would increase taxes for the average household by more than £2,000 a year.Mr Streeting pulled faces before referencing a Brady Bunch scene that is often used as a meme to dismiss a fictitious story.It came after Sir Keir Starmer insisted that Labour’s general election manifesto, which will be launched on Thursday, will not contain any “tax surprises” for voters. More

Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer were grilled by Beth Rigby and her audience during Wednesday evening’s Sky News debate.As they stood on stage in Grimsby, the two leaders were challenged on their general election plans and promises ahead of next month’s vote.Mr Sunak was grilled on Rwanda flights and strikes, while Sir Keir was quizzed on his plans for tackling the cost of living crisis.There were moments when both leaders drew groans and laughter from the audience as they tried to win over the public.Here, The Independent takes a look at the strongest audience reactions from the debate. More

A former local Conservative Party chair was applauded for reminding Rishi Sunak that the public has “long memories” during Wednesday’s general election debate.The woman, who introduced herself as Amy from Leeds, told the prime minister she was “ashamed” by actions from the Tory government and admitted she was now an undecided voter.After pressing Mr Sunak on his decision to leave last week’s D-Day commemorations early, she warned that the British public will not forget other Tory scandals – including Partygate.“I just think we have long memories in this country,” Amy said, drawing applause from the audience. More

Sir Keir Starmer appeared to confuse Grimsby and Hull during Wednesday evening’s general election debate.The Labour leader took questions from Sky News political editor Beth Rigby and members of the audience as he attempted to win over the public ahead of next month’s vote.At one point, Sir Keir noted that he was impressed with apprentices he had met “here in Hull” – despite standing on stage 35 miles away.In another awkward moment, he was described as a “political robot” by someone in the audience. More

Post-Brexit migration numbers shocked the audience at Wednesday’s general election debate.With Rishi Sunak sat on stage, host Beth Rigby noted that the total net migration figure into the UK in the past three years was 1.9 million, compared to 836,000 people in the three years running up to the 2016 referendum.As the Sky News political editor read the numbers, the audience gasped in shock.“Net migration into this country has more than doubled in the last three years, from before we left the European Union,” Ms Rigby concluded.In response, the prime minister called the figure “too high”. More

Sir Keir Starmer was taken off guard when he was described as a “political robot” by a member of the audience during Wednesday evening’s Sky News debate.After a discussion with host Beth Rigby, the Labour leader took questions from the public in Grimsby.“I admired how in touch you were with the public when you were a solicitor and director of public prosecutions for the CPS,” an audience member, from Yorkshire, began.“But over the last year… You seem more like a political robot. How are you going to convince others like me to vote for you?”The question drew laughter from others in the crowd and saw Sir Keir pause for a few seconds before responding. More

Sir Keir Starmer was met with groans and laughs from the audience as he told Beth Rigby his father was a toolmaker during Wednesday’s Sky News debate.The Labour leader has repeatedly told voters about his childhood during the general election campaign.When pressed on his current financial situation and if he would “personally” be happy to pay more tax, Sir Keir admitted he “earns a lot of money now”.“But when I grew up, my dad was a toolmaker, he worked in a factory,” he added, drawing laughter with the repeated line.“It’s true – my mum was a nurse – and we couldn’t make ends meet. Which is not a laughing matter.” More

Rishi Sunak claimed he has met Nigel Farage “maybe once” as he denied being “scared” of the Reform UK leader.The prime minister made the comments during an interview with ITV News that aired on Wednesday night (12 June).“What do you think are Nigel Farage’s best qualities?” journalist Paul Brand asked Mr Sunak.“I really don’t know him, Paul. I think I’ve met him maybe once in my life,” he replied.The prime minister added that he is not “not worried” Reform UK will “steal votes” from the Conservatives, suggesting his only challenger for No 10 is Sir Keir Starmer. More