UK election: Sunak and Starmer to face off in final bid for votes

And the UK is gearing up for its own snap election with another debate tonight between Labour leader Keir Starmer and the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. Labour is widely tipped to oust the Conservatives in that vote on July 4th. We're going to talk more about that with our London correspondent Benedict Pavio, who joins me now live for more. Benedict, first of all, what can we expect from this debate tonight? Is this going to be more important for one party than the other? It's important for both, but of course it's particularly important for the Conservative Party, the its leader, the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, who of course is way behind in the polls. Over the last year or eighteen months we've had a something like a 20 point lead for the Labour Party. Of course, ultimately it'll be the verdict of the British people and of course we'll be carrying that live on France and Ghat on the 4th of July and the fallout on the 5th of July. So tonight's Sage is built in, in, uh, University of Nottingham Trent, uh, and the two men who want to lead the UK, one who is currently leading the UK, Rishi Sunak. But of course, let's remember he was never elected by the people, uh, and uh, so it's his first time in front of the verdict of the British people. And the other we're seeing on screen now, uh, who's big word is change very much, who has been leader of the opposition for over 4 years now, who's a former director of Public prosecutions And who it seems, if we believe the polls will be the next Prime Minister come the night of the 4th of July, in which case we could see in Prime Minister by the afternoon of Friday, the 5th of July. So they will face off. This is the last time they're head to head. It's 75 minutes. Anything can happen. And of course, everybody, the public, undecided voters, particularly, this is in front of a live audience. And, you know, eight days before the general election, it's all to play for. It certainly is. And one thing that adds another twist to all of this, Benedict, is that while the debate's being held tonight, it's actually currently being overshadowed by a betting scandal that's affecting, among others, the conservatives. Overshadowed is the the right word. Absolutely, Jeannie. Because what is happening is at a time when trust is actually increasingly low in all politicians here in the United Kingdom with various scandals, this is the latest scandal. And this is, yes, you've heard me right when I say the Gambling Commission is investigating a number of politicians. This started two weeks ago. It's almost sort of growing daily. And the Gambling Commission is looking at election bets and particularly the date of the election. So who knew what when? You've got worryingly also some police officers, at least five now, who apparently bet on the election date. I believe there's only so far one criminal investigation into a police officer, but that could increase. And it's the Conservative Party that is the most hit at the moment. And that is why Rishi Sunak, belatedly some would say his critics would say, suspended 2 prospective Conservative candidates in the election. So they will now have to stand as although on the ballot paper they will seem to be Conservative candidates, they will not be approved any longer by the Conservatives. So there's also the Gambling Commission has announced they're investigating a Labour candidate in Suffolk called Kevin Cray and he bet on himself to lose and he says and admits he made a stupid error. As I said, at a time when trust in politics is at an all time low, when the country, whether it's cost of living, very much like the French election, is uppermost in people's minds, this does not inspire more trust in politicians. Quite the contrary, it would inspire more distrust at a time in these democracies that are facing both domestic and also of course, world problems, not least, for example, the war in Ukraine. And this is quite a worrying development. We'll see how it continues in the next few days. But tonight, that big debate, 75 minutes between the man who would be Prime Minister according to the polls, Sir Keir Starmer, and the current Prime Minister, the conservative Rishi Sunak.