Sunak v Starmer v Davey v Swinney - THE VERDICT: MailOnline panel are unconvinced the Tories can tackle NHS waiting lists after BBC debate - but Dover fisherman says only Rishi can stop the boats READ MORE: Rishi Sunak will 'boot out' any Tories who betted on election By Katherine Lawton and John Siddle and Kevin Donaldson and Tracey Kandohla and Isaac Crowson Published: 00:29, 21 June 2024 | Updated: 07:32, 21 June 2024 e-mail 112 View comments Rishi Sunak , Sir Keir Starmer, Ed Davey and John Swinney battled it out during a BBC Question Time grilling on Thursday night as they were questioned over key issues such as NHS waiting lists. The Prime Minister revealed he wished he had made more progress on cutting the numbers of patients waiting for treatment but insisted 'record investment' was 'starting to make a difference'. Waiting lists in England surged to 7.
57 million at the end of April, up from 7.54 million the previous month - but down on a September peak of 7.77 million.
More than 300,000 of the waits have been for longer than a year. Meanwhile, some viewers praised Mr Sunak for his 'firm' plan on the small boat crisis while criticising other parties for having a less clear strategy. The political stakes could not be higher ahead of the general election on July 4, which major polls have suggested will see Mr Sunak lose the top spot as PM.
Here is what our panel of MailOnline readers had to say about last night's Question Time grilling. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer spe.