Summary

  • Rishi Sunak has said he understands why people are hesitating to support the Conservatives

  • At a campaign event, he says the last few years have been difficult but the coming election is a choice for the future

  • His comments come after the PM and Keir Starmer were pressed about immigration, the NHS and cost of living at a Q&A hosted by the Sun

  • Earlier, the co-leader of the Greens was challenged on his party's pledges on climate and tax by Nick Robinson in a BBC Panorama leaders' interview

  • Adrian Ramsay defended the scale of his party's tax plans, calling them "fairly normal" by European standards

  • Also on Monday, Sunak said he was "not aware" of other Conservative candidates being looked into by the Gambling Commission and confirmed his party is carrying out its own internal inquiries - Starmer accused him of delaying the probe until after the election

  1. We want more food to be produced locally, says Ramsaypublished at 19:11 British Summer Time 24 June

    A picture of a camera recording the Nick Robinson BBC interview with Adrian Ramsay

    This leads onto the topic the Green Party’s plans for a carbon tax.

    Robinson points out that Ramsay’s manifesto mentions a tax on everything that produces carbon dioxide which could heat the planet, which would include cows.

    Ramsay says that the carbon tax the Greens are proposing for the next five years "doesn’t include farming" because "we are putting incentives to support farmers to transition to producing more food locally".

  2. Do we need to ban the burger?published at 19:10 British Summer Time 24 June

    Robinson now moves on the Green ambition for people to eat less meat.

    He asks the Green co-leader if he believes we've got to "ban the burger", or make them a "heck of a lot more expensive?"

    "Neither of those proposals are in our manifesto," Ramsay responds, adding that the party wants to support farmers to produce far more food within the UK.

  3. Ramsay: Green transition offers huge opportunitiespublished at 19:09 British Summer Time 24 June

    Still on the topic of cars, Robinson asks the Green co-leader how his party plans to pay to scrap tens of millions of vehicles.

    Robinson says the AA called it an "impossible dream" that could cost about £86bn - a lot more than the cost of all the schools in England.

    Ramsay says that the Greens will "put money behind supporting people with that green transition" adding that their manifesto shows how it would be funded. He says the changes will mean "huge job creation opportunities" in areas including renewable energy and public transport.

  4. Ramsay pushed on policy to scrap all petrol and diesel carspublished at 19:08 British Summer Time 24 June

    Robinson says it’s an "interesting claim" that there will be no pain, and points to a Green policy to scrap every petrol and diesel car in the country within a decade. He points out that would be around 30 million cars.

    The Green co-leader says that it wouldn’t be until 2035 until they started looking at taking away people’s petrol and diesel cars.

    Robinson says this might be tough for people who have just bought a car, adding "it’s not that long in the life of a car".

    Ramsay points out that other parties were making similar pledges until recently. He says he wants to give "green sectors confidence", adding what the current government has done is to "pull the rug away from underneath those sectors".

  5. Do we need to share some pain for a greener future?published at 19:06 British Summer Time 24 June

    Next Robinson asks whether we all have to share a little bit of pain in order to have gains for the planet.

    Ramsay says we're already "suffering pain a the moment", pointing to "extortionate train fares", expensive energy and being too reliant on food imports.

    He says we could encourage more food to be grown locally, and invest in areas of the economy - from renewable energy to insulating homes - to help tackle costs.

    Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay sat on a seat in front of a purple background
  6. Greens want a more equal society, says Ramsaypublished at 19:05 British Summer Time 24 June

    Adrian Ramsay says that the Greens want a "more equal" society.

    He notes that the NHS is "severely overstretched" and the "scandal" of sewage in rivers.

    The Green co-leader says we need to "rethink how we run society, so that we are supporting people who are the worst off" and transition to a green economy, which will tackle the cost of living crisis and the climate emergency.

  7. Who are the Greens?published at 19:04 British Summer Time 24 June

    Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay is seated and now facing questions from the BBC's Nick Robinson as part of a series of Panorama election leaders' interviews.

    Robinson begins by saying that obviously the Greens are a party that wants to save the planet, but at other times it seems that you want to "tax the rich and march against the war in Gaza".

    "Who are the Greens?" he asks.

  8. Green Party says net zero transition needn't be painful, but don't spell out cost of carbon taxpublished at 18:54 British Summer Time 24 June

    Nick Robinson
    Presenter, the Panorama Interviews

    The leader of the Green Party talking to Nick Robinson in a BBC TV interview

    Do we all have to share some pain in order to pay for the gain of a cleaner, safer environment and a planet not threatened by catastrophic climate change?

    For years environmentalists have answered yes to that question.

    Not now. Not in this election at least. For the latest of my Panorama interviews with party leaders, I’ve been speaking to the Green Party's Adrian Ramsay - who says the transition to net zero needn’t be painful.

    I asked him about the price of the party's plans to scrap all - that's almost 30 million - petrol and diesel cars over the next decade. Spoiler alert - it's an awful lot of money.

    We discussed whether reducing meat consumption - as recommended by the UK Climate Change Committee - would mean taxing the two and a half billion burgers we eat every year.

    The Green Party is promising to spend a vast sum - an extra £145bn in day to day spending more than we spend now. It claims it can pay for much of that by taxing the richest with a new wealth tax - a policy that has yet to raise really big sums anywhere on earth.

    They do not spell out the cost to all of us of a new carbon tax - a tax on anything that produces the carbon dioxide which warms the planet which would increase the price of driving, flying, deliveries, buying and consuming much of what we enjoy now.

    All this number crunching matters because the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies has criticised all parties for making promises they can't afford. It says the Greens - like Reform UK - claim to have “radical ideas which can realistically make a positive difference when in fact what they propose is wholly unattainable".

    This, the IFS says, "helps to poison the entire political debate".

    See what Adrian Ramsay says to that, and his views on open borders, legalised drugs, trans rights and safe spaces on this page from 19:00, or on BBC One (excluding BBC One in Scotland and Wales – see full TV listings here).

    This is the sixth leaders’ interview I've done. You can watch any or all on BBC iPlayer - search for BBC Panorama Interviews.

    The final interview - with Sir Ed Davey of the Liberal Democrats - is this Friday evening

  9. Next up, Green Party's Adrian Ramsay is interviewed by BBCpublished at 18:54 British Summer Time 24 June

    That's a wrap on the Sun's Q&A with Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. We still have more analysis to come from our politcal correspondents and BBC Verify team.

    But before then, we're going to quickly pivot to the Green Party, and co-leader Adrian Ramsay who's going to be interviewed by Nick Robinson on Panorama in a few minutes.

    We'll be sharing the key lines here - and you can follow along by pressing the watch live button at the top of this page.

  10. Analysis

    No major moment as Sunak and Starmer get main messages to voterspublished at 18:51 British Summer Time 24 June

    Harry Farley
    Political correspondent, reporting from the spin room

    I’ve been watching the Sun’s election special from the "spin room" next door with other journalists from the nation’s broadcasters and newspapers.

    Both leaders faced tough moments under questioning from the audience of the paper’s readers.

    Rishi Sunak managed to land some attacks on Labour over immigration and tax. One of the most difficult sections for him came when asked whose fault it was that net immigration is so high.

    Sir Keir Starmer repeated his line that this election was time for “change”. But he struggled at times under repeated questioning about his support for the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

    You didn’t get a sense that this debate will materially change the trajectory of this election. Both leaders managed to get their main messages across. And there wasn’t a major "moment" that is likely to dominate coverage as we enter the final straight to polling day.

  11. Starmer wants future generations to see Labour as government that 'got to grip' with NHSpublished at 18:48 British Summer Time 24 June

    Lastly Starmer is asked about a line in his book from a former adviser who said he's not the kind of person to set out a radical vision, but will eventually become more radical.

    Is that what the UK is about to get under Kier Starmer? Cole asks.

    For the NHS, we need to get it back on its feet and we're ambitious, Starmer says.

    He wants future generations to look at the 2024 government as the one that "got to grip" with the NHS.

    Starmer says that all of Labour's spending is costed in the manifesto. And that's a wrap on his Q&A with the Sun.

  12. Would Starmer meet with JK Rowling?published at 18:46 British Summer Time 24 June

    Starmer is asked about JK Rowling's view on Labour. The author has criticised the party for "abandoning" women over its stance on the rights of transgender people.

    He says he respects what she says and welcomes the debate.

    He adds that "of course" he'd meet with the Harry Potter author, reiterating that he respects her and wants to bring people together.

  13. Women's spaces must be protected - Labour leaderpublished at 18:45 British Summer Time 24 June

    "Why are you trying to make it easier to switch gender identity without sufficient proof and what does it says to women spaces and protecting them?" a woman from the audience asks.

    "Women's spaces must be protected," Starmer responds.

    "We must not go down the route of self-identification but we do need to recognise the process. The current process is not dignified," he adds.

    Starmer says "my rule in life is to treat everyone with respect and dignity".

  14. Starmer asked about NHS reformpublished at 18:44 British Summer Time 24 June

    Keir Starmer at Sun newspaper election showdown Q&AImage source, PA Media

    Another question from the audience now.

    They suggest Starmer once said that he'd rather family member die in NHS than pay for private care - which Starmer responds he never said, clarifying he stated he "wouldn't pay to jump a waiting list".

    How can you be the person to bring in radical reform to NHS? he is then asked.

    Starmer says that he will focus on getting waiting lists down.

    He adds that for acute "life-threatening" cases "the NHS is the very best place to be".

  15. How will state schools cope if Labour implements private schools plans?published at 18:41 British Summer Time 24 June

    Audience member Zoe asks about Labour's pledge to add tax to private schools fees and use the funds to recruit teachers for state schools.

    "How are already struggling state schools going to cope?" she asks.

    Starmer says that he accepts that many families work and save hard to send their children to private school, and adds that he has "nothing against private schools".

    He says he understands that every parent has ambitions for children, including those who send their children to state schools.

    "But in some schools we don't have enough teachers in core subjects like maths. We are going to get rid of the tax break to use it to be able to fund recruiting more teachers."

    That was a tough choice, he admits. "The schools don't have to pass this on to the parents," he says.

  16. The most important thing is to stop people coming illegally to the UK, says Starmerpublished at 18:37 British Summer Time 24 June

    On the issue of returning illegal migrants, Starmer says the number of people being sent back to their home countries has dropped 44% under the current government.

    Starmer says he will put staff back in the returns unit and make sure planes are leaving to counties where people come from, not Rwanda.

    He adds that the most important thing is to stop people coming illegally to the UK in the first place.

  17. Starmer: 'I take illegal migration very seriously'published at 18:34 British Summer Time 24 June

    Labour's Sir Keir Starmer is next asked by an audience member what his party will do to deport illegal migrants if elected on 4 July.

    Starmer says nobody should be making the journey across the English Channel in small boats in the first place.

    "It is a breach of our borders and risks our national security. I take it very seriously," Starmer continues.

    "There are record numbers of migrants coming over. There are criminal gangs that are running this trade and making a fortune putting people in those boats and we have to take those gangs down."

    He says he will stop the criminal gangs and set up new border security.

  18. Labour has done 'incredible things', says Starmerpublished at 18:27 British Summer Time 24 June

    Keir Starmer sat onstage at The Sun's Q&A event, there is a branded banner behind himImage source, PA Media

    Starmer continues to be pushed by Harry Cole on Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party under his leadership - Cole says Starmer failed to change things from the inside.

    Starmer responds by saying that he's never let the party move away from Nato, whoever the leader. He adds that he spoke out against issues like antisemitism.

    Labour has done "incredible things", he says, citing the NHS.

    He knew there would be a "day after" Corbyn when the Labour Party could pick up and change.

  19. Audience continue to challenge Starmer on Corbynpublished at 18:21 British Summer Time 24 June

    A question comes from the audience now on on Starmer's comments on Corbyn:

    "You told us Corbyn was great, but apparently it didn't matter because you didn't think he was going to win. That means you are happy to lie to us then. How do we know that you are not lying now?" they ask.

    Starmer mentions his work in Northern Ireland and in the Crown Prosecution Service, before adding that he has been really tough on changing the party and that he's delivered.

  20. Choice at 2019 election was not a good one - Starmerpublished at 18:16 British Summer Time 24 June

    Keir Starmer is pressed on his previous support for Jeremy Corbyn.

    He says he doesn't think the choice at the last election was a "good" one.

    The Labour leader says he has since "picked up" the party and changed it, including expelling Corbyn, and he hopes it's one people feel they can vote for this time.