Rishi Sunak pleads with voters to ‘find it in their hearts’ to forgive him for D-Day blunder as he faces tough TV grilling over immigration, taxes and the state of the NHS

Rishi Sunak tonight pleaded for voters’ forgiveness over his D-Day blunder as he stood in front of a brutal live TV election grilling.

The Prime Minister was faced with tough questions about the state of the economy, immigration and the state of the economy NHS of an audience in Grimsby.

But it was his decision to leave France asked on June 6 to film an election interview that especially came back to haunt him.

Host Beth Rigby told him about it, replying, “I was incredibly sad that I had hurt and upset people, that was the last thing I wanted to do. I hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me.”

But it was a later attack by a former local resident Tory party chairman in the crowd that hit the hardest.

Amy Green, from Leeds, said recent decisions by Mr Sunak and his government had left her ‘ashamed’. She said she was a “true blue” but was now an undecided voter because of the debacle and other issues, including Downing Street parties during the lockdown.

But he also faced a torrid time on taxes and the cost of livingwith one man asking why the Tories had ‘spoiled the hopes and dreams’ of young people who couldn’t afford a mortgage.

Responding to questions about the five promises he made in January 2023, Mr Sunak said: ‘The main priority was the first because when I got this job, inflation was at 11 percent and I think everyone knows that the last few years have been difficult, the impact that has had on all your accounts.”

He laughed when he said, “The intention was always that inflation would fall over time.”

A quick poll after the Sky News Battle For No 10 program found sir Keir Starmer came out on top among viewers. In the channel’s commissioned YouGov survey, 64 percent of respondents believed this was the case Work The leader won the evening, while 36 percent thought Rishi Sunak would have been stronger.

The Prime Minister faced tough questions about the state of the economy, immigration and the state of the NHS during an audience in Grimsby.

But it was his decision to leave France early on June 6 to film an election interview that particularly haunted him. Host Beth Rigby told him about it, replying, “I was incredibly sad that I had hurt and upset people, that was the last thing I wanted to do. I hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me.”

But it was a later attack from a former local Tory party chairman in the audience that hit hardest. Amy Green, from Leeds, said recent decisions by Mr Sunak and his government had left her ‘ashamed’.

Mr Sunak said he believes the country has ‘turned a corner’, despite new figures today showing the economy is leveling off.

“We have a clear plan for the future to make a difference for people – to cut their taxes, reduce immigration and protect pensions,” he said.

He added that he will “keep fighting hard until the last day of these elections.”

Mr Sunak also faced questions about rising NHS waiting lists, up to 7.54 million, up from the level of 7.21 million when he made the pledge.

“We have not made as much progress in reducing waiting lists as I would have liked,” the Prime Minister said.

“That was something I really wanted to do, and it’s proven more difficult for a number of reasons. “Recovering from a pandemic is obviously not easy,” he said.

He was met with groans and boos when he said: “I think everyone knows the impact the industrial action has had, that’s why we haven’t made as much (progress).”

Asked how many people will be deported to Rwanda under the deportation plan, Rishi Sunak told Sky News: ‘We have already started detaining people, airports are on standby, planes are booked, the date for the first flight is July 24th, I think. it is.

“We have not provided further details so as not to compromise operational safety, but there will be a regular flight rhythm, not just one.”

Mr Sunak was told that net migration over the past three years has more than doubled compared to the three-year period before the 2016 EU referendum.

He told Sky News: ‘It’s too high. I’ve been very clear that it’s too high and I’m sure people are feeling frustrated and angry about it.”

When Mr Sunak was asked why anyone should believe what he says about immigration, he replied: ‘I can completely understand people’s cynicism about this.’

He added: “Since I took charge, numbers have fallen by 10% and visas issued have fallen by a quarter this year. I have been in this job for a year and a half now, the numbers fell last year, they fell sharply at the beginning of this year and they will continue to fall because of the measures I have already announced.’

Agriculture Secretary Mark Spencer gave the Prime Minister an eight out of ten for his performance during the Sky News election interview on Wednesday evening.

Asked what score he would give Rishi Sunak in Grimsby, he said: ‘I think he would have got a good eight.’

He added: ‘What would have made him a 10? I try to be as honest as possible, to be honest. I think he did a really good job, to be honest.

‘There’s always room for improvement, right? I mean, how would you rate me? I think I currently get a good six out of ten, but there is always room for improvement.’

When asked to do the same for Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Spencer said: ‘I honestly thought he was very good at not answering the question. If that was the standard we judged him by, and he didn’t set foot in it, he didn’t answer a single question at all, so if that was the standard he was pretty good.”