The four main party leaders Mr Sunak, Sir Keir, the SNP’s John Swinney and Sir Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, took part in the most recent television special on June 20. The leaders did not go head to head and instead were given 30-minute slots to answer audience questions.
The debate announcements were confirmed after the Tories had pressed Sir Keir to take part in a record six debates during the six-week election countdown.
Conservative sources had dubbed the opposition leader “the knight that won’t fight” and “Sir Fear Starmer” after he failed to sign up to their weekly debate demand.
Labour headquarters indicated instead that their leader would take part in two head-to-head debates against Mr Sunak, matching what Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn did before the 2019 election.
What channels are the debates on?
The BBC, ITV and Sky News have hosted election debates in an array of formats.
All broadcasts from the BBC are available on BBC1, BBC News and are live on the corporation’s streaming platform BBC Iplayer. It is also airing some debates on local radio.
The ITV leaders’ debate is available on its steaming service ITVX.
Each platform has also streamed programmes on YouTube.
The Telegraph is providing live coverage of all the debates with expert analysis and reaction.
Will the debates clash with any football fixtures?
There have been several clashes between debate timings and football fixtures – an inevitability with the jam-packed TV schedules.
Football fans and politics watchers were torn on June 7, when the BBC’s debate with the seven parties coincided with England’s international warm-up with Iceland on Channel 4.
England played Denmark the same day as the BBC’s Question Time special, but an earlier kick-off time of 5pm meant the match had finished before the election programme at 8pm.
Who won the previous debates?
June 4, ITV leaders’ debate
Mr Sunak seemed extraordinarily confident and put in one of the best performances seen in an election debate, Janet Daley said.
Tom Harris, conversely, held that Sir Keir Starmer made more of the opportunity, effectively skewering the Prime Minister on his party’s record in government.
June 7, BBC leaders’ debate
Sherelle Jacobs held that Nigel Farage made real inroads in his bid to overtake the Tories as the preferred party of the Right.
But Tom Harris was not convinced, saying that Stephen Flynn, Westminster leader of the SNP, and Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth fared best.
June 12, Sky News’s The Battle for Number 10
Tim Stanley said the public came out worse from the tetchy encounter on Sky.
Tom Harris argued that Sir Keir’s swagger saw him struggle under scrutiny, whereas Janet Daley said Mr Sunak was more convincing.
June 13, ITV leaders’ debate
For Tim Stanley, Nigel Farage and Stephen Flynn were the big winners.
Sam Ashworth-Hayes said Angela Rayner showed some awareness of the need for big ideas to fix the NHS.
Tom Harris argued that the main loser was the audience, since every single participant in the debate appeared together at the June 7 BBC debate.
June 20, BBC Question Time leaders’ interviews special
Sam Ashworth-Hayes said Sir Ed Davey and John Swinney did not fare well in their 30-minute interrogations.
For Tim Stanley, Sir Keir Starmer’s answers had all been heard before and Mr Sunak’s “hands were lively but his face dead”.