Rishi Sunak blasts Keir Starmer over Labor tax rises
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer's anxiety in last night's debate with Rishi Sunak was obvious as a result of one key “tell”, one body language expert has said – while a second suggested the Prime Minister showed his “Alpha Male strength”.
Meanwhile Express.co.uk readers who took part in our snap online poll last night have offered their own verdict – and they made the Prime Minister the clear winner.
The pair squared off last night during an ITV debate hosted by Julie Etchingham, clashing on tax, immigration and the NHS.
Judi James, speaking to bookmaker Paddy Power, said: “The differences in the states of the two men started to show from the start.
“Both men held the sides of their lecterns but Starmer let go to rub his hands nervously, licking his lips and then sucking them in to suggest raised levels of adrenalin.
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Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer squared off last night (Image: Getty)
“For his intro speech Starmer's eyes missed the cameras, although the sense of passion was there in his head batons and his chopping right hand.”
She continued: “Sunak's eyes had found the camera even before it had reached him though and he aimed his gaze directly into the living rooms.
“His eyes crinkled into a warm eye-smile to suggest a relaxed mood while Starmer was tensely scribbling notes with his pen.”
And Ms James pointed to one specific habit which indicated Sir Keir's state of mind.
She explained: “The secret 'tell' of the two men's contrasting states of anxiety arousal came from their blink rate. Starmer's blink rate increased during the debate, especially when he was under attack from Sunak.
Sir Keir Starmer seemed anxious, said experts (Image: Getty Images)
“At more than one point this eye-stutter became a complete closing of the eyes in a cut-off ritual as though retreating under attack. These eye-stutters made him look rattled.
“Sunak's blinking was almost non-existent, suggesting high levels of calm confidence. His eye expression was relaxed as, in fight terms, he managed to box Starmer into a corner several times verbally, pinning him down by repeatedly asking 'What will you do?' about several of the policies.
“Starmer's other key signal of inner anxiety was his greater use of verbal fillers. Under pressure we can tend to increase the use of 'Um' and 'Er' in our speech and that was evident in Starmer's replies, while Rishi managed to sound more clear, concise, and filler-free with his answers.”
At one moment during the contest Ms Etchingham was forced to intervene, asking both Sir Keir and Mr Sunak to “lower your voices”.
Ms James continued: “During moments when the two men clashed angrily it was Sunak keeping up the verbal pressure to get Starmer on the back foot. His plan appeared to be a role-reversal, with him sounding like an attacking opposition rather than the incumbent PM.
Rishi Sunak goes on the attack last night (Image: Getty Images)
“Their gesticulation defined two very different leadership styles. Starmer's fist-punching and grinding gestures suggested a desire to fight and his precision gestures implied an eye for planning and detail.
“His hand-placed-over-the-chest gesture was used to show deep emotion as he spoke of his father 'working in a factory', but then there was a puffed, splayed chest and a mocking smile to show aggressive arousal that looked Like personal dislike when Sunak was speaking. At one point he even seemed to wince in frustration.”
Darren Stanton, another expert in body language who has worked on every debate since 2010, suggested Sir Keir Starmer had struggled to land a glove on Mr Sunak.
Speaking to OLBG, Mr Stanton said: “From the outset, Sunak came over very well rehearsed, polished and professional – he had good eye contact, his tone and pitch came over very credible. That was true for most of the debate, although I saw some glitches along the way.
“For the most part, from a non-verbal perspective, Sunak was very slick, very well prepared. I noticed he had his notes there, as did Starmer but he didn't seem to refer to his notes too often, whereas Sunak is a person who has to refer to his notes.
“By comparison, Starmer seemed very nervous, very unsure of himself and on the back foot for quite a major part of the debate. His voice tone was a lot lower, and he didn't seem as confident.”
Mr Stanton stressed: “Neither men are dynamic speakers but Starmer struggled. It was pretty consistent until Starmer made a joke at the PM's expense and the audience laughed.
“Sunak is like an open book, like a children's story, he is so easy to read. The first thing you see is the bridge of his nose, between his eyes, he has this furrow and lines appear. His eyes and eyebrows are pulled together and that is what we call the emergence of an anger and frustration micro-expression.
“At that moment, that was a tipping point where he started to lose his footing a little bit.”
Last night's poll, launched at the end of the debate, indicated Express.co.uk readers believed there was a clear winner.
Out of 7,364 responses, 4,842 – 66 percent – believed Mr Sunak came out on top, compared with 1,438 (20 percent) opting for Sir Keir. A further 621 people (eight percent) said neither, while 463 (six percent) did not know.