The Labour deputy leader and Tory Commons leader clashed over the Conservatives ' controversial claim that a Labour government would add £2,000 to a family's annual tax bill.
Penny Mordaunt and Angela Rayner locked horns over taxes and Trident tonight as they tore into each other in a seven-way BBC election debate.
'The cornerstone of our defence is our nuclear deterrent, and you need more than submarines, sailors and warheads to deliver that - you need credibility,' Ms Mordaunt said. 'If you are doubting that she or Keir Starmer or David Lammy would use that, imagine what Putin is thinking. Mr Farage described the decision as a 'complete and utter disgrace'. He also appeared to do a little dance on stage as the cameras rolled at the end of the 90-minute performance.
They and Ms Angela Rayner were among seven senior party figures slugging it out on live television, amid a furious row over Rishi Sunak's decision to skip a D-Day event. Ms Rayner - described by Mr Farage as 'the real leader' of Labour - received applause from the audience at the BBC debate as she clashed with Penny Mordaunt over NHS waiting lists and claimed Liz Truss 'crashed' the economy.
They also clashed over Labour plans for a publicly owned energy firm, Great British Energy. Ms Mordaunt joked: 'GB Energy - do you know what the GB stands for? Giant bills.'On reducing immigration, she said: 'The best way to do this is to get Parliament - your parliament, elected by you - to have an annual cap.
'And 14 years of the Conservatives, they're relying on overseas to fill our skills shortages because we haven't got an industrial and skills strategy.' When host Mishal Husain managed to get them to stop she went to Green co-leader Carla Denyer, who got laughter and applause when she dryly said: 'Well that was terribly dignified.'
He said it 'ought to be the immigration election', adding: 'We are living through a population crisis – and frankly it is making us poorer, it is diminishing our quality of life. The line-up was completed by Stephen Flynn, the SNP's Westminster leader, Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party, and Rhun ap Iorwerth of Plaid Cymru.
'But what I also think is important is we honour their legacy, they fought for our freedom, and unless we are spending the right amount on defence we can't honour that legacy.' He added: 'A prime minister who puts his own political career before public service is no prime minister at all. Ms Mordaunt pressed on, saying Labour would bring in '12 new taxes', to which Ms Rayner said: 'That's rubbish. We've absolutely guaranteed we will not raise taxes for working people.'
A cordial handshake between Labour's Angela Rayner and the Conservatives' Penny Mordaunt ahead of the election debate on Friday night Earlier this week, viewing figures showed millions of Britons snubbed Tuesday night's first showdown between the PM and Sir Keir on primetime ITV.
News Rishi Sunak ITV Angela Rayner Keir Starmer Conservatives BBC Labour Penny Mordaunt Nigel Farage Liz Truss
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