Alex Salmond brands TV election debate as ‘ultimate battle of the duffers’

The final TV debate in the contest for Downing Street has been branded as the “ultimate battle of the duffers” by former first minister Alex Salmond.

The Alba party leader made the comments after Wednesday evening’s TV showdown between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

During the debate, the Conservative and Labour leaders, both of whom are vying to run the country after the General Election on July 4, were asked if they were “really the best we’ve got to be the next prime minister of our great country”.

Mr Salmond said: “Never has there been two so completely inadequate contenders for office.”

Speaking as he campaigned with Alba candidates in constituencies in central Scotland, Mr Salmond said: “They bicker about the square route of zero and have precisely nothing to offer the people.”

He added: “You could not put a used betting slip between this pair. Their migration and taxation differences are marginal.

“The real issues which should be dominating this election – the ruinous impact of sky-high interest rates, the damage done to trade with the European Union, war in Europe and the slaughter in Gaza – don’t even get a look-in.

“When the country is crying out for leadership, Sunak and Starmer offer less of the same.

“Of course, for the second successive prime ministerial debate, Scotland didn’t even get a mention, which is why the radical independence alternative of Alba is so essential in this election.”