Rishi Sunak denies he considered missing D-day events entirely as he reiterates apology – UK general election live

Q: Why is it that politicians promise things but nothing happens when they get into government?

Husain puts the question to Mordaunt, which the audience find amusing.

Mordaunt says the Tories will cut taxes. “That is in our DNA as Conservatives,” she says.

She tells people in the audience they cannot afford that.

Farage complains more and more people doing middle-income jobs being dragged into the higher tax bands.

He says taxes have risen to a record level. And to hear Mordaunt claim the Tories are a low tax party is “dishonesty on a breathtaking scale”, he says.

Flynn says there is a conspiracy of silence on austerity.

And that is true of Brexit too, he says.

Brexit has impacted the economy more than the Covid pandemic, it has put your food bills up completely unnecessarily, and it has been an unmitigated disaster for the economy.

That generates a long round of applause.

Mordaunt says exports are at a record high.

Flynn says she knows how much damage Brexit has done to the economy.

Mordaunt says this election is about the cost of living. The government has supported people through difficult times. But now the economy is recovery. “Those are your achievements,” she says.

She says the election must be about cutting taxes. There will be more announcements in the Tory manifesto next week.

Labour will put taxes up by £2,000, she says.

That’s a lie, says Rayner. You put taxes up.

Mordaunt accepts that, but she says “we hated that”. That is why the Tories went to bring them down.

She says we have heard about 12 new taxes from Labour.

That’s rubbish, says Rayner.

They are shouting over each other.

Husain insists Denyer gets a go.

“That was terribly dignified,” Denyer says. That goes down well with the audience.

Q: We are working to survive, not live. Who will change things for working people?

Ap Iorwerth says this is a change election. He is sure there will be change in No 10. But what does that represent, he says. He says he supports a plurality of voices.

He says the two-child cap should go.

When Tony Blair came to power, there was a sense things would be different, he says. He says he is not sure of that now.

Rayner says he understands what the questioner is saying. Labour would secure the economy, she says. Working people pay the price for that.

And she says the Great British Energy plan will bring prices down. “That is real change.”

Q: What would the parties do about immigration?

Flynn says the SNP believes in promoting immigration.

Farage quotes immigration numbers. Most of the people coming in are not productive; they are dependants, he says. “We are living through a population crisis,” he says. He says numbers have gone up by 10 million since Tony Blair was in power. That is making us poorer, he says. He says net migration needs to come down, so services like health and housing can catch up.

Ap Iorwerth says we need to change the tone. We need to stand up to the “bigotry” of Nigel Farage. The Tories and Labour won’t do that, he says. Plaid Cymru will.

Farage mocks him. “Open borders,” he shouts.

Ap Iorwerth says health workers need to be valued.

Farage says, while you can get great care, the NHS model is not working.

Other parties argue it is about money.

But that does not work, he claims. He says spending on health has gone from 7% of GDP to 11% of GDP.

The model is wrong.

Flynn says this is Farage “telling the public he does not believe in the NHS”.

Farage says he wants to change the way it is funded. France has a different model. It uses the insurance model. The service is managed like a private company. And that produces better results.

Cooper says the King’s Fund, a health service, has looked at this. It found the funding models did not make much difference. It was the amount of money that went in that mattered, she says.

(There is lovely irony in Farage, the architect of Brexit, arguing for Britain to follow an EU policy model.)

Mordaunt says NHS waiting lists are four times higher in Labour-run Wales than in England. The country cannot afford a Labour government.

Rayner says Liz Truss crashed the economy, making care workers redundant.

Mordaunt says, even on her worst day, Truss believed in the nuclear deterrent.

“So do I,” says Rayner.

Q: I’m about to start studying medicine. How can you ensure I graduate into a functioning NHS?

Cooper starts by wishing her luck. She says the Lib Dems want to hire thousands more GPs, so people can get an appointment within seven days.

Flynn says he was under the care of the NHS from the age of 14 to 32, because of a disability. He knows what it is like to live with chronic pain, he says.

In Scotland, there are no NHS strikes, he says. And he tells the questioner that in Scotland she would not pay for tuition fees.

You have record waits in Scotland, Husain says.

Flynn blames Covid and the austerity agenda. He says the Tories and Labour know there are cuts worth £18bn coming down the line.