Sir Keir Starmer was spotted wearing a £500 coat on the campaign trail over the weekend on the same day he told voters he ‘knows what it feels like to struggle with bills’.
In stark contrast, Rishi Sunak was seen stepping on to a sleeper train in Penzance in casual clothes following his best day of the campaign.
The leader of the opposition donned the expensive garment from luxurious French firm Sandro while on a trip to Brighton.
The navy coat boasts a detachable hood and the Labour chief paired it with a navy t-shirt as he spoke with voters from the seaside city, The Sun reports.
Sir Keir was then seen yesterday sporting a more humble England football hoodie, which has a comparatively cheap £50 price tag, as he left his London property.
Sir Keir Starmer was spotted wearing a £500 coat on the campaign trail over the weekend on the same day he told voters he ‘knows what it feels like to struggle with bills’ (pictured: Sir Keir wearing the coat in Blackpool in May)
Rishi Sunak pictured yesterday stepping off a night train wearing a light grey hoodie, tracksuit bottoms and trainers after a successful day campaigning
Sir Keir pictured yesterday sporting a more humble England football hoodie, available for £50, as he left his London property
In doing so he ignored the warnings of his own aides who, it was reported last week by Labour insiders, advised him not to put on a Three Lions shirt during the election campaign for fear of upsetting Scottish voters.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak was spotted yesterday stepping off a night train wearing a light grey hoodie, tracksuit bottoms and trainers after a successful day campaigning.
The Prime Minister has previously been criticised for his expensive taste in clothing and was ridiculed when he wore £500 Prada loafers on a visit to a building site during the 2022 Tory leadership campaign.
On that occasion, Mr Sunak stood next to the north-east region’s mayor Ben Houchen in the brown suede shoes while doubling down on his proposed remedies to the cost-of-living crisis.
But the Prime Minister had a smile on his face in Penzance last night after the latest polls suggested he was gaining on Sir Keir despite a gaffe ridden opening week.
Labour’s lead over the Tories was found to have slipped to just 12 points last night, according to a shock new poll, as Mr Sunak seems to have recovered from a first few days which saw him make his opening election speech in the rain and pose at the Titanic yard in Belfast.
Sir Keir Starmer’s party is on 40 per cent, while the Tories are on 28 per cent – up two points since the start of May.
Labour’s lead has slipped from 18 points in April and 15 points in early May, according to the polling by J.L. Partners carried out on Friday and Saturday.
The pollster said the main reason behind the tightening of the polls was a shift among over-65s, with the Conservatives going from a 10-point lead over Labour to a 20-point lead in the age group.
Labour’s lead over the Tories was found to have slipped to just 12 points last night, according to a shock new poll (pictured: Rishi Sunak yesterday bowling at a campaign event at Market Bosworth)
Sir Keir Starmer’s party is on 40 per cent, while the Tories are on 28 per cent – up two points since the start of May (pictured: Sir Keir on the campaign trail in Stevenage yesterday)
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron pictured tucking into a pint he poured while campaigning yesterday
Mr Sunak was mocked by Labour for his rain-sodden address (pictured) from Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon, in which he announced the general election on July 4
It comes as Diane Abbott might be blocked from being a party candidate at the upcoming General Election – with even Keir Starmer’s allies branding him ‘disgraceful’ for ‘humiliating’ the veteran MP.
Ms Abbott was suspended from Labour’s parliamentary party for more than a year amid an investigation into her comments about Jewish people in a letter to the Observer newspaper in April 2023.
Fewer Tory voters – 23 per cent – also now say they would consider voting for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK – down 10 points since early May.
While the poll’s findings will be welcomed by the Tories, who have long hoped that Sir Keir’s lead would narrow once the election was called, they still point to a decisive Labour victory.
It also found that six in 10 voters – 60 per cent – think that it is time for a change of government, and Sir Keir has a 12-point advantage when voters are asked who would make the best PM.
The poll suggested the top emotion in the event of a Rishi Sunak win would be ‘disappointed’ – while only nine per cent said they would be ‘happy’.
Labour and the Tories declined to comment on the findings, but a Labour source pointed to Sir Keir’s previous warnings against ‘complacency’.
The polling was carried out by JL Partners for the Rest is Politics podcast, over May 24 and 25 – after the election was called.
James Johnson, of JL Partners, said of their findings that it was ‘only one poll, so let’s see if the trend continues.
Diane Abbott (pictured, in April) might be blocked from being a party candidate at the upcoming general election
Mr Sunak pictured visiting the Titanic Quarter in Belfast with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris last Friday, which prompted reporters to ask the PM if he was ‘captaining a sinking ship’
In 2022, Mr Sunak wore a pair of brown suede Prada penny loafers which could be found online for £500
He added that ‘what is behind this tightening since April is the Tories going from a 8-point lead to a 20-point lead with over-65s, and said ‘the pensioner squeeze is on.’
While the JL Partners poll will be a welcome glimmer of hope for the Tories, it comes as two opinion polls over the bank holiday weekend put Labour comfortably ahead.
Suggesting a more dismal outlook for Sunak, pollsters Survation and Redfield & Wilton Strategies both found that Labour is 23 points ahead overall.
