Sunak and Starmer will go head to head tonight in the first leaders debate of the General Election campaign, and the pressure is on Rishi to deliver. CCHQ is spiralling over Nigel’s decision to stand which will no doubt eat into the Tories’ vote share. Meanwhile, Tory candidates and HQ staff are still angry about the snap decision to call the election early. Very few were prepared…

So far, the campaign for the Tories hasn’t gone smoothly, announcing policies such as National Service and a cap on visa for migrants – though with very few details accompanying them. Starmer will be sure to attack Sunak on the lack of detail and the Tories’ track record on these issues. Rishi will likely blast Starmer for his former friends like Corbyn and LOTO’s turmoil over the Labour left purge, which ended with him conceding on letting Diane Abbott back into the fray. Starmer has Deputy Leader Angela Rayner to thank for that one…

The chatter amongst the denizens of SW1 is that Sunak needs to nail this debate if he is to have any hope of a bump in the polls and support from the party – one Tory candidate is making their decision on whether they defect to Reform based on the outcome. The hour-long debate will be hosted by Manchester’s MediaCity UK, and moderated by Julie Etchingham. Co-conspirators can watch it live at 9pm on ITV. Stay tuned to Guido for the best coverage…