Rishi Sunak awkwardly upstaged by Sky News sidebar during key speech

Rishi Sunak delivered a keynote speech on the country's future challenges but he got awkwardly upstaged by the Sky News sidebar in the broadcaster's coverage.

During the 30-minute speech today (May 13), the Prime Minister boldly claimed that "more will change in the next five years than the last 30," as he addressed various issues such as the Rwanda scheme, the power of artificial intelligence, the environment, the education system and the economy.

It is thought that Sunak's speech is a pre-election pitch to voters, as a general election looms - no date has been confirmed yet, but it must be held no later than must be held no later than 28 January 2025.

“People have been struggling to make ends meet. I know that," Sunak said at the Policy Exchange.

"In the last few years we have seen rising energy bills, mortgage rates, the cost of the weekly shop.

"And I hope I have shown that through my time in office, that from furlough to support with your energy bills, the government I lead will always be there for you.”

But Sky News viewers watching the speech, couldn't help but notice the sidebar which wasn't doing Sunak any favours as it awkwardly highlighted Labour's successes.

After all, Labour currently holds a 30-point lead over the Conservatives, according to a YouGov poll for the Times newspaper (May 9).

"Labour won 26 per cent swing from Conservatives in Blackpool South by-election earlier this month," one sidebar read.

While another read: "Labour: Standards of living will be lower at the end of this Parliament than start."

"Labour: Conservatives 'can't fix the country's problems because they are the problem,'" a third sidebar appeared.

Then a fourth: "Starmer: 'Local elections showed that the British public is ready to put their trust in this changed Labour Party."

However, one of the sidebars did highlight the fact that the "UK economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year, ending a technical recession."

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.