> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.europeans.today/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # There was a telling difference between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer’s use of pronouns in the final election debate - URL: https://www.europeans.today/2024/07/01/there-was-a-telling-difference-between-rishi-sunak-and-keir-starmers-use-of-pronouns-in-the-final-election-debate/ - Published: 2024-07-01T00:05:00.000Z - Updated: 2024-07-01T10:18:59.000Z - Description: Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer’s final debate highlighted their contrasting language styles. Sunak emphasised “I” and “me,” while Starmer balanced personal and collective pronouns, showcasing differing leadership approaches. - Author: Matthew Slater - Tags: 2024 General Election, Analysis, Language in Politics, Political Leadership, Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak, Debate Analysis, Political Debates, Election Debates, United Kingdom, UK Politics W hen Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer stepped up for their final head-to-head debate of the election campaign on June 26, something was very notable about their language. The two very evidently took different approaches to the task, as is to be expected at this stage of an election campaign. Sunak was on the attack and, as the one with something to lose, took more risks. Starmer, aiming to maintain his lead, continued with his Ming vase strategy – cautious to the last. But the two also used quite different language at the podium, and this tells us a lot about them as leaders. In the one hour and 15 minutes of questioning, Sunak used the personal pronouns “I” and “me” **165** times. He said “we”, “us”, and “our” – collective pronouns only **75** times. So he used more than double the number of personal pronouns than collective pronouns. Starmer also used “I” and “me” more often than “we”, “us”, and “our” but his usage was more balanced – **140** of his words fell into the former category and **113** fell into the latter. These patterns were even more pronounced during the previous TV election broadcast on June 20, a *Question Time* special. On that occasion, Sunak used personal pronouns **129** and collective pronouns just **63** times. Starmer used more collective pronouns during that session than personal pronouns – a rate of **83** to **67**. In referring to himself in this way, Sunak was perhaps aiming to demonstrate how he had previously, and can in the future, deliver, personally. He has a record as prime minister to defend and his messaging was, “I was right then, and that is why you trust me now.” [CREDIT: FLICKR/THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY —](https://www.flickr.com/photos/conservativeparty/53819992215/?ref=europeans.today) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2024/07/0000001.jpg) ###### — Rishi Sunak, confident. ### **There’s no ‘I’ in team** People think and act not just as “I” and “me” (their personal identity), but also as “we” and “us” (their social identities). It was once thought that the best leaders are those with a particular personality. In other words, it was all about the leaders individually in terms of “I” or “me”. It was all on them. But [recent research](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X17302610?ref=europeans.today) demonstrates that successful leadership is not an “I” or “me” thing. It is a “we” and “us” thing. When people perceive themselves and others in terms of shared social identity, this provides the basis for excellent leadership. In other words, excellent leadership is about speaking to, and on behalf of, “us” as a collective. In the case of this general election, it is about bringing together a nation. In one project, my colleagues and I [investigated](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029217300791?ref=europeans.today) whether leaders creating a sense of togetherness through shared values influenced their team’s individual behaviours. We found that people in teams with a sense of togetherness spent **63%** more effortful time on tasks than people in teams without this togetherness. As well as motivation, leaders acting for “us” rather than themselves is important for health. In another project, we [found](https://theconversation.com/stressed-your-relationship-with-your-boss-may-be-playing-a-role-106123?ref=europeans.today) that when people have a poor connection with their boss, they are more likely to have unhelpful responses to stress. Using collective language including “we” and “us” signals that a leader empathises. It signals a leader seeks to understand “us”. And more than that, it signals that we are in this together, developing and achieving a vision for “us” to progress and fulfil our potential. A [study carried out in Australia](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0077952&ref=europeans.today) by psychologists Nik Steffens and Alex Haslam, found that political leaders across **43** elections who used more collective language in their campaign speeches were more likely to go on to win. These candidates used **61%** more references to “we” and “us”. Victors used collective language, on average, once every **79** words. Their unsuccessful opponents used collective language, on average, once every **136** words. [CREDIT: FLICKR/KEIR STARMER —](https://www.flickr.com/photos/190916320@N06/53823947876/?ref=europeans.today) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2024/07/0000002.jpg) ###### — Keir Starmer, together. Starmer said during the debate that he understood the role of prime minister to be about “bringing people together” and he perhaps aimed to rattle Sunak by telling him: “If you listened to people in the audience and across the country more often, you might not be quite so out of touch.” Sunak focused more on what has been delivered “under me”, and on a plan for the future, trying to pitch that the voting public can have confidence in “him”. His record can be debated, but in terms of the language of leadership, he lost this debate. ![PUBLIC SQUARE UK](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2021/09/end-flat-1.png "PUBLIC SQUARE UK") ### --- ### **Sources:** ##### ▪ This piece was originally published in [The Conversation](https://theconversation.com/there-was-a-telling-difference-between-rishi-sunak-and-keir-starmers-use-of-pronouns-in-the-final-election-debate-233294?ref=europeans.today) and re-published in PUBLIC SQUARE UK on 1 July 2024\. | The author writes in a personal capacity. ##### ▪ **Cover:** Screenshot of the final leader debate on the BBC. (Licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/?ref=europeans.today).) ![Creative Commons License](https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/4.0/88x31.png "Cover photograph license") --- ![The Conversation](https://counter.theconversation.com/content/233294/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic)