Question Time election debate: How the party leaders fared in the spotlight

Who made the best impression out of Cameron, Miliband and Clegg?

Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and David Cameron appeal to the audience during the Question Time special (Getty Images)

David Cameron

This was an ordeal for Cameron - facing overwhelmingly hostile questions. Under the BBC rules 25 per cent of the audience were meant to have been Tories - but if they were they were remarkably silent.

Even the so-called friendly questions were tricky. One man suggested it wasn't sensible to keep on 'pouring' money into the NHS. Cameron said he had to disagree only to be told rather bluntly - 'well you're wrong'.

That being said, as time went on Cameron relaxed. He was markedly more confident and fluent on immigration controls and his red line of an EU referendum. Overall Tory aides will be pleased he got through the event relatively unscathed but his performance is unlikely to win over too many undecideds.

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Ed Miliband

Have the Tories underestimated Miliband? (Getty) (Getty Images)

Miliband had the advantage of going second - and being able to watch Cameron's performance before going on stage himself. He ditched the stool entirely (which mysteriously disappeared) and seemed more relaxed from the off than Cameron.

Labour aides had clearly decided that Miliband needed to take on Labour's Achilles heel of the economy from the off - but he took a big risk by saying that he did not believe the last Labour Government had overspent when it was in power. That, one audience member said, was 'ludicrous' - and I suspect that many voters watching will agree. Miliband's stance may have been brave but could come back to haunt him in the final few days of the campaign - you can see Tory spin doctors working on the posters now.

To his credit Miliband directly engaged with and (at times) took on his critics in the audience in a way that Cameron failed to do as effectively. His best line of the night was on how to restore trust in policians. 'I want to be the first Prime Minister who under promises and over delivers', he said. Miliband was also stronger than he has ever been on the SNP - saying he would rather not have a Labour Government than do any kind of deal with the nationalists.

But what most voters will take away was his defence of the last Labour Government's generous spending - and that is not what Labour HQ will want.

Nick Clegg

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg takes part in a special BBC Question Time programme (PA)

Of course the first question to Clegg was on tuition fees - the millstone that has been around the Lib Dem leader's neck for the last four years. Clegg has a very well rehearsed (and reasonably plausible) defence for his u-turn which he repeated while trumpetting the Lib Dem policies that they had fullfilled in Government. He also emphasised the red lines that, this time round, the Lib Dems would insist on to before they sign up to any future Coalition agreement. There will be no more tuition fee u-turns next time round, he promised.

Clegg also took on a former disillusioned Lib Dem voter who said he could never Lib Dem again after he had done a deal with the Tories. Clegg was vehiament and convincing in his reply - I will never apoplogise for putting the country before party even if it leads to short term political blame.