Donald Macintyre's Sketch: Are you watching, David? This is for you

It was Ed’s “come on if you’re hard enough” moment, one in which he stared into the camera and appealed directly to the viewers at home. Or rather one viewer, David of London SW1. “David: if you think this election is about leadership, then debate me one on one.” On one thing at least, the five leaders were in harmony. As Nicola Sturgeon put it, it was a “disgrace” that Cameron wasn’t there.

Nigel also appealed directly to the viewers, as in, “I’m the only person saying what a lot of you at home are thinking”, but then went one stage further and attacked the studio audience – as left wing “even by the left-wing standards of the BBC”. And when David Dimbleby protested that an independent polling group had picked the audience – which gave itself an enthusiastic clap – Nigel said in his best Mr Grumpy voice: “The real audience is sitting at home.”

To be fair, the audience did seem enthusiastic when the girls ganged up on Ed for not being anti-austerity enough. But – a sobering thought – that could just be because they don’t much like austerity.

It was all pretty wacky for something that started with the idea of a Cameron/Miliband head-to-head. Only one possible prime minister. No Nick Clegg, to ensure Cameron wasn’t the only no-show. Two party leaders the large majority of viewers can’t vote for, one of whom isn’t even standing.

So when Nicola Sturgeon exhorted people to “vote for parties that will hold [Labour] to account and make them bolder”, she can only have been telling the English to vote Green, even though it might dent Labour’s chances of winning and with it the SNP’s of holding the balance of power. But given all the dire predictions – some helpfully from his own side – that he would implode, Miliband did pretty well for a man fighting on two fronts.

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