Alastair Darling, Labour.
As the current occupant of Number 11, there was a lot of pressure to prove that the last three years he has been in this position hadn't been wasted. And it showed. Darling came down altogether aggressively on the Conservatives, accusing George Osborne of attempting to "tip us back into the recession". His approach to economy seemed genuine (which is more than can be said of George Osborne) and he remained firm in Labour's key economic policies, promising taxes would not be raised. His stand out moment, however, was defending Labour's infamous social care proposals despite the unjust criticism from Osborne. Ultimately, though, in the back of everybody's minds, there was the question "Why has it taken so long?".
George Osborne, Conservative
Everybody was expecting the Tory lapdog to be slightly less in touch with the common man (despite being considered an "oik" in his own party for being educated at St. Paul's rather than Eton). However, what they were not quite prepared for was such outright hypocrisy. One minute, he was telling young students he wanted to "hold their hand during the job-seeking process", and the next he was pledging to cut 10% public sector jobs. The Conservative Party have got undoubtedly complacent in the last few months, and here was the proof. In attempts to deflect from his own party's egoism, he resorted to empty, overly-emotive insults to his opponents, such as describing Labour's Social Care proposals as "Death Taxes". In his final attempt to make the Tories seem in any way philanthropic, he promised they wouldn't raise taxes. Oh, yes? Well, the last Tory to promise that was Thatcher, and everyone knows how that turned out.
Vince Cable, Liberal Democrats
Without a doubt, the night's success story. A relative newcomer to TV appearances, and positively geriatric compared with the alternatives, Vince Cable spoke with honestly, enthusiasm and - above all - sense. Unlike his opponents, he did not trot out the usual promises such a tax freezes. Also unlike his opponents, he saw the danger of high-debt consumerism in advance. He hinted at a move toward the previous Lib Dem status as a "high-tax, high-spend" party, which is definitely the most sensible approach to economic recovery. Already with notable support in the media (famously, Ian Hislop championed a "Vince Cable for Treasurer" campaign), he is the best hope this country has of economic stability in the dear future.The audience laughter and cheers proved that experience shall prevail over flash smiles and false promises, and as long as everybody gets out and votes, we could be seeing a lot more of Cable in the near future.
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