Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democratic candidate in the British General Election, may have had a break-out performance in yesterday's debate - the first ever televised debate among UK party leaders during an election campaign.
A Times of London/Populus poll gave the contest to Clegg:
'Nick Clegg seized the initiative last night as the televised drama of Britainâ??s first campaign debate between party leaders transformed the election.A Populus poll for The Times gave a stunning victory to the Liberal Democrat leader as he used the limelight of the historic ITV broadcast to devastating effect.
â??I know you think that all politicians are the same. I hope I have tried to show you that that isnâ??t true,â? he said at the close of a relaxed and personable performance.
Within minutes, 61 per cent of voters said that he had won the night, compared with 22 per cent for David Cameron and 17 per cent for Gordon Brown.
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YouGov has a similar finding:
'Leaving aside your own party preference, who do you think performed best overall in tonightâ??s debate?Gordon Brown 19%
David Cameron 29%
Nick Clegg 51%
Donâ??t know 2%
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Meanwhile Frank Luntz provided his "Instant Response" analysis for the Sun and the results tracked above:
'The panel showed an overwhelming triumph for Nick Clegg. He had more soundbites, better context and was successful in differentiating himself from the other two
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Some video highlights are available here.