Question Time hustings: The verdict

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Well that’s it. The final hustings is over. The final barbs have been thrown, and the repetitions of stump speeches and key phrases have been uttered for the last time. The vast majority of Labour members have decided how they’ll vote now, and I assume that the majority of you reading his will already have voted, so tonight wasn’t a night for changing minds – but there were some interesting things to be drawn from the debate.

The tone of the debate was more mixed than many of the hustings I’ve seen throughout the contest. There were times when the candidates seemed almost at pains to point out that we’re all on the same team, and that disagreements between them are small in the grand scheme of things. The two candidates who are most likely to be leader (the Milibands) both strove to adopt this position at different points in the debate, with varying levels of success.

And yet there were times when the debate got quite heated, in a way that these debates haven’t really been before. There was a real tension in the air at one point – first with Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham crossing swords angrily, and then a moment of what seemed like real, deep tension between the two brothers as the debate moved on to Iraq. Diane Abbott tried to open up what is perhaps a wound in their relationship as she urged Ed to criticise his brother, but Ed refused. David looked away, tapping his pen in annoyance on the desk in front of him. Watching from home I must admit I gave an uncomfortable shudder. There was real feeling in those exchanges, that only wore off when Ed proclaimed his love for David later in the show.

Inevitably the post-mortems of tonight will focus on who “won” the hustings. I don’t think there was a clear victor (despite the furious protestations of different supporters on Twitter than their candidate landed the knockout blow), but I think that there were three candidates that were particularly noticeable.

Ed Miliband came across as calm whilst under attack from some of the other candidates, and appeared to deal with questions in an assertive and comfortable manner. His line on the bankers being responsible for the financial crisis, and therefore they should pay for it, was populist in the extreme, but it won the biggest cheer of the night. However, with the exception of that line I can’t remember much more of what Ed said – I just have the sense of him being sensible, calm and measured. No mistakes.

David Miliband was authoritative tonight – there’s no question about that – but he sometimes took that a little far, and his passion got the better of him as Dimbleby was forced to chastise him for not coming to order. He appeared to almost lose his temper at one point, which is very unlike him, but he struck a sombre yet measured mood when discussing Iraq which really took the sting out of what could have been an awful topic for him. He deserves real credit for that – that showed leadership and political skill.

Ed Balls was the only other candidate who consistently cut through the Milibrother duopoly and got to make any points at length. He was funny and engaging – and he had some memorable lines. He got stronger as the debate went on, and he’s been getting stronger for weeks. He didn’t get the same amount of time as the two Milibands, but his answers were of a consistently high quality. If this contest was a month longer, and the PLP weren’t already tied to the two brothers, he might still have a chance. As it is, he’ll surely be in a top job come October. But not the top job.

And Abbott and Burnham. Both were squeezed out of the debate a little, although they landed punches when they were given the opportunity. Andy Burnham in particular was isolated from the outset, and seemed to lack the agression to get stuck in and make sure he was imposing himself on the debate. Diane started strongly with a populist answer that wove together Iraq and anti-Blairite critique, but she couldn’t sustain it as the night went on, and her rhetoric seemed to subside as we wound down towards the end of the show. I can’t help but feel though that her oppositionalism may put off as many MP supporters as her strong and punchy style attracts when it comes to shadow cabinet elections.

So who won tonights debate? I’d give it to Ed Miliband from David by the tiniest of margins, but David Miliband’s handling of the Iraq question was so masterful and coherent that it sticks in my mind as I write this. So much so that when I wake up tomorrow morning it’s likely that I’ll think David won. Perhaps a score draw is more appropriate, but that, would be a cop out…