Sky News debate: The verdict

By Mark Ferguson / @MarkFergusonUK

Labour’s five leadership candidates have just come off the Sky News’ debate stage in Norwich. It was one of the last chances the candidates will have to speak to the country in a TV debate. Once again, nothing from this debate will have changed the game. TV debates in this contest have served to highlight all the candidates’ known stregnths and weaknesses; for all five, it’s as you were.

Ed Balls was brilliant and brash, opposing the ConDem cuts with rigour – but always in the shadow of the Milibands, who were literally and metaphorically centre stage. Andy Burnham was strong on health care and aspiration. Diane was Diane, brilliantly and candidly opposing tuition fees and the war in Iraq but offering too little for the future.

All five candidates describe themselves as socialists, comfortably. All five feel a need for Labour to move on from Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Asked who they prefer, though Diane Abbott and Ed Balls prefer Brown. Balls and Ed Miliband said they were loyal to both, but that the battles between the two were harmful. David Miliband prefers David Miliband, and certainly doesn’t like people interrupting him – but that in itself shows leadership.

The Sky News’ format was a little too rigid. All broadcasters are only just coming to terms with what works for these discussions and what doesn’t. The 30 second limit on answers at the top of the show stifled all the cadidates – though there was a little freer form in the programme’s second half. And this was the best broadcast debate yet – better than the shambolic Newsnight discussion at the beginning of the race and better than the Channel 4 debate last week. The general knowledge questions were a nice touch, but the debate also focussed on policy differences which have indeed crystallised in recent weeks. Those are real differences, on policy and the direction of the party.

We’re now at the business end of this leadership contest. Today’s debate showed that it’s one we can be proud of as a party. That it’s too close to call after the ballot has opened looks to be galvanising the party, not dividing it.