Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson went head-to-head tonight as part of the latest TV EU referendum debate.
Ms Sturgeon said the EU was a community and highlighted workers’ rights such as paid holiday and maternity leave. The Scottish First Minister also said a vote for leave was not a vote for independence.
Mr Johnson hit back that he was proud to be descended from foreigners and insisted he was talking about “cold, hard cash that belongs to the people of this country”.
Who do you think came out on top?
Here’s what we thought…
Boris Johnson 7/10
The bombastic Boris had to tread carefully – but he, just about, managed it.
A debate with five women was supposed to be a test for the would-be Prime Minister.
Yet he kept his rhetoric tight, his withering counter-attacks civil.
Indeed, the former Mayor of London was positively curtailed, reluctant to take centre stage.
From the start, he struggled with whether to look at the camera or studio audience, ultimately giving the impression he was chiefly addressing a bumblebee flying around his head.
Of course, he gesticulated with verve and passion, but he was careful to name-check his comrades on the Brexit benches.
He was strongest in his clashes with Sturgeon – who he seemed to view as an equal – than his opposing MPs, who he regularly dismissed.
Nevertheless, his quixotic vision was hit hard by the opposition and, in his earnestness to not come across too strongly, he perhaps came across as weak.
Nicola Sturgeon 5/10
Nicola Sturgeon will not be delighted with her performance.
It was, in truth, a far cry from the heady days of the 2015 general election.
There was little evidence of the much touted ‘positive case’ – in fact, she went for a brutal personal attack on Boris.
Indeed, the First Minister’s argument seemed to be, on a base level, to rehash the anti-austerity arguments that won her such plaudits before.
That created a slightly awkward atmosphere on her platform, which of course she was sharing with the Tories (and Labour).
On the question of the Union – the UK union, that is – Ms Sturgeon deftly sidestepped the issue, suggesting she was solely focused on a Remain vote.
It added a touch of class and statesmanship to a performance that, otherwise, was almost like something out of student politics.
Passionate, sure, but not particularly persuasive.
