Leaders debate: good and bad immigration

Gary Gibbon explores what the leaders think of immigration:

Natalie Bennett has proved to be the first to accuse Nigel Farage of trading on fear over immigration (Nigel Farage started the NHS debate talking about health tourism). Nicola Sturgeon quickly waded in on that too saying there was nothing he wouldn’t blame on foreigners. Let’s see if David Cameron or Ed Miliband say anything similar.

This is more or less exactly how David Cameron wanted a debate to be if it had to happen at all. But it’s striking the equality of standing it affords the leaders, diminishing his voice no matter how Prime Ministerial he tries to make sure he sounds.

Nick Clegg won a nod of approval from David Cameron when he defended the government against claims it was privatising the NHS and said Labour started it and the Coalition reined it back. Ed Miliband again turns direct to the camera and focuses on the future which is clearly an agreed approach his team thinks will help him be the candidate of change.

Nigel Farage will have scored a massive connection with his vote with the cut-through claim that 60 per cent of people diagnosed with Aids are foreign. Leanne Wood and Nicola Sturgeon will have pleased their supporters piling in against Nigel Farage. All we heard off camera was Ed Miliband saying a supportive “mmm.”

Leanne Wood sometimes sounds like she is on “Just A Minute” in opening statements then warms up. Natalie Bennett hasn’t had any brain fade. No-one (yet) is under-performing, they are all on their game. Who shines may depend on who you liked on the way to the sofa.

I think it is Nigel Farage with the bad cough. Not a whisper from the audience apart from a round of applause for Leanne Wood’s attack on Nigel Farage … makes it quite eerie. Must be hard for crowd-pleaser politicians producing clap-lines to deathly silence.