First Leaders Debate
First Leaders debate: "Mr Clegg took his chance. He used the biggest opportunity ever given to the third party in British politics to give a virtuoso performance. It was his night." (Times)
What the polls said after the first leaders' debate
YouGov instant reaction: Nick Clegg: 51%, David Cameron: 29%, Gordon Brown: 19%, Don't Know: 2 %
ITN poll: Nick: 43%, Cameron: 26%, Brown: 20%
Populus (Times): Nick: 61%, Cameron: 22%, Brown: 17%
Clegg: "Don't let anyone tell you the only choice is old politics, we can do something new, we can do something different this time. That's what I'm about, that's what The Liberal Democrats offer."
The first Leaders' debate took place on Thursday and Nick won.
BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said the biggest impact of the contest will be the insertion of Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats into the nation's consciousness but nothing the other leaders said had fundamentally altered the general election debate.
The abiding memory of the contest could be "the other leaders saying 'I agree with Nick," he added.
Gary Gibbon from Channel 4 news: "It's over. I think people will be inclined to say that Nick Clegg won this. He has raised his game."
Lib Dem reaction
Vince Cable: "What matters is not what the commentators and spin-doctors think, it's what the public think, all the indications we're getting is that the public really liked Nick Clegg, he seems to have come out well ahead."
Chris Huhne: "What Nick communicated was the real passion and the differences between our position and both the position of the Labour party and the Conservatives.
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