All four leaders of the UK's major political parties squared off tonight in a special BBC Question Time debate in Sheffield.
They faced a frosty response from a combative audience who grilled them on Brexit, the economy and the NHS.
The General Election, taking place on December 12, is just weeks away and each of the leaders were keen to impress.
It was the second major television event following the first live debate between Tory PM Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on ITV on Tuesday.
Body language expert Judi James gives her verdict on how the candidates' measured up as they presented their case to the British public tonight.
Jeremy Corbyn
It was a mistake going first as he arrived showing signs of nerves and got some retrospective criticisms later from the other party leaders.
Tetchy and tense, he fiddled with his pen and the phrase ‘I don’t buy this nice old grandpa’ comment from one of the audience did seem to rattle him.
Instead of coming out towards the audience to show empathy he remained doggedly by the table and even backed away under fire.
Weaknesses as a potential PM: Going on his back foot under fire and forgetting to be charming or empathetic.
Strengths: Congruent, convincing rhetoric when he got onto his party’s manifesto points. In his last minute pitch he spoke straight to camera with energy and conviction. Plus he did seem to have straightened those crooked glasses!
Nicola Sturgeon
Like her stance on a second Scottish referendum or not, Nicola is a strong and passionate speaker who clearly believes her message and is evangelical about selling it.
She stood in the middle of the stage to communicate directly and clearly with the audience and her gestures were all congruent, suggesting honest commitment to her core values.
She was the only leader who looked happy to be challenged or questioned and retained an air of good humour throughout.
Weaknesses: None in her body language. Her single-minded values do make her appear to be a ‘take it or leave it’ leader though, making a dip in interest as we’ve heard it all before.
Strengths: Energy and passion plus the ability to suggest she’s confiding in her audience to create an air of empathy.
Jo Swinson
She arrived with a self-effacing, down-turned smile that was slightly at odds with her show-boating delivery.
As the new kid on the block she sparkled at first but under the pressure of some tough questions she adopted the air the verbal clichés of a customer complaints department, i.e. ‘I get it’, ‘I accept the way you feel’ and ‘I recognise that you genuinely believe that.’ Etc.
She pushed both hands out to deflect the harder questions and towards the end the verbal fillers of ‘You know’ and ‘So...’ were coming thick and fast to suggest she was losing ground.
Weaknesses: Crumpling under fire but pretending not to. A determination to look upbeat and keep nodding doesn’t work against honestly-made criticisms and questions and it can appear patronising.
Strengths: When she kept on her core points and allowed the wide smile to be swapped with a more serious and focused expression she showed an ability for gravitas that could look good for the future.
Boris Johnson
Came on like the star turn after the audience were showing signs of boredom (One was even opening a packet of fruit gums in full view) and he did immediately connect with the audience, looking mischievous and confiding, with his hands clasped behind his back.
He used some hypnotic eye contact to suggest he was being open and honest but his trait of repeating ‘Get Brexit done’, ‘When I was mayor of London’ and ‘Our deal is oven-ready’ were even beginning to make him apologise for using them.
He began to back away under questioning like a boxer against the ropes and using phrases like ‘I’m going to be honest with you’ plus some truncated precision gestures made him seem incongruent at times.
Weaknesses: Euphemisms like claiming his words ‘Can be made to seem offensive’ plus some blustering over questions about the flooding etc.
Strengths: The celebrity-style charisma that meant he still got the biggest cheer of the night on the way out.
