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Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Paul Hutcheon

Scottish Leaders' TV debate 2021 - how we scored the five candidates to be First Minister

Coronavirus and the prospect of a second independence referendum dominated exchanges in the first TV leaders' debate of the Holyrood election campaign.

SNP leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon took on her rivals in the BBC Scotland clash which took place just days into the campaign.

But with just the five parties who currently have MSPs in Holyrood taking part, there was no place for former first minister Alex Salmond, who recently made a dramatic return to politics as the leader of the new Alba Party.

So, how did we score the leaders out of 10 for their performance last night?

Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour (8)

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar (PA)

Easily the most impressive party leader on stage.

He presented a positive, upbeat vision of the future and made criticisms of Sturgeon in a way that seemed reasonable.

He was the big winner from tonight and has momentum going into the campaign.

Nicola Sturgeon, SNP (7)

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (REUTERS)

This was not her best night in politics.

Audience members seemed sceptical about indyref2 and she faced difficult moments on public services and poverty.

But an average night for Sturgeon is a good night for other politicians.

Willie Rennie, Scottish Lib Dems (6)

Lib Dems leader Willie Rennie (PA)

Rennie rarely does really well or really badly, and he put in a similar shift tonight.

He made his points arguing against indyref2 and for investment in mental health services, as he has done at Holyrood.

However, it is hard to see where a Lib Dem bounce comes from.

Lorna Slater, Scottish Greens (6)

The newcomer on the stage will be happy with her performance.

She outlined a set of modern and progressive domestic policies, while also appearing to be flexible on the timing of indyref2.

Slater and Patrick Harvie seem like a decent double act.

Douglas Ross, Scottish Tories (4)

Tory leader Douglas Ross (Getty Images)

The Scots Tory chief put in a typically unimaginative performance, shoe-horning his opposition to a referendum into as many questions as he could.

He looked like a one-trick pony and was rightly criticised on stage.

He seems keener than Sturgeon to talk about independence.

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