Poll: Who came out best in their TV grilling by Jeremy Paxman?
David Cameron went into the first full day of campaigning for the May 7 general election buoyed by an instant poll suggesting he edged victory over Ed Miliband by a margin of 54%-46% in the live TV clash.
But the Labour leader's supporters insisted his performance on the Battle for Number 10 programme showed why the Prime Minister was unwilling to face him in a head-to-head TV debate.
They pointed to details in the ICM poll for The Guardian which suggested that wavering voters were more likely to have moved towards Labour than the Tories.
Although the two leaders were in the same studio for the 90-minute Sky News/Channel 4 show, they did not share a stage as they took questions from veteran TV inquisitor Jeremy Paxman and a studio audience.
Both took the opportunity to spell out core election messages - Mr Cameron promising to deliver a "strong economy", while his Labour rival insisted: "We can do a lot better than this. We're a great country." But there was little in the way of new policy and no killer blows dealt.
Mr Cameron was faced with questions about his friend Jeremy Clarkson - saying the BBC's decision to sack him was "absolutely right for them" - and admitted that he would not be able to live on the kind of exclusive zero-hours contract that the coalition has outlawed.
Mr Miliband told a studio audience his relationship with brother David was still "healing" after their bruising battle for the Labour leadership, but said he still thought he was the right man for the job.
And he dismissed suggestions that he was a "north London geek" without the steel needed to lead the country, insisting: "Am I tough enough? Hell, yes, I'm tough enough."
