As it turned out, after stealing the limelight on the day, the man most notable by his absence at the first leaders’ TV debate of the 2024 election campaign was never even mentioned by name. Only in his closing statement did the prime minister find it necessary to aim an indirect blow at Nigel Farage, telling his ITV audience that a vote for any party other than the Conservatives would amount to a vote for Labour.

Since their inception in 2010, these encounters on live TV have become familiar fixtures of the electoral ordeal, for leaders, advisers and viewers alike. They remain highly newsworthy, chiefly because Britain’s general elections are, even among people who understand the parliamentary system, regarded as “presidential” in nature. The focus is on the party leaders at every opportunity.

The first TV debate in 2010 set the trend for future contests. The Liberal Democrat leader at the time, Nick Clegg, was regarded as the clear winner, not least because, unlike Conservative leader David Cameron and Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, he looked into the camera when giving his answers. Yet research has shown the ensuing “Cleggmania” had no discernable effect on the election outcome.

Leader debates, in short, are almost always over-hyped non-events. On this occasion, the feeling of anti-climax was reinforced by a greater sense than usual that what we were tuning into was merely another instalment of the weekly parliamentary session of........

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