If anyone had hopes that the final leaders’ debate would provide answers to the huge issue of cutting the budget deficit, they would have been sorely disappointed. All three leaders ducked the issue.

Although they were asked to spell out the coming spending cuts, all stuck to a familiar script of evasion and bickering.

Nick Clegg highlighted tiny spending cuts in defence from and biometric passports which are nothing like the sort of scale of cuts he recognises are needed. He even damaged his part’s reputation for slightly greater candour on spending cuts by getting close to pledging to protect hospitals and schools from cuts in his opening statement.

Gordon Brown did not mention spending cuts at all  in his first answer and repeatedly insisted that the £6bn of spending cuts the Conservatives propose for 2010-11 would  threaten a double-dip recession, while the more than £12bn of tax increases in 2010-11 had no effect on the economy.

David Cameron gave the impression that the Conservatives had spelt out difficult choices ahead and then mentioned a pay freeze in the public sector, an area which saves about £3.5bn and to which all parties have signed up to something very similar. Of the rest of the £46bn or so spending cuts a Conservative chancellor would need to introduce for the next three years, we heard nothing.

According to the on-screen worm judging the popularity of each leader in real time, Read more