91Èȱ¬

Manchester did not make history yesterday but history was made in Manchester.

I did wonder if the country's would be happening around the people of the city rather than engaging directly with them. Would the three men simply wander in and drive out?

In the end it seemed to work better than that. Political visits and police convoys reminded voters that something unusual was happening. People knew about the debate, even if many were not planning to watch it.

Apparently many people living abroad were going to though.

Manchester's Beetham Tower was like a giant transmitter. The media suite was based in the Hilton hotel there and a number of foreign journalists felt it was an event worth global attention.

But I found the spin operation the most revealing.

Just as the leaders were starting to answer the final question, senior politicians began walking into the room to brief journalists on who had won and lost.

If David Cameron had landed a killer punch in the final minute or Nick Clegg had fallen apart, maybe nobody would have noticed.

Peter Mandelson and Douglas Alexander waited until the debate ended and their entrance seemed to spark the most interest.

Curiously they were implying the winner was not Gordon Brown but Nick Clegg. Presumably perceived success for the Liberal Democrat leader would be more damaging to the Tories than Labour.

One older, very polite TV journalist kept whispering to Douglas Alexander: "Excuse me sir, would you mind stepping back? You're blocking the shot of Lord Mandelson."

Unfortunately Douglas Alexander did not seem able to hear him.

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