Nick Jessup analyses the performances of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in last night's ITV Debate. What, if anything, did we learn?

Not since the heady days of ‘Cleggmania’ has a televised debate proved electrifying to the course of a general election campaign. Notable as past debate moments have been, including Theresa May scolding an underpaid nurse with the refrain that “there’s no magic money tree”, and Ed Miliband assuring Jeremy Paxman, “hell yes, I’m tough enough”, recent confrontations between party leaders have been bland affairs. Instead of genuine debate, there is frequent recitation of focus group-tested slogans, and broad sweeping statements with few details and little scrutiny.

Party leaders clearly view these debates as an opportunity to communicate their key messages to a prime time audience, regardless of the fact that televised debates have never been that consequential in moving the needle of public opinion, often acting instead to confirm existing views. Last night’s debate proved no exception.

Boris Johnson repeated his well-worn conviction that his Brexit deal is “oven-ready” and that a returned Conservative government will “get Brexit done” and then “unleash Britain’s potential”. Jeremy Corbyn said that Labour offers “real change”, will get a Brexit deal within three months, and will invest heavily in Britain’s public services to change the future of communities across the country.  None of this is new information, and undecided voters who have been following the election campaign may well be disappointed by the slogan-heavy but detail-light performances by both men.

Corbyn came under significant fire for his refusal to say which way he would campaign and vote in a second referendum after renegotiating a deal with the European Union. Indeed, the audience laughed when Corbyn said that his position on Brexit is clear and it is more likely that Johnson’s nine requests for clarity on which way the Labour leader will campaign will stick in the minds of voters.

That being said, Johnson’s performance when challenged on the question of personal integrity and honesty received a share of lampooning from the audience. Asked by host Julie Etchingham if truth matters, Johnson’s response, “I think truth does matter” was met with laughter. The Prime Minister frequently attempted to dodge questions about his own character and integrity to issues he is clearly more comfortable discussing, but his refusal to adequately address the subject, coupled with the debacle that emerged shortly afterwards over CCHQ rebranding its press account as ‘FactCheckUK’ during the debate, is likely to stoke the existing questions about the integrity and character of the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister himself. It will be interesting to see if the Prime Minister’s pivot to Brexit will survive the campaign if the issue of honesty surfaces again.

A snap poll published by YouGov immediately after the conclusion of the debate gave its assessment: 51% of respondents saying Johnson was the victor compared with 49% for Corbyn. With Corbyn trailing badly in the latest polls, a result which is basically a draw at this stage is probably better news for him than for the Prime Minister, who as the frontrunner and current holder of power, would undoubtedly have been hoping for a more convincing performance. Johnson is unlikely to have cemented his lead with a merely average performance, but Corbyn is also unlikely to have won himself legions of new fans, except perhaps for those in the left-leaning, damson jam-making community.

Hiding beneath the catchphrases and slogans, of which there were many, there was little to be gleaned from the candidates that has not been heard before. It is a sad indictment on the format of televised debates that they end up boiled down to mere platitudes and perhaps this forms a large part of the reason why they seldom seem to significantly shift public opinion. On the basis of last night’s performance, it is likely a large number of undecided voters will remain just that.