Brown praises Tory attack ads in leaders’ debate

In the first live televised debate between the three main party leaders last night (15 April) the Labour leader said the ads, which show his smiling face alongside text such as: “I took billions from pensions - vote for me”, had presented him in a more positive way than was intended.

“There’s no newspaper editor who has done as much for me in the last two years, my face is smiling in all of them.”

Brown also revisited the debate over the Tories’ January poster campaign that presented an earnest and allegedly airbrushed image of David Cameron alongside text detailing Labour failings.

Brown said: “You can’t airbrush your polices like you airbrush your posters.”

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was widely seen as the winner of yesterday’s debate in Manchester, the first of three before the 6 May poll.

The three main parties all launched campaigns as soon as the debate finished in a bid to convince voters that their man one. The Labour Party’s website shows an image of Cameron next to the line “Question Time” and Brown alongside the line “Answer Time”, while Tories’ website claims victory for their man

Meanwhile, The Labour Party will launch its second party election broadcast tonight (16 April) with a spot starring Eddie Izzard.

The comedian talks directly to camera about how “brilliant” Britain is despite Tory attempts to paint the country as “broken”. It also revisits one of the Party’s key campaign themes, describing the Tory leadership as “Thatcher’s children” that will revive 80s policies.