Lively and sharp NI Assembly debate, without it being too nasty

Finally, at the end of a lacklustre Northern Assembly election campaign, there was some spark when the leaders of the North's five main parties battled it out on Tuesday night on BBC TV.

Taking questions from a studio audience, in a programme hosted by experienced broadcaster Noel Thompson, the leaders loosened up and cut into each other in the hope of gaining some very late advantage ahead of voters going to the polls on Thursday.

Early in the debate there was edge between DUP leader Arlene Foster and her Ulster Unionist counterpart Mike Nesbitt when the five leaders were asked why it mattered who was First Minister. The First Minister pointed to the symbolism of the title, even if it was a joint office with the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

Ms Foster also referred to the DUP’s “five-point plan” of jobs, education, health, infrastructure and reducing household taxes.

The UUP leader interjected that, rather than a five point plan, the DUP had a “five word plan – do not mention Peter Robinson”, a reference to how her predecessor appears to have been rather excised from the party’s election script.

Ms Foster then went back 18 years to talk about “pushover unionism” .

Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness stepped in to act as referee, but pretty quickly he and the SDLP leader Colum Eastwood were also getting stuck into each other. The Deputy First Minister complained that, in the past nine years, the SDLP had not signed up for one budget, while it also opposed last November's "Fresh Start" agreement.

What else would you expect when his party was given just “45 minutes to look at agreement”, Mr Eastwood retorted.

Later in the programme they rumbled again, with Mr McGuinness accusing Mr Eastwood of not knowing whether the SDLP would enter the executive after the election. Mr Eastwood queried why he was making such a comment when, in the South, Sinn Féin refused to “go into government”.

Mr McGuinness came back by saying he was told by the Irish Government that the SDLP would never endorse the Fresh Start deal, prompting the SDLP leader to retort why should he endorse a deal that handed over "welfare powers to the British government".

The Alliance leader David Ford complained that for viewers the programme must have been come across as "Mike versus Arlene, Martin versus Colum".

As for the First Minister and Deputy First Minister jobs he said the “only difference was who gets to shake the Queen’s hand first when she comes here”.

There was a dispute too over the past and how to help victims and survivors of the Troubles. Mr Nesbitt queried how the truth could emerge when during the Bloody Sunday inquiry Mr McGuinness said there were certain matters he would never discuss about the IRA. The Sinn Féin politician did not deny making that statement, but said people were “now in a different place”, perhaps indicating that in the future he might be more forthcoming.

Ms Foster and Mr McGuinness also accentuated the positive by saying they were working together to bring jobs to Northern Ireland and to create a better society.

Mr Nesbitt agreed with a question from Noel Thompson that while they were working together they weren’t working with other leaders. The Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister was a “show for the First Minister and Deputy First Minister”, he claimed.

It was good, fairly clean political fun and the hour of debate went quickly.

There didn’t appear to be any clear winner but at least the exchanges were lively and sharp without it being too nasty.