Sunak looked like a man who was running the country

Had this been a presidential election, Rishi Sunak would have come away from the Question Time debate feeling he had a good chance of winning.

Where the audience made it clear to Sir Keir Starmer that they did not trust him, with Mr Sunak it was his party and his predecessors that they disliked, rather than him.

Unfortunately for the Prime Minister, Britain does not have a directly elected leader, meaning the problems that have stacked up over the past 14 years, rather than the past 18 months under his premiership, will be what loses him the election, if the polls are right.

Mr Sunak seemed more positive than of late, he spent less time apologising, he smiled and he seemed to connect with the audience better than Sir Keir had done.

He also showed a welcome flash of steel when he was asked about the gambling allegations overshadowing the Tory campaign, telling the audience: “If anyone is found to have broken the rules I will make sure that they are booted out of the Conservative Party.”

For a change, he looked like the man who was running the country, rather than a luckless challenger.

There was, however, a wobble, and it came when he was pressed on the issue of compulsory national service, one of the Conservatives’ most eye-catching policies.

How, Fiona Bruce asked, would he force young people to national service?

“Sorry?” he spluttered, as if it was the first time he had been asked to consider it.