A more assertive performance from an isolated DUP leader as Eastwood continues to shine during debate

Jeffrey Donaldson was the most isolated politician in the debate. He secured the least support among the BBC audience which was made up of activists from all five parties and some undecided voters.

There was an embarrassing moment when host Jim Fitzpatrick asked if anybody in the audience wished to offer any backing to the DUP leader’s position. There was a long pause before eventually one man was found. It wasn’t a good look.

Still, this was a much more assertive performance than on UTV from Donaldson who was again under fire from all sides.

He went on the attack himself many times. “You abandoned the Department of Health for three years. You walked away and left people languishing on waiting lists,” he told Michelle O’Neill.

He held up Sinn Fein’s Irish unity ads from US newspapers.

Wisely, he chose not to major on the DUP’s “five-point plan” which could well have led to an eruption of audience laughter.

Michelle O’Neill – Sinn Fein

This was once again a so-so performance from Michelle O’Neill who had the advantage of being seated right in the middle of the panel.

She seemed more confident than two nights ago and she avoided making any mistakes.

Crucially, she didn’t alienate anyone. There was nothing she said which would stop SDLP, Alliance or Green voters transferring to her party on Thursday.

She astutely referred to every person who asked a question by name, showing both courtesy and that she was in listening mode. O’Neill had no answer for Donaldson’s assertion that Sinn Fein had itself caused chaos by walking away from government in 2017. But she handled the issue of whether her party wanted a border poll well – assertively enough to please the republican base but not so strongly as to scare unionists. Yet the fact that the most pressure on the DUP leader came from Colum Eastwood and Naomi Long highlights O’Neill’s limitations as a debater.

Naomi Long – Alliance

Naomi Long was back to her old self in this debate. More than any of the other panellists, she does detail and it showed.

On the doors during this election campaign, there’s been cases of DUP voters saying they’re switching to Alliance.

Long certainly went on the offensive with Donaldson on the protocol and his border poll claims. Neither issue would be resolved by the Assembly so both were irrelevant in this election, she said.

Ten DUPs had the ear of government after Brexit “and what did you deliver but this mess?” she asked him.

She called for some of his statements to be fact-checked, and she had a stinging one-liner about him standing “King Canute-like” in front of the courts regarding what actions ministers are free to take without a functioning executive.

Once again, Long came across as the voice of common sense and showed her credentials as a politician with cross-community appeal.

Colum Eastwood – SDLP

The other political leaders raised their game in this debate. Colum Eastwood didn’t have to, and he put in another supremely polished and professional performance.

He just doesn’t seem to have any bad days. “The reality is that Jeffrey is waiting on Boris Johnson to ride over the hill and save him. Ask everybody else who ever trusted Boris Johnson in their lives how that worked out,” Eastwood said. “Jeffery wants to make this election about the Union. This election is not about colour of the passports in people’s pockets. It’s about us needing to get around the table and put money in their pocket.”

Ironically, the SDLP leader challenged the DUP much more effectively than O’Neill did.

He asserted that the DUP was playing the old “fear factor” card in this election regarding a nationalist First Minister. He then raised his own nightmare scenario of Boris Johnson and Jacob -Rees Mogg running Northern Ireland if an executive wasn’t formed.

Doug Beattie – UUP

Doug Beattie was much better in this debate than UTV’s, but he still seemed a bit peripheral. He was again too quiet for much of it and needed to make his voice heard more.

He doesn’t seem to have got the hang of these occasions. When he did turn up the heat, it worked. He showed a flash of energy and anger when he challenged Donaldson over the protocol, telling him to take responsibility for the Brexit fallout.

He highlighted the ambiguity in the DUP’s position when he pushed him on whether he wanted to remove or replace it.

Similarly, he said the DUP had to “own the failing” of the £300m to alleviate cost of living pressures being unspent.

“It’s sitting in a bank account while people will die cold and die hungry,” he said.

Beattie always comes across as someone of compassion and decency. He made the health service crisis deeply personal when he spoke of the death of his 18-month-old grandson Cameron on a waiting list.