Thread by @DavidHenigUK

Lots of folk speculating about who wins and loses the Conservative leadership debate so I'll be controversial and say nobody, because all candidates are being forced by herd mentality towards roughly the same ground of tax cuts, culture war, and government revival.

Not just five candidates, but a Famous Five version of the UK in which there are gentle mysteries to be solved but otherwise all is good.

Unleas someone wants to actually let reality intrude.

First responses from all are a no score draw. No candidate I've heard even close to the goal. And they all look like they'd rather be somewhere else.

They all sound unenthusiastic as well as looking it. No voice modulation, no enthusiastic body language, they could all be autons.

Making Keir Starmer look charismatic.

Advert break the highlight of the debate so far.

Oh sorry, my lack of enthusiasm for the unenthusiastic should have been tagged #C4LeaderDebate.

Ooh, Tom Tugendhat almost seems to break out in some enthusiasm but thinks better of it.

Truss the most robotic, but Sunak not much ahead on it.

All so deadening.

Tugendhat growing into it, Mordaunt and Badenoch OK, Sunak and Truss really not doing it for me.

Had to take a break, but scoring Mordaunt the best of the likely last three, even if that isn't that good. You can see why their colleagues aren't sure about a Truss Sunak last two. Of the outsiders, Tugendhat has a better story.

Tugendhat is a bit smug and sarky, even when he has a story. Truss is the former football manager I knew who turned every question into an opportunity to tell you how he was a genius. Sunak now trying to emote but it doesn't come naturally.

Have little idea what Mordaunt just said about energy. Presume it made sense to her.

The twitter poll thinks Sunak is growing into this and I probably agree. Or perhaps Mordaunt is shrinking. Truss is awful, Badenoch has some ideas without building them, Tugendhat is OK but increasingly in a different place.

Occurs to me after over an hour I still haven't heard anything that suggests any candidate would particularly do anything different, which is pretty underwhelming.

Sunak warmed up and in the end for me the most impressive. Truss unbelievably bad. The others had their moments, but all pretty flat.

TL tending to agree Sunak won and Truss lost. Though without great excitement. Night all, time to play some very loud music and drown it all out...

Might be 6 or 7%, but either way...

https://twitter.com/OpiniumResearch/status/1548037032248717318?t=0nmzfxrJ9Og7sZYIQypOzw&s=19