The third UK election debate provided much material for tabloid newspaper designers and copy editors.

London, England – Gordon Brown looked like a mouldy cheese, David Cameron a fleshy buttock and Nick Clegg a scrambled egg. Britain's newspapers pulled no punches as they summed up the last of the country's pre-election leadership debates in typically ribald fashion.

With the partisan press in broad agreement with opinion polls that handed victory in the third televised encounter to Conservative leader Cameron, many dwelled on Prime Minister Brown's failure to revive his chances ahead of the May 6 vote.

And for some there was disappointment that more was not made of the now-notorious gaffe that saw Brown caught on tape calling a supporter of his Labour party - an elderly woman by the name of Gillian Duffy - "bigoted."

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Posted by: Barry Neild, CNN.com producer
Filed under: Debates •Election •Media

UK Conservative Party leader David Cameron headed the opinion polls after Thursday’s debate (Getty).

London, England – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown fought to hold on to his job Thursday in a debate against the two men who hope to replace him, David Cameron of the Conservative Party and Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats.

But he lost the debate decisively, according to two snap polls.

Cameron came first in both polls, with Clegg second and Brown third.

But the debate performances do not seem to have changed voters' minds about whom to back, according to one poll.

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Posted by: Richard Allen Greene, The CNN Wire
Filed under: Debates •Immigration •The Economy

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Posted by: CNN Anchor and Correspondent, Fionnuala Sweeney
Filed under: Social Media

London, England – The third televised debate between Labour Party leader Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron and Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, took place Thursday in Birmingham, central England.

The theme of the 90-minute debate, which took place in front of a live audience, was the economy, although questions were taken on other issues such as immigration. Here’s a roundup of the video highlights:

Leaders debate the impact of spending cuts on the UK's economy

Brown: Both have got this wrong

David Cameron: Brown should be ashamed

The three leaders debate the impact of spending cuts

Posted by: CNN Digital Producer
Filed under: Debates •Election

Filed under: Debates •General

Birmingham, England - The view from the media pen, now dubbed the spin room during debates, was that the ‘spinning’ from the party faithful started shockingly early. There was a full half-hour to go on the debate, and there were the party pundits, telling us their man won.

There is a fine art to ‘spinning’ and here’s how it goes. First, say your man won. Second, say why your man won. And finally, third, keep a straight, serious face even though you know you sound ridiculous saying your man won.

Why is that?

The truth is, as popular and widely watched as these debates were, they may not have been a game-changer for any one candidate. All parties agree that during the first debate Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrat party, found his voice. And many British voters were listening for the first time.

But now, with almost everyone on this campaign looking weary and battered, the debates have been informative, but they have failed to really crown a winner in what is a nail-biter of a race.

We started the day wondering how Gordon Brown would atone for calling a pensioned grandmother a bigot. His line during the debate got a good laugh in the press room, ‘as you could see from yesterday, I don’t always get everything right’. But what has been so telling about this campaign has been that neither of his opponents mentioned the Brown gaffe. As many voters told us, they don’t expect any politician to rise above that kind of contempt. They want more from their politicians but have learned to expect less.

So it’s on to Wales and market day in the pouring rain, if the forecast is to be believed. We check out an old Labour heartland that still believes socialism is the way forward. And stay tuned, we’re told former Prime Minister Tony Blair joins the campaign on Friday. One week to go, countless tales to come.

Posted by: CNN Correspondent Paula Newton
Filed under: Debates •Election •General •Media •View from

Filed under: Debates •Election •General

Posted by: CNN Digital Producer
Filed under: View from

Editor's note: Watch the final leadership debate and post-debate analysis on CNN.com Live: 2030 - 2230 BST / 1530 - 1730 ET.

London, England (CNN) – Continued criticism over a campaign gaffe by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown threatened to take attention away from the third and final televised election debate Thursday night.

Though Brown apologized again Thursday, his campaigning was repeatedly interrupted by questions about what happened a day earlier, when he was caught calling a supporter of his own Labour Party "bigoted" for her views on immigration.

"I think people know that if you can make a mistake and you apologize, and you talk to the person who was concerned about it, that people understand that," Brown said Thursday morning when a reporter asked him about the remark. "But I think people also know that I'm talking about the big issues. I'm talking about not just immigration - I'm talking about the economy."

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Posted by: The CNN Wire
Filed under: Debates

London, England - For weeks its been said the economy was the key to this election. Yet, its has taken a back seat to many other topics, such as health care, immigration, personalities.

Now, tonight, the third and last debate between the leaders of the three main parties is supposed to be about the economy (though the last bit can be on any topic, so lets see if this debate strays.)

Up to now, the markets have had their eyes elsewhere - booming stock markets, worries about Greek debt, very good Q1 results out of the USA.

But on Thursday night the leaders should and will be asked about Britain's budget deficit, the biggest one within the G-7.

The three parties have been accused of leaving any bad news about severe budget cuts, public sector job cuts, tax rises etc. etc. until after May 6.

Tonight they may be forced to go along the lines of Ireland and Greece which have been forced to not only outline severe austerity measures but also implement them.

No doubt Greece will come up tonight, if for no other reason than the British pound has been losing ground of late to the safe-haven dollar and because there is talk, just talk mind you, that British bonds could face a downgrade if there is no clear winner in this election, leading to no decisions on the budget deficit.

The previous two debates have focused on the style of each candidate as they repeated well-used policies and promises. This time around, will the Friday papers be full of analysis on a serious debate about the future of Britain's economy?

Posted by: CNN Correspondent Jim Boulden
Filed under: The Economy