There was a burst of excitement in the BBC debate broadcast room as we realized it was almost over.

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A week is a long time in politics, and since The Independent's trip to Manchester for the first head - head-to-head general election debate, that's two.

The first time, hackers gathered behind the scenes in the "spin room" were eagerly awaiting a clash between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer. it could be a game-changer in what seemed from the start a done and dusted competition.

This time Mr Sunak arrived with the baggage of a disastrous D-Day gaffe, a scandal Conservative election bets and with Nigel Farage hot on his heels in the polls.

Click here for our live coverage of the general election campaign.

With little chance of the debate informing the voters or a game-changer, the assembled journalists seemed more concerned about the unbearable heat of the spin room than whether sparks would fly on the debate stage.

Inside the spin room, where Rishi Sunak's top team sought to convince journalists he was the best man on the debate stage (Archie Mitchell)

But Although the weather was worse, the treats on offer were significantly better - the generous license fee payers had provided guests with Coca Cola, unlimited crisps, vegan KitKats and a range of classic sandwiches.

As film crews filed into the room, in the Newton & Arkwright building at Nottingham Trent University, hungry journalists moved forward...