Northern Ireland leaders debate

The first leaders debate took place on Thursday night

On Thursday night the first televised debate between the leaders of the four largest parties in Northern Ireland took place.

BBC Northern Ireland political reporter Stephen Walker watched the leaders debate unfold on UTV.

For the four party leaders their rules of engagement were simple: get your message across, do not make a mistake and try and wound your opponent.

Economic matters dominated the early part of the discussion, but it took a while before the debate got going.

Tension between the SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie and the Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams first surfaced on the issue of a nationalist pact and abstention from Westminster.

"During a Westminster election they all like to exaggerate its importance, their influence and importance," he said.

"I don't take my seat in Westminster because I'm elected not to, I'm an active abstentionist, they are lazy abstentionists."

The SDLP leader Ms Ritchie later explained why her party would not form a pact with Sinn Fein.

"People are saying to me they want a new politics which is about sharing and bringing people together, it is the very opposite of making pacts.

"I'm asked why we won't step aside in Fermanagh South Tyrone but why would we stand aside for somebody who is not going to take their seat? It is an issue of representation."

Differences

DUP leader Peter Robinson talked about how the two unionist parties had come together in Fermanagh South Tyrone - a move that he said had lifted the spirits of unionists there.

Mr Robinson said he had wished the same template had been used in South Belfast and that he hoped unionist unity could be achieved in future elections.

But the personal differences that exist between the leaders of unionism were on display during this debate when the Ulster Unionist Party leader Sir Reg Empey suggested that when r