Less than a week ago in Manchester, Nicola Sturgeon thrived by presenting herself as anti-establishment, railing against the Westminster old boys' network as she went head to head against the UK party leaders.

 

But after eight years in power, the SNP has become the Establishment in Scotland and her three opponents would have been determined not to let anybody forget it. Would she prove as capable on the back foot as she had been on the attack?

But while many were expecting the Tories, LibDems and Labour to gang up on the SNP chief, it was the host and audience members who most effectively hauled all of the party leaders from their comfort zones at Edinburgh's Assembly Rooms last night.

During the first televised non-debate in which Jeremy Paxman grilled David Cameron and Ed Miliband, a section when they came under fire from the audience saw the politicians given a relatively easy ride. No such criticism applied last night, while STV host Bernard Ponsonby gave a far tougher inquisition than Kay Burley.

"Keep the recovery going" implored Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson early on, with an emotional pitch to unionists who rejected independence. A vote for Labour will guarantee David Cameron is kicked out of Number 10 was the message from Labour leader Jim Murphy, who fought to present Labour as the party of the working class.

A strong group of SNP MPs would make Scotland's voice heard like in Westminster like never before, argued Ms Sturgeon, pushing her alternative to austerity. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, meanwhile, offered a middle road between the Tories and Labour.

The first meaningful exchange was between the First Minister and Jim Murphy, who clashed over who was best placed to deny David Cameron a return to Downing Street in their first ever televised exchange. "Do you want Ed Miliband as Prime Minister?" asked the East Renfrewshire MP, adding "the last time the biggest party didn't form the Government there wasn't a Queen's speech, it was a King's speech." It was a good line, one of a few Mr Murphy had up his sleeve.

Ms Davidson got through her section relatively unscathed. Mr Murphy made one quip too many though, when an audience member, Caroline Murphy, quizzed him over nuclear weapons. "Just to clarify, we're not related" said the Labour chief.

"We're definitely not related" fired back Mrs Murphy, deadpan, raising a chuckle from her peers. Mr Murphy went on to set out his preference for multilateral disarmament, but appeared on uncomfortable territory, especially when asked whether he was happy with nuclear weapons being based a few miles from Scotland's largest city.

Ms Sturgeon also came in for a rough ride, over the possibility of a second referendum and her policy of increasing public spending. "What's progressive about doing nothing to address the deficit and debt and passing down the legacy to children, grandchildren and the generations to come?" asked Andrew White. On the issue of independence, she said that next month's vote was not about Scotland breaking away from the UK. But when asked about the SNP's 2016 manifesto, she replied "well, that's another matter," to the evident disapproval of some in the audience, who were reminded that the SNP had said the referendum was a "once in a generation" event.

Mr Rennie, though, had the hardest time. "I have seen the tears" he said, after coming under fire for the predicament facing the poorest in society. "I have felt it and seen it and want to change it." Few would doubt his sincerity, but he struggled to distance himself from the coalition that has been in Government for the last five years. There was worse to come, with Alan Cooper saying he was a former Lib Dem voter who felt let down after 2010. "I am sorry you feel betrayed," he said, before admitting his party got it wrong on tuition fees. He was firmly on the back foot.

In the final debate between all four leaders, the predicted three-on-one attack on the SNP's performance at Holyrood finally came to pass. "You're First Minister but you have a second rate record," said Mr Murphy. "I don't think Nicola Sturgeon should get free aspirin when she goes to the GP," said Ms Davidson. Mr Rennie attacked the SNP over its record on policing, which has gained his party so much traction at Holyrood.

But it wasn't all one-way traffic. "You ruined the economy, I'm trying to rebuild it," said Ms Davidson to Mr Murphy, adding that she was proud of her record during the referendum, while accusing the Labour leader of being ashamed of his party's role in saving the union.

The First Minister almost appeared worried as her two foes went toe-to-toe. "It's manufactured division," she said, although there appeared to be very little fake about it.