Analysis By Mike Sergeant Political correspondent, BBC News, Bristol

A much more evenly balanced debate than last week's encounter

Last week's debate provided one of the most stunning political stories of recent years.

It propelled Nick Clegg to prominence, and gave his party an extraordinary boost in the polls.

So could he do it again? "Yes" and "no" was the answer. The Liberal Democrat leader, say his advisers, put in another very strong performance.

But he was never going to be able to stun the political world for a second time.

His achievement so far is to make this election seem like a genuine "three horse race" rather than a two-way struggle for power.

If they can maintain their opinion poll showing of recent days, the Liberal Democrats will be thrilled.

Most improved?

But the Tories are sure they're now back in contention. They say their man was "brilliant", "assured", "strong" but "measured" on the big issues.

It was certainly a much better and less nervous performance by Mr Cameron. Was it enough to change the dynamics of the election? We'll find out over the next few days.

If the first debate was a 'game changer', then after the second clash it's 'game-on'

The Tories also say Mr Brown made a mistake saying he had "not authorised" campaign leaflets which were heavily criticised by Mr Cameron in the debate. Leaflets which the Conservatives say are circulating widely.

But what about the prime minister's overall performance? At the outset, he said: "If it's all about style and PR then count me out".

The question for voters: did the prime minister, as his supporters claim, win convincingly "on substance"?

His political allies say he "got stronger as the debate went on" and was commanding on the issues that matter. Some polls suggest he was the most improved of the three.

Post-match 'frenzy'

For sure, this felt like a much more evenly balanced contest than last week's encounter. Mr Brown and Mr Cameron seemed to up their game considerably.

That was reflected by the atmosphere in the media centre at the end of the programme.

After the first debate in Manchester, the Lib Dem press gang held back with huge grins on their faces.

They didn't need to "spin the result", but simply watched as Labour and Tory big-hitters made a slightly subdued attempt to claim that their guy "won".

The contrast with the scenes after the second debate couldn't have been more marked.

This time there was a frenzy of persuasion. Journalists were lobbied from every side.

There was a strong sense that the post-match interpretation really could steer the course of the campaign over the next few days.

'I agree with ...'

The contest once again made pretty good TV. The three leaders bounced between agreement and aggression in the blink of an eye.

Cheeky (often pre-prepared) jibes were replaced in seconds by razor-sharp thrusts, and some brief flashes of anger.

Voters are becoming familiar with the leaders' personalities and styles

But after the edge-of-the-seat excitement of the opening debate, this wasn't quite as gripping a piece of political theatre.

There were a couple of neat re-workings of the "I agree with Nick" theme from last week.

Bringing up Trident allowed Mr Cameron to insert his amusing "I agree with Gordon" line.

As for Mr Brown, "get real Nick" was his theme this time. Another interesting change - reflecting Mr Clegg's hugely increased prominence in this election.

Policy focus

At the end of this second round the election still seems wide open. After three hours of live cut-and-thrust, we are much more familiar with the leaders' personalities and performance styles.

Many voters will now know whether they instinctively like or dislike the way each man comes across. So, perhaps, the focus now moves towards the main policy differences.

We saw some of them underlined in this debate - on the economy, on immigration, on Europe and on political reform.

These could provide the battle lines for the rest of the campaign, and be the issues that dominate much of the speculation about who could work together in a hung Parliament - if the election result is as close as this TV contest.

If the first debate was a "game changer", then after the second clash it's "game on".

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