Rishi Sunak went up in Wednesday's TV duel against Keir Starmer under pressure to win votes. But the audience held back against both party leaders.
Neither of them gets my vote after this, said an invited member of the audience.
With three weeks to the British election, the election temperature has not quite arrived, partly because a change of power seems almost inevitable.
Could Wednesday's questioning of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and opposition leader Keir Starmer get the election campaigns going?
The audience in Sky News' broadcast from Grimsby on the English north-east coast was sceptical.
I hope you didn't answer like that when you were a prosecutor. Because you're not answering the questions, said one of the listeners to the former lawyer Starmer during a general question session, and summed up much of the evening.
Laughter and Boos
Labour leader avoided specifying the party's tax plans – they will come on Thursday – but promised that "nothing in our election manifesto raises taxes for ordinary people".
Those who work should not have to pay higher taxes, but we must get the economy in order, he said and immediately got a response from the interviewer Beth Rigby:
What I hear is that you're not ruling out other tax increases.
Rishi Sunak didn't have it easier when he defended his and the Conservative Party's policy on taxes and immigration.
I understand that people are frustrated, he replied to questions on both topics, and was met with boos and laughter when he promised that the public debt burden would decrease.
The Tories have been criticised in recent days for playing on the poor opinion polls where Labour has a lead of over 20 percentage points, to make Labour voters more lethargic, according to the opposition.
Looked Defeated
On Wednesday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt continued on the same track when he told news agency Bloomberg that he was unsure of winning his constituency, and Defence Minister Grant Shapps warned on Sky News of Labour's coming "supermajority".
In the debate, Sunak didn't do much to lift the Conservatives' spirits. In a quick opinion poll after the debate, nearly two-thirds gave higher marks to Starmer.
And the audience in Brexit stronghold Grimsby agreed.
Sunak looked like a defeated man, I think it will be hard to vote for him again, said a former Tory supporter.
I had thought of voting for Starmer, but neither of them gets my vote after this, it'll have to be another party, replied another in the audience.
