A RETIRED company director has described quizzing the country’s would-be Prime Ministers on TV.

Frank Hemsworth, 71, right, was one of a handful of voters selected to ask questions during last night's Sky’s televised leaders’ debate.

An estimated four million people watched him ask Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg whether it was time to put aside political differences to combine talents in the event of a hung parliament.

The Witney grandfather-of-five, a former director at Unipart in Cowley, described the atmosphere in the Bristol studio as “electric” and said he was stunned to be selected to attend.

“We were taking part in history,” he said. “It was called ‘the golden ticket’ by one person. And that’s what it was to be in an audience of maybe 100 people and be in front of these three, any one of which could be Prime Minister, and see them perform.”

All three leaders refused to admit they would give up their own team to pick politicians from the other sides.

He said he posed his question based on his own experience in business, and added: “If you ran a business the way you run the country, it would be a disaster.

“In business you need a clear strategy agreed by the board, understood by all, and the right people in place for it to succeed.”

Mr Hemsworth, who was selected after submitting his question to Sky, said: “David Cameron came across as a Prime Minister in waiting.”

The Independent newspaper is hosting a pre-election debate on Monday at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in Parks Road at 7pm.

Speakers will include Oxford East candidates.