At a focus group in the marginal seat of Peterborough, swing voters are leaning towards the Conservatives.

They are fed up with the Brexit deadlock, but what emerges most strongly from the event at a Holiday Inn on the outskirts of the eastern English city is the low esteem in which Britain’s political classes are held.

These voters are deeply sceptical that any of the political parties can transform people’s lives and public services, but six out of the eight are planning to vote Conservative.

The reason? They want an end to what they see as the Brexit chaos of the past three years.

“This is about who you disagree with the least and who is the least worst of everybody,” said Laura, manager of a dental practice.

“Everyone is saying what they’re going to do, none of them are going to do any of it,” said Rachel, who works in administration.

“There is no clear winner, they are all as horrible as each other, as bad as that sounds . . . I’m frustrated, fed up,” said Liz, who is unemployed.

Asked to choose from various emojis to express their feelings about politics in 2019, most of them hold up signs denoting anger, frustration or sadness.

Participants in the focus group run on Thursday evening by Britain Thinks, a research firm, had been paying fairly close attention to the election. “It’s impossible to avoid it,” said one.

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, has staked his political future on a manifesto that emphasises his plans to turn on the spending taps for public services, using heavy taxes on big business and high earners.

But while attendees believe health and education and policing are important issues, they are overshadowed by Brexit. “Until Brexit is sorted out, all the other issues pale,” said Rachel.

Asked which party would do the most for the health service, they all break into laughter. “None of them would sort it out or they would have done it by now, the NHS will always be a pawn in everyone’s game,” said Caroline, a tutor in craft.

Jeremy Corbyn visits a Peterborough school during the election campaign © Getty

There is also a feeling that Labour’s manifesto is too ambitious. “It seemed economically illiterate to me,” said Tristan, a web developer.

Graham, a programme manager, thinks the manifesto is excessive even though he is planning to vote Labour: “Their spending plans are fanciful, there’s just too much,” he said.

“Their promises are overwhelming, they are fairy tales, they are not realistic. It’s huge amounts of money.”

Liz has seen the Labour promise of £6,000 in the pocket of each family and is not convinced. “It’s just swings and roundabouts, I don’t believe it,” she said with a shake of the head.

Caroline is equally suspicious. “If they give you £6,000 it’s because they’re taxing you to the tune of £6,000, we are not stupid. It has to come from somewhere.”

For the participants in this focus group the election is a two-horse race. The Brexit party is seen as “politically honest” but increasingly irrelevant, despite having come second in June’s by-election in Peterborough. The Liberal Democrats were criticised for their “undemocratic” plan to abandon Brexit unilaterally.

But if they are coalescing around the Conservative and Labour parties there is little love for the leaders.

Of Mr Corbyn, Rachel said: “He knows he’s unelectable but he won’t give it up for someone else. If they had a different leader they would be doing so much better.”

Even Graham, the strongest Labour supporter, said the Labour leader was “extreme” and “pretty much a communist”.

Mr Johnson is seen as “overprivileged” and “an obstinate buffoon”.

Yet Mr Johnson’s promise to “Get Brexit Done” is cutting through. Six out of the eight say they plan to vote Conservative mostly for that reason.

Laura backed Remain in 2016 but said Brexit had dragged on for too long. “I just want it done.”

Liz would vote Conservative “to finish Brexit” and then move on with other policies.

Rachel, echoes the prime minister: she is backing the Conservatives “to get Brexit done”.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited . All rights reserved. Please don't copy articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.