Question Time

BBC Question Time is marking seven years of Brexit with an audience made up entirely of 2016 Leave voters. Wish me luck...

Leaving the EU has left the wine import/export business with a shocking hangover

Bonnie Greer says the US president’s ambitious plans could see a break in the special relationship I still don’t know why I had my outburst about Ireland on that Question Time episode in 2019. I said then that Ireland owed the UK nothing at all. That in fact, the UK did not and still does […]

The BBC’s Question Time offers an insight into why Labour lost many elections last week. Peter Kellner’s piece on Labour’s troubles in red wall seats was an interesting read and his insights informative. One only had to watch BBC’s Question Time last night to see some truth regarding Kellner’s points about how Labour has lost […]

In these exclusive extracts from his diaries, ALASTAIR CAMPBELL talks about the response to his evidence at the Leveson inquiry. Wednesday, December 14 I was thinking a lot about losing friendships, and it wasn’t sensible. Neil and Glenys [Kinnock] after the “We’ve got our party back” comment [following the 2010 Labour leadership contest]. Maybe I just needed to forget […]

A government minister has defended the government’s decision to lock down when it did in March, despite saying that acting earlier “would have saved more lives”. Apprenticeships minister Gillian Keegan told Question Time that had the country locked down earlier and shut its borders then “we would have had a lower death toll for sure”. […]

Question Time tonight features a virtual audience drawn from across the UK, the country best-known across the world for dealing with a deadly pandemic with all the command and aptitude of The Chuckle Brothers carrying a wedding cake across a frozen river. But who’s on the panel? Here’s your guide… Gillian Keegan Who? Well, quite. Junior minister […]

A Question Time audience member has called on politicians to prepare for a border poll in Northern Ireland “even if it isn’t for another ten years”. The audience member told Northern Ireland first and deputy first ministers Arlene Foster and Michelle O’Neil that Stormont had a lot to learn from the “shambles of the Brexit […]

Question Time tonight features a virtual audience drawn from Northern Ireland. But who’s on the panel? Here’s your guide… Brandon Lewis Who? Northern Ireland secretary Formerly just a cabinet makeweight most notable for looking more like a neighbour you’d feel confident owned a spare set of jump leads than a senior politician, Lewis wrote his name in […]

The government’s choice for the chair of the BBC has claimed that Question Time has been filled with too many Remainers – and not enough Brexiteers. Despite Nigel Farage racking up 34 appearances on the political programme, and analysis finding a majority of MEPs appearing were pro-Brexit, Richard Sharp has complained the programme has been “unbalanced”. […]

Question Time tonight features a virtual audience drawn from… all over the UK, producers having apparently ditched their virtual tour across the country. But who’s on the panel? Here’s your guide… Vicky Ford Who? Minister for children BOOM! Heading up the panel for the government as Question Time embarks on its 42nd year is, er, Vicky Ford, […]

Footage of Priti Patel being schooled on her support for the death penalty by Ian Hislop has resurfaced on social media. In the clip from 2011, Patel is seen clashing with Private Eye editor over the use of the death penalty in innocent cases. Debating the reintroduction of capital punishment on Question Time, Hislop said: “For 50 years, Private […]

A cabinet minister has admitted that Dominic Cummings’ trip to Barnard Castle undermined the government’s coronavirus response. Appearing on Question Time,  justice secretary Robert Buckland branded the episode “deeply unfortunate” when he was asked if he thought the prime minister’s former chief adviser had broken the rules over lockdown. Although he said that Cummings was […]

Twitter users have swiftly corrected a Brexiteer who claimed the EU was made up of unelected bureaucrats during an appearance on BBC Question Time. talkRADIO presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer sparked controversy on Thursday after claiming the EU was an unelected body dictating policy upon Britain. She said: “I voted for Brexit because I want the people in charge of my […]

A former Australian prime minister has warned the UK against leaving the European Union on an ‘Australian-style’ Brexit agreement. Malcolm Turnbull warned Boris Johnson to “be careful what you wish for”, warning the results would be “pretty disappointing”. He told BBC Question Time: “It’ll be pretty disappointing, I think you’ll find out. “We obviously are dealing […]

Question Time tonight features a virtual audience drawn from Chelmsford, hometown of McFly drummer Harry Judd. But who’ll be OK – and who will have you saying sorry’s not good enough? Here’s your guide to the panel… Robert Buckland Who? Justice secretary Mid-ranking Cabinet minister confirmed late in the day as the government’s representative, Buckland is considered a […]

A Brexiteer economist who said Britain’s fishing industry had been “decimated” by the EU has been urged to review his facts. Liam Halligan, an economist and Sunday Telegraph writer, claimed Britain had a “colonial relationship” with the EU over fishing rights. Appearing on BBC 1’s Question Time, Halligan said: “Two-thirds of fish in British waters are caught by […]

This week’s Question Time comes from Bath, a city that has its own currency and was the filming location for Les Miserables and TV series Inspector Morse. But what will the virtual audience make of this week’s panel of politicians from the past and present? On the panel is: Michelle Donelan MP Michelle Donelan is […]

Brexiteer Claire Fox has defended a public sector pay freeze, saying workers were “not the only heroes” of the coronavirus pandemic. Fox, a former Brexit Party MEP turned peer, said the private sector had been “the invisible front line” in the fight against Covid-19 and also merited a pay rise. Responding to Welsh minister Vaughan Gething […]

Question Time tonight features a virtual audience drawn from Swansea, hometown of Keith Allen. But whose appearance will be a runaway hit like Robin Hood – and who will be best forgotten like Naughty Christmas (Goblin in the Office)? Here’s your guide to the panel… Nadhim Zahawi Who? Junior business minister The co-founder of polling firm YouGov – which […]

A Tory minister has sought to defend Priti Patel against allegations of bullying by suggesting civil servants have misunderstood her work ethic. James Cleverly, the minister for Africa and the Middle East, sought to dismiss the accusations by intimating that Patel had only wanted her team to “work hard”. The comment comes after an inquiry by […]

The Conservatives should be a “little bit nervous” about Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labour Party, Spectator editor Fraser Nelson has told a panel on the BBC’s Question Time. Saying he was “pretty impressed” by Starmer, Nelson was commenting on his handling of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. He explained: “I have to say I think Keir Starmer […]

Question Time tonight features a virtual audience drawn from Windsor, home of diminutive nonagenarian the Queen. But whose appearance will be a crowning achievement – and who will suffer a vesperum horribilis? Here’s your guide to the panel… James Cleverly Who? Junior Foreign Office minister Former soldier and Boris Johnson loyalist who was rewarded in February with the role of […]

Shadow justice secretary David Lammy has broken official Labour Party ranks to call for a Brexit extension on Question Time. Lammy urged Downing Street to seek an extension while it “works out” the economic mess caused by the coronavirus. Prime minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly vowed not to extend the transition period which is set to end on […]

Laurence Fox has claimed he has been “dropped” by his agent following controversial remarks he made on race. Fox claimed the decision came after he told a Question Time audience member that he finds it racist when someone says he has “white privilege”. The 42-year-old actor told the showgoer that “playing the race card was […]

Question Time tonight features a virtual audience drawn from Dover, home town of Clash drummer Topper Headon. But who should stay – and who should go? Here’s your guide to the panel… Matt Hancock Who? Health secretary The increasingly less boy-faced health secretary ran for the Conservative leadership approximately 100 years ago – 2019 – with a […]

Playwright BONNIE GREER on what she is learning about herself, and society, from the year of lockdowns On a recent appearance on Question Time, I mentioned that my husband and I had not been together since he decided to check in on his place in France at the end of February. The lockdown came soon after that, […]

A Brexiteer has claimed that more British politicians should be like Donald Trump after the US election result showed the president performing better than expected in the polls. Simon Wolfson, the pro-Brexit boss of Next, said Trump’s success should be a “wake-up call” to politicians here. He told Question Time: “It does amaze me that Trump […]

Question Time tonight features a virtual audience drawn from Lewisham, the South London borough which is the birthplace of Sir Richard Branson. But who will fly sky-high like Virgin Atlantic – and who is destined to be forgotten to history like Virgin Cola?  Here’s your guide to the panel… Oliver Dowden Who? Culture, media and sport secretary […]

Longstanding Labour supporter Bonnie Greer has said she felt “sick” after discovering the extent of the party’s anti-Semitism problems in a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Greer, who writes for The New European, gave a stinging assessment of the Labour Party’s failure to tackle the treatment and harassment of Jewish people during an appearance on Question […]

A Tory minister has been told that appointing “people of colour to the Cabinet” does not erase the Conservative Party’s race relation issues. Justice minister Chris Philp was told his party had “housework” to do regarding race relations during a row with The New European writer Bonnie Greer on Question Time. Panellists were discussing the damning findings of an EHRC report into […]

Question Time tonight features a virtual audience drawn from Lincoln, the city where the tank was first invented and tested during World War I. But who will come out all guns blazing – and who will just, er, tank? Here’s your guide to the panel… Chris Philip Who? Well, quite. Minister for immigration compliance and the courts […]