Tag Archives: bbc question time

Johnny Mercer Told ‘Facts Matter’ During Bizarre Question Time Performance

Posted on by
Reply

A Conservative minister has been ridiculed online for his performance on BBC Question Time.

Johnny Mercer clashed with Labour frontbencher Bridget Philipson repeatedly on the corporation’s flagship politics show, and faced criticism for talking over fellow panelists.

At one point, the Opposition MP was joined by host Fiona Bruce and guest Dale Vince, the green energy entrepreneur, to correct the veterans minister wrongly suggesting the Labour Party was funded by climate protestors, Just Stop Oil.

Mercer said: “You’re funded by Just Stop Oil, right? Which you’re not gonna give back.”

Philipson replied: “What are you talking about? That is categorically untrue.”

Mercer then tried to argue Vance donated to Just Stop Oil and some Labour politicians, including leader Keir Starmer.

“Facts matter,” Bruce interjected, as she pointed out this was not the same as Just Stop Oil funding the Labour Party.

“Would you like to set the record straight now, Johnny,” asked Philipson.

He was also slapped down after misinterpreting Labour’s position on the NHS.

During a question about the NHS, as the service marks its 75th anniversary, Philipson made the case for the NHS remaining free at the point of need – meaning the public has access to healthcare regardless of whether they can afford it at that moment or not.

She said: “I believe the principle of access free at the point of need is what has built the NHS, and made it so great, that we know that however much you’ve got in your bank account you can get the care you need, or you should be able to get the care you need at the point at which you need it.”

She added: “The sad reality is after 13 years of the Conservatives, that isn’t the case for people right now.”

But the point was was later given a different spin by Mercer.

The Plymouth MP said: “I mean, this idea that Bridget came out with, it depends how much money you’ve got in your bank account, whether you get served in A&E, is obviously garbage.”

Philipson swiftly responded: “That wasn’t the point I was making. You’re misrepresenting my position.”

Mercer continued: “You did say it depends how much money you’ve got as to how quickly you get treated.”

Philipson continued that she apologised if she “misspoke”, adding: “The point I was making was that it shouldn’t depend on how much you have in your bank account, whether you get access to healthcare.”

She ended the back and forth by saying: “Your government has broken the NHS and now you quibble about semantics.”

The Tory MP was later accused of “shouting across every member of the panel tonight” by an audience member.

Mercer on the show stood by his jibe at critics of “collective bed-wetting” after the backlash he faced for saying armed forces personnel don’t need to use food banks.

Share Button

Question Time Audience Member Calls Out Claim UK Hasn’t ‘Properly Brexited’

Posted on by
Reply

A Brexit voter appearing on BBC Question Time has called out the excuses made by politicians for leaving the European Union not living up to the promises – as a prominent supporter of quitting the bloc claimed the country hasn’t “properly Brexited”.

The corporation’s flagship politics show on Thursday held a “special” in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex to mark the seventh anniversary of the 2016 vote. Some 70% of people in the area voted to get out of the union and only Brexit voters were in the audience for the programme.

It was held on the same day interest rates were hiked for the 13th month in a row as the UK’s rate of inflation remains higher than other major economies, with Brexit in part being blamed.

On the show, panellist Ben Habib, a businessman and former Brexit Party MEP, who is now part of the successor Reform UK, claimed the country hasn’t “properly Brexited” and blamed former prime minister Boris Johnson for being “loose in his association with the truth when he promised to get Brexit done”.

But it was too much for one audience member, who responded directly to Habib’s comments.

She said: “Literally the first thing that people with your opinion say … it’s like Brexit could be good if it went to a different school. I’m so sick of that.

“Where is the gumption from both Labour and the Conservatives to say, actually, no, this is what we’re going to do about it.

“This boils my blood when all that is rolled out is ‘well, there could have been a good Brexit if …’”

Habib later claimed that Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar and then deputy Simon Coveney “weaponised the border and threatened violence”.

Another audience member also said Brexit “hasn’t started” as a result of the pandemic and war in Ukraine.

Campbell, the Tony Blair-era Labour Party spin chief, said they had been told it “would be pain-free” and “all be upsides”, as he pointed to the fall in the pound, a lack of a trade deal with the US and the claim of more money for the NHS.

Share Button

Alastair Campbell Tells Question Time Brexit Voters ‘You Were Lied To’ By ‘Conmen’ Johnson And Farage

Posted on by
Reply

Alastair Campbell has hit out at “conmen” Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage as he told Brexit voters on BBC Question Time they were “lied to”.

The corporation’s flagship politics show on Thursday held a “special” in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex to mark the seventh anniversary of the 2016 vote. Some 70% of people in the area voted to get out of the bloc and only Brexit voters were in the audience for the programme.

Campbell, the Tony Blair-era Labour Party spin chief, has been a fierce critic of leaving the European Union. On the show, the Rest is Politics podcaster said he understood why the audience members wanted to exit the EU – but that they were “lied to” and told it “would be pain-free” and “all be upsides”, as he pointed to the fall in the pound, a lack of a trade deal with the US and the claim of more money for the NHS.

He said: “Look, I understand why a lot of you guys voted for Brexit because you felt that Johnson, Farage … these conmen were coming along offering you something that was going to make your lives better.

“And I was in a school today, just a few minutes away from here. Clacton Coastal Academy. Really bright kids. Really nice teachers. Fantastic school in a very tough area, and I asked the kids what they thought of Brexit and all but two said they would vote to rejoin the European Union if they had the chance.”

He went on: “I don’t blame you for voting. I blame them for lying to you. They lied. They’ve not been properly held to account.

“Johnson’s gone from lying about Covid. He’s still not properly been held accountable for Brexit.

“And we’re all of us paying a higher price in our cost of living and everything else because of the lies that we were told.”

He later said Brexit is “one of the biggest acts of self-harm that we as a country have ever inflicted upon ourselves”, and that Johnson “never believed in Brexit”.

“Boris Johnson went for the referendum as a way of advancing his own career and becoming prime minister,” Campbell said. “The mess he’s left this country in, he should never be forgiven.”

Critics of leaving the EU have cited the impact on the pound, imports and labour costs, and other economies on the continent powering ahead. Britain’s higher rate of inflation compared to other major economies has also been blamed in part on Brexit thanks to higher administration costs and a small pool of workers.

Share Button

Guto Harri Suggests Boris Johnson ‘Deprived Of Livelihood’ By Partygate Report

Posted on by
Reply

Guto Harri has suggested the MPs who pronounced Boris Johnson misled parliament have deprived him of a livelihood.

Appearing on BBC Question Time, Harri, a former Johnson aide, indicated he thought the privileges committee was not “beyond reproach”, citing the fact one-time Labour leader chaired the group.

Harri argued the “quasi-judicial process” was beyond the remit of the Commons – a talking point put forward by a number of Johnson loyalists.

But this has been countered repeatedly by the argument that the Conservative Party holds a majority of MPs on the committee, and Johnson has been represented by Lord Pannick, one of the country’s leading lawyers, at the public’s expense.

On Thursday, the privileges committee found Johnson deliberately misled parliament over partygate.

It recommended a 90-day suspension for the ex-prime minister, which he will escape after resigning as an MP, and said he should not receive a pass granting access to parliament which is normally given to former members.

Johnson has been making serious money from speeches since being forced out of Downing Street last year – with one entry in the register of members’ interests in February stating he was paid almost £2.5 million for speeches he hadn’t even made yet.

Question Time’s first debate on Thursday was over whether Johnson’s political career was “dead and buried”.

Harri said: “If you can deprive people of their livelihood, you need to be beyond reproach.

“And the idea that the former leader of the Laboor party can decide essentially on the process and the outcome that drives out a Conservative prime minister from parliament for me, whether you like Boris or not, does not look like due process.”

On the panel, SNP MP David Linden claimed Johnson has voted just three times in the Commons and earned £5 million since he left office. “Boris Johnson probably isn’t going to go hungry as a result of leaving parliament,” he added.

It’s the latest defence of Johnson from loyalists.

Lord Stewart Jackson, a former Conservative MP and another ally of Johnson, suggested the devastating report is “revenge for Brexit”.

Conservative MP Brendan Clarke-Smith told the BBC that the report was “vindictive, spiteful and an over-reach”, adding: “90 days and taking their pass off them is the equivalent of putting somebody in the stocks and touring them round the country.”

Former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke said “this punishment is absolutely extraordinary to the point of sheer vindictiveness”.

Johnson was said to have deliberately misled MPs with his partygate denials and accused of being complicit in a campaign of abuse and intimidation, with the former prime minister hitting out at the “deranged conclusion”.

Share Button

‘You Couldn’t Run A Whelk Stall’: BBC Question Time Audience Member Blasts Politicians

Posted on by
Reply

A BBC Question Time audience member has let rip at Britain’s political class – claiming it is so “incompetent” the two main parties “couldn’t run a whelk stall”.

This week’s show, which came from King’s Lynn in Norfolk, came against the backdrop of more partygate revelations, a backlash to Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list and tensions over the Covid-19 public inquiry.

One question – what could the Tories could do to turn around their fortunes and win at the general election next year – prompted a diatribe from one member of the audience, who appeared dissatisfied with the way the country is being run regardless of who is charge.

He said: “We’ve heard it all before from both of you, from both parties. You’re absolutely incompetent. Those that are not incompetent and corrupt.

“I have no idea why any of us bothered to vote for any of you. You couldn’t run a whelk stall, let alone the country. Either of you.

“And all you can do is bat off each other and not make any sense whatsoever. Stay behind afterwards. Both of you. Have a word from me, I’ll give you some home truths.“

He added: “I’m sick to death of you. The only person who went in parliament with good intentions was Guy Fawkes.”

Both Conservative Lee Rowley and Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth – on the panel – agreed to meet the man afterwards to discuss his concerns. He claimed the recent local elections was the first time he has not voted.

Share Button

Jack Monroe Makes A Brilliant Point About The Cost-Of-Living Crisis On Question Time

Posted on by
Reply

Food campaigner Jack Monroe has hit out at the labelling of the cost-of-living crisis – arguing the squeeze on household budgets has been happening for more than a decade and not simply “fallen out of a clear blue sky”.

The popular budget chef, appearing on BBC Question Time on Thursday, argued the problems stem from Conservative austerity and 13 years of “pulverizing” public services that “propped up the fundamentals of a decent society”.

The writer, challenging the view difficulties have emerged largely as a result of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, added the issues have been given a “fancy title” now that they are “affecting the chattering classes, the middle classes, the media classes”.

It comes as the UK battles with stubbornly high inflation amid soaring use of food banks, families stealing formula milk to feed babies and mortgage rates spiralling among a series of issues pounding families.

Monroe was responding to a question from the audience in Leicester on when people can start to feel “better off”.

She said: “We’ve been hearing a lot over the last year-and-a-half now about the cost of living crisis, as though it’s fallen out of a clear blue sky.

“It’s not a cost of living crisis – let’s be absolutely clear – although it is for everybody at the sharp end of it and that’s millions and millions of people … it’s a cost of Conservatives crisis. It’s a cost of austerity crisis. It’s a cost of 13 years of pulverizing all social support and all of those safety nets we used to have in place that propped up the fundamentals of a decent society.

“It’s the cost of stripping out the NHS and social care and refuges and welfare and all the support that many, many people and voters might have thought they never would have needed … they didn’t think that they were going to ever be one of those people who would have to dip into those parts.

“And now that it’s affecting the chattering classes, the middle classes, the media classes, it’s been given a fancy title: the cost-of-living crisis. And it’s affecting almost everybody.”

Admitting she could not answer the question, she added: “I’ve been working with food banks and with people in poverty for the last 10 years.

“I’ve never known anything like the sheer scale of desperation and crisis that we’re facing at the moment as a country and the only thing that is going to change it is investment back into all of those services that have been stripped away and making sure that when people find themselves in a desperate situation that there’s some help and some support out there for them.

“And I hope for your sake and everybody else’s sake that that happens yesterday, but certainly sooner rather than later.”

Share Button

Laura Trott Leaves Frustrated Theo Paphitis Head In Hands On Question Time

Posted on by
Reply

Conservative minister Laura Trott has left entrepreneur Theo Paphitis exasperated on BBC Question Time over her response to questions about immigration.

The former judge on TV’s Dragon’s Den hit out at the Conservative politician for attacking Labour party policies when asked to explain why her government was failing on immigration.

He later literally put his head in his hands as Trott struggled to explain how her party would keep migration numbers down after 13 years in power.

It comes as net migration into the UK has hit a record high, according to official figures published on Thursday.

<img class="img-sized__img landscape" loading="lazy" alt="Fiona Bruce, Laura Trott and Theo Paphitis on BBC Question Time, which this week came from Gravesend.” width=”719″ height=”470″ src=”https://www.wellnessmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/laura-trott-leaves-frustrated-theo-paphitis-head-in-hands-on-question-time-1.jpg”>
Fiona Bruce, Laura Trott and Theo Paphitis on BBC Question Time, which this week came from Gravesend.

BBC Question Time

In a major embarrassment for Rishi Sunak, the Office for National Statistics show 606,000 more people entered the country than left it in 2022.

That is up from the estimated 504,000 it was at in the year to June 2022.

At the last election, the Tories promised to bring immigration down from the 226,000 it was then.

Ministers have insisted that the war in Ukraine, as well as the political upheaval in Hong Kong, has played a major part in the surge in numbers coming to Britain.

On Question Time, in response to the first question on the show – What is the right level of immigration? – Trott essayed the Ukraine and Hong Kong influx and said that the Tories have “got a plan to bring immigration down”, including the small boats crackdown.

She added: “The last thing I’ll say is you can’t trust Labour on this one. They went into the last election saying they wanted freedom of movement. As recently as 2020, Keir Starmer said he wanted to defend free movement.”

When it came to Paphitis, he said: “I’ve never been (so) disappointed when a politician comes on, gets asked a question, and the first thing they do rather than answering a question is attack the opposition. It was a question that needed an answer.”

Later, when discussing the same question, host Fiona Bruce asked Trott repeatedly who currently on work visas would the Conservative government prefer not to be coming to the UK.

“It’s really important we have more training for people in the UK,” said Trott, who would only point to lorry drivers as an example, which a frustrated Bruce suggested would not make much of a dent in the 606,000 figure.

When Trott said “I would like lots of jobs to be done by British people …” after the fifth time of asking, she was interrupted by Bruce who said: “(Paphitis) has got his head in his hands so we’re not getting anywhere.”

This week’s programme came from Gravesend in Kent. The other panellists were Labour’s Peter Kyle, Munira Wilson of the Lib Dems and journalist Janet Street-Porter.

Share Button

Question Time Laughter As Tory Minister Dismisses Brexit Having Any Impact On Economic Woes

Posted on by
Reply

A Conservative minister has faced ridicule after stating Brexit has “nothing to do” with the UK’s economic troubles.

Appearing on BBC’s Question Time, the audience laughed at Rachel Maclean as she attempted blame other factors as the UK teeters on the brink of a recession and is expected to grow more slowly than Western counterparts.

Her comments came as panellists on the programme debated remarks by chief economist of the Bank of England, Huw Pill, who faced a backlash for saying Brits need to accept that they are poorer to get inflation under control.

Maclean said: “Look, the government recognises that times are tough. We’ve had a global pandemic. We’ve had Putin’s illegal and brutal war in Ukraine and these factors have impacted our economy.”

At this pointed, Lib Dem MP Layla Moran shouted “Brexit”.

“No, it’s nothing to do with Brexit,“ said Maclean dismissively.

“Nothing to do with Brexit?,” inquired Moran, as the audience laughed and one member shouted: “Yes it is.”

Maclean continued: “Well, I don’t really think it’s the right time to be re-running a referendum that we had many years ago where the country voted to leave the European Union.”

She added that Liberal Democrats want to “overturn a democratic referendum” – which is not what Moran had argued on the show.

Pill told a podcast this week that households and companies were playing “pass the parcel” and trying to pass on their higher costs, which he said adds to inflation, pushing up prices even further across the economy.

UK inflation – the measure of the rising cost of goods and services – hit 10.1% in the year to March. It was a fall from 10.4% in February, but still remains stubbornly high – and above the 9.8% that experts had predicted.

On Monday, the benefits of Brexit were written off as “pure fantasy” as MPs debated the consequences of leaving the European Union amid growing concern over the decision.

Brexit has been cited repeatedly as the UK’s economy is expected to perform the worst out of any G20 economies apart from Russia this year and next, an IMF analysis has suggested.

On the same day as the debate, Gerry Murphy, the chairman of Burberry, said leaving the EU had been a “drag on growth” as he hit out at the “spectacular own goal” of a post-Brexit VAT change during a Q&A with Rishi Sunak.

Share Button

Journalist Sums Up Political Scandals In One Comment: ‘Very Rich People Using Law To Evade Scrutiny’

Posted on by
Reply

A journalist summarised the exact problem with the recent string of Tory scandals on BBC Question Time on Thursday.

Alison Phillips, the editor of the Daily Mirror, was discussing Tory Party chair Nadhim Zahawi’s taxes, which have been in the spotlight over the last week.

Zahawi was reported to have paid a multi-million pound penalty to HMRC over his taxes last year, around the time he became chancellor under Boris Johnson.

The Tory Party chair has not disclosed the size of the settlement – believed to be an estimated £4.8 million including a 30% penalty – or confirmed whether he paid a fine.

Since the issue came to light, prime minister Rishi Sunak has ordered his independent ethics adviser to investigate it – as there are “questions” which need “answering” – but has not yet asked Zahawi to step down from his role.

Phillips began: “Surely, Rishi Sunak must have called him [Zahawi] in and said, ’Hang on a minute, how come I’ve just found out that what you said to me last week was not the whole truth?

″‘And you’ve made me look an absolute clown, you’ve caused distrust in the country’ – and this is continuing.”

She also said the idea which really “cuts” through for her, was that last July Zahawi was using “his very expensive lawyers to send out letters to get journalists and investigators to stop looking at this”.

This is a reference to when reports first started to suggest that Zahawi was the subject of an investigation by the National Crime Agency and HMRC.

The senior Tory denied knowledge of this, later saying that these stories were “inaccurate, unfair” and “clearly smears”.

Phillips said these threats of being sued is seen all over the country right now, as ″very rich people are using the law to evade proper scrutiny.”

“The idea that we’ve got someone in our government doing that, it’s just appalling, it stinks,” she added.

She mentioned that Sunak promised to introduce “integrity, professionalism and accountability” into the heart of government when he was elected as Tory leader back in October, as that’s what we as a country “deserve” and “want”.

“He’s let himself down, he’s allowed one of his closest advisers to let him down, and I think it’s a real shame for all of them,” the journalist concluded.

Share Button

Mick Lynch Has Come Up With A New Word To Describe Boris Johnson

Posted on by
Reply

Mick Lynch invented a new word to sum up the prime minister on BBC Question Time on Thursday night.

As he was explaining his frustration towards Downing Street – and speaking just hours before the results from two separate by-elections were announced – Lynch described Boris Johnson as “unembarrassable”.

The RMT general-secretary has gained a surprise legion of fans in the past week due to his no-nonsense media appearances amid backlash over the rail strikes, and he may have acquired just a few more after last night.

“I hope he loses both of these elections, and I hope he’s undermined, you wouldn’t expect anything else from me,” Lynch said.

“His main problem is he is ‘unembarrassable’.

“No matter what he does, he’s not embarrassed by his failures, by the image he gives off, and by his behaviour.

“And he’s supported in that by his mates in the establishment.

″We’ve got a very strange society where he’s propped up by the press, propped up by the media, propped by the city.”

Alluding to the fixed penalty notice which Johnson received over attending a party during lockdown, the union boss claimed: “No matter what he does, no matter how badly he behaves – up to and including breaking the law – they won’t go against him.”

Lynch also explained his surprise that Conservative MPs opted to keep Johnson in his role (albeit by a small margin) in last month’s confidence vote.

“Nevertheless, they lie in their own nest and support him,” the RMT boss continued. “So I don’t know what will make him go, but I think ultimately the Tories will get rid of him before the ballot box gets rid of him, because that’s in their interest.”

The prime minister has been heavily criticised in recent months, over everything from partygate and his decision to change the ministerial code to the Rwanda asylum policy.

Following the double whammy of the by-election defeats early this morning, Johnson told the press: “Historically in the last 50 years, more, you’ve seen governments being punished at the polls during mid-term, when people are particularly feeling economic pressures.”

He also blamed Covid and the cost of living crisis, but did not acknowledge how the blows to his reputation may have had an impact.

A particularly loyal member of his cabinet, Tory party chair Oliver Dowden, even resigned over the by-election defeats this morning, claiming that someone “must take responsibility” for the humiliating losses.

In his reply, Johnson thanked Dowden for his time in the cabinet, expressed his sorrow he was leaving but maintained that the current government was elected on a “historic mandate” back in 2019.

Share Button