BBC Question Time tonight: Who is on the panel, where is it and what topics might be discussed?
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
It’s Thursday, which for political anoraks means only one thing - BBC Question Time.
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Hide AdThis week’s offering will be presented by usual host, Fiona Bruce, and will no doubt be a feisty affair.
As ever, there is a wide array of potential topics this week’s panellists could be quizzed on but it’s a virtual nailed on certainty they will be asked a question about the current vegetable shortages. Friday (February 24, 2023) marks the one year anniversary of when Russia invaded Ukraine so expect a question on the ongoing war and a possible discussion on whether prime minister, Rishi Sunak, is likely to supply the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, with British fighter jets.
In the hours leading up to tonight’s broadcast, Sky News shared an exclusive interview with former prime minister, Boris Johnson. In the interview with Sky News’ Mark Austin the erstwhile leader of the Conservatives criticised Rishi Sunak’s negotiations with the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol and called on the current prime minister to not abandon the contentious NI Protocol Bill - it’s possible this too could be a topic of debate.
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Hide AdThis week’s Question Time comes from Cardiff. It is likely that there will be a focus on some issues that are specific to life in Wales and Welsh politics.
Who is on BBC Question Time tonight?
David TC Davies: Secretary of State for Wales and Conservative MP for Monmouth since 2005 - opposed same-sex marriage legislation and in 2012 said “most parents would prefer their children not to be gay”. Voted for the UK to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum. Once described by The Guardian’s political sketch writer, John Crace, as: “one of the dimmest people in parliament – even the sheep in his Welsh constituency have a higher IQ”.
Thangam Debbonaire: Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and Labour MP for Bristol West since 2015 - describes herself as a "northern European socialist – a democratic socialist". Shortly after she was elected she was diagnosed with breast cancer and did not attend a parliamentary vote from June 2015 until March 2016. Campaigned for the UK to remain in the EU.
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Hide AdLiz Saville-Roberts: leader of Plaid Cymru in the House of Commons and MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd since 2015 - has called for an independent Wales to rejoin the EU; has campaigned in the past to introduce legislation concerning online bullying and cyber crime and was Plaid Cymru’s first female MP.
Rakie Ayola: Welsh actress - born in Cardiff in the late 1960s, Ayola has appeared in television shows such as Holby City; Black Mirror; EastEnders and My Almost Famous Family. In 2020, she won the Best Female Actor in a Play award at the Black British Theatre Awards for her performance in On Bear Ridge for National Theatre Wales and the Royal Court.
Anita Boateng: former special advisor to the Cabinet Office; Department of Justice and Department for Work and Pensions - has appeared on Question Time before and is a regular contributor to The Press Review on Sky News.
Viewers can tune in at 8.00pm via the BBC iPlayer however the programme will be broadcast on BBC1 at 10.40pm.
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