Political party leaders are getting a grilling from the public tonight on BBC’s Question Time special – but it’s Fiona Bruce’s presenting style that’s caught the eye of viewers.
So far, Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey has dodged questions on his controversial coalition government before admitting he “made mistakes” while Post Office Minister, and SNP frontman John Swinney was asked how he can separate himself from previous leaders of the party amid ongoing scandals. Crisis-striken Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer are up next.
Broadcasting veteran Fiona is moderating the debate – which involves each party leader answering questions from a live audience for 30 minutes. But Question Time viewers are complaining that Fiona “keeps interrupting” the party leaders.
One user took to X, formerly Twitter, to write: “Fiona Bruce interrupting far too often…” while another joked “Awful format, all these questions interrupting Fiona Bruce’s monologues.”
A third said: “Fiona Bruce really doesn’t need to keep interrupting – the audience members are more than capable of questioning him.”
The journalist has been helping to guide questions during the debate – notably giving context on Ed Davey’s time as Post Office Minister before he had chance to respond. She has also repeatedly pressed the political party leaders when they’ve evaded questions.
Others praised the format, with one writing: “I quite like this #bbcqt format. proper grilling without opponents there to score cheap points. it does rely on fiona bruce being consistent with calling them out when they don’t answer the question etc etc”.
Another X user wrote: “Fiona Bruce gets such criticism, but I have to say, she’s oozing quality here vs the other debate/interview moderators.” Meanwhile, others swooned over Fiona’s lilac two-piece suit, as they asked if anyone knew where it was from.
The debate between party leaders comes as Tory HQ grapples with a fresh scandal, as three Tories and a police officer are now being investigated over alleged bets on the timing of the election.
It has been revealed that the party’s Campaigning Director and two Conservative candidates are being investigated by the Gambling Commission over the scandal. It comes after a police officer in Mr Sunak’s close protection team was arrested and suspended from duty for allegedly betting on the date of the July 4 poll. Labour called for the two Conservative candidates to be suspended, and fury has been swirling amongst voters over the probe.
Tonight’s Question Time two-hour special marks one of the final TV debates during the election – but there’s one final showdown between Mr Starmer and Mr Sunak before voters hit polling stations.
The BBC has confirmed it will be hosting a final head-to-head debate between Tory PM Mr Sunak and Labour leader Mr Starmer on 26 June. This follows their first one-to-one parley on ITV’s debate earlier this month.
The Tories were left licking their wounds yesterday as a new mega-poll predicted they are walking into their worst ever defeat in the upcoming election.
Labour are tipped for a glorious victory as they are set to secure 425 seats, according to YouGov’s bombshell figures. If the prediction is correct, the Tories would be reduced to just 108 MPs – the worst result in their nearly 200-year history.