Question Time on the BBC aired a special episode last night — touching only on immigration — and it led to feisty showdowns between the likes of Zia Yusuf and Zack Polanski
Audience members on Question Time last night applauded as a panelist took aim at Nigel Farage in a heated debate on immigration.
Daisy Cooper, who is Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, blamed the rise in asylum seekers arriving to the UK on boats in recent years on Mr Farage, Boris Johnson and the Brexit deal. She challenged Zia Yusuf, of Reform UK, during the programme, solely dedicated to immigration.
Ms Cooper, MP for St Albans, Hertfordshire, said Mr Farage should have been on the programme “apologising to the British people” for championing the Brexit deal, which saw the UK leave the European Union in January 2020. The audience in Dover, Kent, applauded Ms Cooper’s passionate argument.
She said: “In 2017, there was not a single asylum seeker who arrived on a boat. Durham University did the research. Today, we have 46,000 a year and do you know why? It was because of the botched Brexit deal pushed through by Boris Johnson, championed by Nigel Farage. Nigel Farage should be here tonight apologising to the British people.”
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Although the audience appreciated Ms Cooper’s argument, it led to a showdown on the panel. Kieran Mullan, Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle, called it “utter nonsense” while Mr Yusuf smirked nonchalantly.
Mr Yusuf, who was chairman of Reform UK until recently, had earlier told the audience and viewers his party will always “prioritise British citizens”. It was this point that led to an angry reaction from Ms Cooper, previously the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson. The politician stressed to viewers “there are other choices (than Reform UK) available”. She added: “There are people speaking up for the silent majority.”
Following Ms Cooper’s dig at Mr Farage, Mr Mullan piped up. The Shadow Minister for Justice said: “If it (the rise in asylum seekers in the UK) is because of Brexit, why are people arriving in boats in Spain and Italy?… We took more people than we we sent back. It is utter nonsense.”
Immigration has been a regular — and divisive — issue on Question Time recently. In October, members of the audience applauded as a guest took right-wing GB News host Matt Goodwin to task on the topic.
Matt Goodwin, a political commentator who presents on the network, had claimed “asylum seekers are often breaking laws” when he addressed the audience in Bradford, West Yorkshire. However, economist Faiza Shaheen swiftly hit back at the academic, arguing in her experience migrants “want the same things as us”. The audience clapped several times during Ms Shaheen’s passionate defence, a clip of which was widely shared on social media