Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce made the journey to Torquay last night for the final episode of the BBC’s flagship program until September. A public member in the coastal town of Devon targeted Tory MP Bim Afolami, calling on Conservative MPs to “take responsibility” to restore public confidence.
Last night she said, “I just feel like it has to be more than just putting in a new person and everything will be fine because for me it’s not.”
When asked by Ms Bruce what she wanted to happen now, the audience member explained: “So many things have gone wrong, so many things have been put in place that were wrong for years, and I think it actually takes a little bit of responsibility.
“You all need to have a confidence vote.
“We didn’t and it’s our country.
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“I just think we should respect you more, but I think you should respect us more because we’re not idiots.”
Her comments came after Mr Afolami, who supports Rishi Sunak in the ongoing leadership contest and was first elected MP for Hitchin & Harpenden in 2017, explained why he resigned as Conservative Party deputy leader last week.
He said: “The reason I resigned when I did that was the problem with the former Deputy Chief Whip, I felt that was an example of similar behavior that we had seen and so I didn’t feel things were getting any better. and I thought they weren’t improving.
“That’s why I felt I should resign and many, many other colleagues did.”
Despite Mr Afolami’s comments, another audience member asked: “How can we trust the Conservative Party with the choice of the next leader?”
Although Johnson won his confidence vote last month, the outgoing prime minister said he would quit once the Conservative Party concluded its leadership election to replace him after dozens of MPs resigned from his government.
Five MPs remain in the race to replace Mr Johnson, including ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Commerce Secretary Penny Mordaunt, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, ex-Equality Minister Kemi Badenoch and MP Tonbridge & Malling Tom Tugendhat.
Candidates will appear on Channel 4 tonight at 7pm for the leadership campaign’s first televised debate.
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During the summer, however, Question Time will have a long pause.
Ms Bruce and the Question Time team will return to the TV screens on September 15 when the show ventures into Birmingham.
The BBC’s current debate show then goes to Grimsby on September 22.