Question Time 29th May 2025
The Panel:
Heidi Alexander (Labour)
David Simmonds (Conservative)
Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat)
Ava-Santina Evans (Politics Joe)
Tim Montgomerie (Journalist and commentator)
Venue: Cheltenham
Introduced as a journalist and commentator, Tim Montgomerie might better have been labelled as the Reform UK representative on tonight’s panel, having left the Tories for Nigel Farage’s party last December. A staffer at the Conservative Party following a spell at the Bank of England, it was Mr Montgomerie who launched an inferior politics website called Conservative Home.
His other media and political gigs have included The Times, Mr Johnson’s Number 10 and TalkTV. From a military family, his father, Hugh, was a major in the Army, which saw Tim being educated at The King’s School, Gütersloh, before attending the University of Exeter and graduating in Economics and Geography.
Speaking of inferior politics websites, Ava-Santina Evans is a British political journalist and correspondent for the digital news platform PoliticsJOE. Previously, Puffins will be thrilled to hear, she was the lead producer for James O’Brien’s show on LBC Radio.
A media bubble lifer, the 33-year-old has held roles at the BBC, Condé Nast, and WIRED and regularly appears on BBC, Sky News, ITV’s Good Morning Britain, and TalkTV. However, the graduate in English Literature from the University of Sussex is most famous for being subjected to remarks from an over-excited Laurence Fox during a GB News show.
During an appearance on Dan Wootton Tonight, Mr Fox said of Ms Evans, “Show me a single self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that woman… ever… ever.” Further, he referred to her as a “little woman” and wondered aloud, “Who’d want to sh*g that?”
Gracious me.
Well, for Mr Fox’s information, one feels obliged to note — both on my own behalf and, no doubt, on behalf of numerous other Puffins: Would. Media regulator Ofcom received nearly 9,000 complaints and ruled that the broadcast breached its rules on offensive content. Subsequently, Mr Fox issued an apology.
As for Politics JOE, it is a political news and commentary platform operating under the umbrella of JOE Media. Originally founded by Niall McGarry, JOE Media has undergone several ownership changes due to financial challenges. In April last year, after entering administration, JOE Media was acquired by Irish entrepreneur Michael O’Rourke for £3.6 million.
Before his acquisition, JOE Media was owned by Greencastle Capital, which had itself purchased the company out of administration in 2020. O’Rourke, co-founder of Setanta Sports, is an experienced media investor whose experience in investing in media has both seen him put good money into loss-making JOE Media and to buy Glasgow Clan Ice Hockey Club.
Jess Brown-Fuller is the Liberal Democrat MP for Chichester and the party’s spokesman on Hospitals and Primary Care. First elected in July 2024, the 34-year-old ended a century of Conservative representation, most recently through QT favourite and former education secretary Gillian Keegan. Born in Norwich in 1990, the mother of two moved to West Sussex in the 1990s and is qualified to run the country via a performing arts degree from the University of Chichester Department of Theatre.
David Simmonds CBE is the Conservative MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, first elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2024 with a majority of 7,581 votes. Born in Kent in 1976, he was educated at Cardinal Newman RC School in Pontypridd, Durham University, and Birkbeck College. Before entering Parliament, he worked in financial services, was a non-executive director of an NHS trust and served on Hillingdon Borough council for 24 years, rising to be Deputy Leader.
Heidi Alexander (not her real name, Heidi Ballentyne) was born in Swindon in 1975 and has been the Labour MP for Swindon South since July 2024. She previously served as MP for Lewisham East from 2010 but gave up her seat in 2018 to become Sadiq Khan’s Deputy Mayor for Transport.
The 50-year-old is a Durham University graduate; Bachelor’s in Geography, Master’s in European Urban and Regional Change. Following her education, Heidi entered the political bubble via the office of Cherie Blair at 10 Downing Street and subsequently worked as a parliamentary researcher.
A former Lewisham Borough councillor and Lewisham MP, on her website somehow Heidi claims to be nothing but a humble Swindon lass. Her father was an electrician. She was the first member of her family to go to university, yawn. According to herself, Heidi learned to swim in Swindon’s Darcon Pool and learnt to drive on the town’s Magic Roundabout.
Despite all of this, humble Wiltshire gal, Comrade Heidi, held her marriage ceremony and wedding breakfast in the Horniman Museum Conservatory in London’s Forest Hill, available to hire for a humble and comradely £595 an hour.
***
Question one: Would the removal of the two-child benefit cap encourage a welfare culture?
We’re all benefitting from a Labour government, began Heidi, added to which there are breakfast clubs in schools, ensuring hungry minds not hungry children. We have the fastest-growing economy in the G7. All the same, there will be a child poverty task group to investigate such things.
It’s not a huge amount of money for families, began David. It would be better if parents had jobs. David’s government had created millions of jobs and taken millions out of poverty during the disastrous 14 years they were in power. A lifelong Labour supporter spoke. He hoped Labour were about to refind their moral compass, rather than doff their hats to Nigel Farage.
The most wonderful thing in society is the love between parents and their children, began Tim. But things are so expensive – especially houses – that people can’t have a family. Lifting the two-child cap isn’t encouraging a dependency on welfare, as most beneficiaries are in work anyway.
La Bruce wondered how Reform would pay for all of this. The Conservatives and Labour have failed in office, said Tim. But what about the numbers, Tim, wondered La Bruce. By the next election, the numbers will have to add up. The voters will be ‘kicking the tyres’ of Reform UK’s commitments, he replied.
Jess thought cutting benefits costs money, as health and education outcomes are worse. She would abolish the cap. A lady in the audience wondered if Reform would just say anything to get elected. That’s Labour, Love! And the Tories and LibDems, come to think of it. When asked, few in the audience were in favour of keeping the present cap.
I have a better idea. Instead of giving away money, why not increase tax thresholds per child? Then you could have a higher income but you’d have to work for it; extra hours, a promotion, a second job.
A gentleman in the audience suggested if you can’t afford a family, then don’t have one. A bit harsh. Surely a family should be a natural and doable part of life. It was a bit like hearing that if you can’t eat, then starve to death. Interestingly, we hear a lot about a right to a family life – but only when it involves immigrant murderers and rapists being allowed to stay here.
Ava did the maths for us. It’s twenty pounds a week, then seventeen pounds a week for every additional child. It’s not a huge amount. She thought there were better ways for her to make money than having children. She then made an ‘ooo’ noise – as if something was left over from the Laurence Fox thing.
Her friends were teachers and saw hungry children every day. She thought it was a moral imperative that parents should be allowed a few more pounds a week. Heidi Alexander butted in to, in effect, blame Liz Truss.
As for this week’s girl war, Jess Brown-Fuller wore (I’m not very good with colours) a greeny/tan jacket over a black top. La Bruce was in a pink jacket above a white shirt. She was also dripping in gold. Ava was in all-over thick black, as if wearing a monkey suit without the head. Another poor showing from the ladies, but, because of the bling, a win for Fiona Bruce.
The next question was about another massive pay rise for doctors. La Bruce reminded us that David was on an NHS trust and, furthermore, his wife is a doctor.
David retorted that the NHS is very efficient at what it does. WHAT?! Ava said ‘train station’ instead of ‘railway station’ when mentioning a cheesy clip of Robert Jennrick out on manoeuvres challenging fare dodgers in London. She said this had to be done because of cuts in platform staff (which David disputed). Cuts and ‘low’ pay for doctors are nonsensical and counterproductive.
Heidi wasn’t keen. The last pay rise was useful as it ended the doctors’ strikes. She appealed to resident doctors (previously known as junior doctors) to work with Wes Streeting to improve the Health Service.
Is there a doctor in the house, asked La Bruce? A chap in a green top with a very posh voice said he found himself in a very difficult position. He claimed he only received a 1.29% pay rise last year. He’d been a doctor for 31 years and was in a ‘closed pay grade’.
Hmm.
As if in a medical emergency myself, my heart began to bleed. But hold on a minute, rather than book a far-off appointment with a doctor – not the easiest of tasks – I took an instant one with AI, who gave me the following prognosis:
‘A UK doctor with 31 years of experience — likely a consultant — would typically earn a basic NHS salary of £139,882 per year, which is the top of the consultant pay scale in England as of 2024. This figure excludes additional earnings such as Clinical Excellence Awards, on-call payments, and London weighting, which can significantly increase total income.
‘Many consultants also engage in private practice or medico-legal work, potentially adding £200,000 or more annually to their earnings. Therefore, a consultant with 31 years of experience could have a total annual income ranging from £140,000 to over £300,000, depending on supplementary work and awards.’
Hmmm.
Which begged a supplementary question, whispered in trepidation as if asking my GP if I was going to live: what about their pensions? AI reckoned that based on their NHS salary alone, the pension would be a £150,000 lump sum plus £50,000 a year for life – ie an anuity purchased from a pension fund equivalent to between £1.5 million to £2 million.
Oh.
Bleeding heart restored to health, it was time for an early night for me. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m back in uniform and just this once have to be up early on a Friday morning. Before you ask, not for £300,000 a year!
© Always Worth Saying 2025
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